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Nail the Challenge of Getting Reference Letter from Current Employer!!

Stanlee

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Jan 29, 2016
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HOW TO GET/REQUEST REFERENCE LETTER FROM CURRENT EMPLOYER?

Reference Letter from employer plays a very important role as the document to prove your work experience for migration purposes. Many people have raised the issue on this forum that they are unable to get reference letter(s) from their employer for migration. I would like to highlight some points in this regard which worked for me and might as well work for you guys. After all you can give it a try, and if it works for you, good for you. If you have explored better ways of addressing this issue, please mention it here, so that others can also learn and approach it in a manner which will help them

Requesting a reference letter is an art, it all depends on your rapport with your manager/supervisor. If I were you, I would follow the steps given below, after all you are not moving to a competitor, you are only trying for a better life, which is not wrong at all.

1. Win Confidence - If you can win your manager's confidence, then you can let him know this over a causal chat. The best way to approach is in the form of asking your manager's advise on you moving to another country. Even if you do not like the current job, never ever do the mistake of complaining and citing it as the reason for migration. Instead, try to relate it with your personal aspirations, ambitions and quality of life and what you want to do with your life. If you ask for advise, it is an indirect way of flattering the manager and it will also make him feel that you consider him as a mentor, but do not overdo it :). This approach will definitely work, because we humans by our very nature love to advise others :). Listen to his views on the same, do not get demotivated in case he does not see immigration as a good way to better one's life. In fact, it is his view, and you have anyway made up your mind to migrate. After all, you used this approach only to put this situation to him. If you are successful in this approach, then you have laid the foundation

2. Request Reference - Next ask him whether he would be willing to refer you in case you plan to migrate in future, never give him an indication that it is immediate, otherwise he will feel that you have made up your mind to move and the thoughts of replacing you would be running in his mind. You can give an indication about it and also assure your manager that you will be around for at least a year, so that you safeguard your job even if Canada does not go through as expected. If you put it this way, he will be more than happy and willing to refer you. But sometimes, even if he is willing to refer you, he may not have the right to issue a letter, so that is where the next step comes into picture.

3. Leverage Authority/Position - If you are successful in doing the above, you have crossed 50% of the hurdle. The next important step is to convince HR to issue a letter in the required format. This is a very crucial step, so leverage your manager's authority/position and request your manager to speak to HR on your behalf and convince them about your requirement and also let him assure HR that the whole process would take at least a year (keeping buffer in mind :) ) and you would stick around for the said time being. Yes, this is the difficult part of assuring them, but you need to make a commitment (at least verbally) to stick around - if you need the letter badly, this is the least that you can do. This works in most of the cases, as they know that you may leave sometime in future and if they have to find a replacement, they know when to start the process. If this step does not work, then, from step 2 move to the step below.

4. Letter from Manager - If HR refuses to give you a letter, then ask your manager to issue you a letter on white paper (it should cover all the requisite points), along with a copy of his visiting card and company ID card and get the letter notarized. Submit it along with a Letter of Explanation (LOE).

LOE should cover the following points.
- State the reason why you cannot get a reference letter from employer, if you have any evidence to support you statement, please mention it and also attach it along with the letter.
- In absence of the letter, mention what proactive steps you have taken to prove your work experience.
- Mention the list of documents which you are submitting, in the absence of the reference letter.
- Request the Case Officer to consider your case in light of your situation and also in terms of the proactive steps taken by you to submit best alternative documentary evidence.

All the best! :)
 

Stanlee

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Jan 29, 2016
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For those who are looking for a reference letter format, I have drafted one and used this for me as well. This is in line with the requirement that has been mentioned in the OINP Application Guide (http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/pnp/OI_PNP_EE_CAPITAL.html). Please feel free to tewek it to meed your requirement.

Reference Letter Format

Date: _____________

To Whom it May Concern

This is to certify that Mr. ____________ (Name) is currently employed with __________ (Company Name) in ___________ (Location, Country).

Details of his employment are given below:
• Designation:
• Date of Joining:
• Employee ID:
• Type of Employment (Full time/permanent/part-time):
• Hours of Work/Week:
• Department:
• Reporting Manager:
• Annual Salary:

Duties and responsibilities handled by ___________ (Name) are as follows:






If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

For (Company Name)


<Signature of the Referee> <Company Seal>
<Name & Designation of the Referee>
<Contact No. and Email of the Referee>
 

CanadaWeCome

Champion Member
Oct 1, 2015
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Category........
Visa Office......
Express Entry FSW Outlander
NOC Code......
4031/4032
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Nomination.....
Awaiting
AOR Received.
15-12-2015
IELTS Request
27-06-2015
Very good and practical approach cum tutorial. Excellent!!!
 

Stanlee

VIP Member
Jan 29, 2016
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595
Hi All,

Please report this thread to the moderator to make it a sticky thread as this question gets asked very frequently and if it is at the top of the list then new people can can easily access this information. Also, please share your experience in getting the employment reference letter. It could be of help to many.

Thanks
Stanlee
 
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edapras

Star Member
Oct 28, 2015
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1
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Good Information. Although is notarization necessary. Some lawyers would want your manager to come in person for notarization.
 

Slowlybtsurely

Star Member
Feb 1, 2016
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0
Do i need to notarize reference letter if my supervisor is able to issue it on the company's letter headed paper following the CIC guideline?
 

Stanlee

VIP Member
Jan 29, 2016
4,100
595
edapras said:
Good Information. Although is notarization necessary. Some lawyers would want your manager to come in person for notarization.
If you are not able to obtain it on the company letterhead, then yes it needs to be notarized. Yes, some lawyers insist on that, that is a challenge, but then you can find another lawyer ;)
 
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Stanlee

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Jan 29, 2016
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Slowlybtsurely said:
Do i need to notarize reference letter if my supervisor is able to issue it on the company's letter headed paper following the CIC guideline?
If it is on the company letterhead, then you do not have to notarize it
 
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rajkamalmohanram

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Apr 29, 2015
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Good post, Stanlee.

I would like to mention my experience here. I tried my best to get a letter on the letterhead (for my OINP application). I contacted my manager first and requested him to provide a letter (I showed him the format). My manager refused to give me the letter (because he said he is not authorized to provide such a letter). I then e-mailed the HR and asked them to provide such a letter on the letterhead! I pursued them for 3 full weeks but to no avail.

I got the letter from the HR in the standard format of the company (It mentions only my name, date of joining, designation and employee ID). Then, I got the letter from a senior colleague in the required format in a plain paper. I suggest all applicants to get this letter notarized. To sum up, I submitted the following documents to OINP -

1) Letter of explanation for reference letter
2) Copy of the Standard format of the company’s letter
3) Reference letter(with all necessary details) by a senior colleague
4) Copy of the senior colleague's company ID card
5) Copy of Email – 1 from the HR
6) Copy of Email – 2 from HR
7) Copy of the company’s HR policy
8 ) Copy of pay scale letter for 2015
9) Copy of pay scale letter for 2014
10) Copy of the pay slips for the past 6 months
11) Copy of appointment letter [joining letter]
12) Copy of initial job offer letter


Luckily, my application was accepted by OINP and I got my AOR. As you can see, I cannot provide any more documentation to prove my work - I had submitted ALL the documents that I had.

So, if your letter is not on the letterhead, you can just go ahead and submit a letter from your supervisor/colleague & get it notarized. Please note that the name, phone number, official E-mail ID and the designation of the person giving the reference MUST be mentioned on the letter. If you provide comprehensive documentation, it is likely that OINP/CIC will be satisfied and proceed with your application.

Check this post too ---> http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/employer-hr-refuses-official-job-letter-with-addnl-detailed-job-duties-t316445.0.html
 

Stanlee

VIP Member
Jan 29, 2016
4,100
595
rajkamalmohanram said:
Good post, Stanlee.

I would like to mention my experience here. I tried my best to get a letter on the letterhead (for my OINP application). I contacted my manager first and requested him to provide a letter (I showed him the format). My manager refused to give me the letter (because he said he is not authorized to provide such a letter). I then e-mailed the HR and asked them to provide such a letter on the letterhead! I pursued them for 3 full weeks but to no avail.

I got the letter from the HR in the standard format of the company (It mentions only my name, date of joining, designation and employee ID). Then, I got the letter from a senior colleague in the required format in a plain paper. I suggest all applicants to get this letter notarized. To sum up, I submitted the following documents to OINP -

1) Letter of explanation for reference letter
2) Copy of the Standard format of the company’s letter
3) Reference letter(with all necessary details) by a senior colleague
4) Copy of the senior colleague's company ID card
5) Copy of Email – 1 from the HR
6) Copy of Email – 2 from HR
7) Copy of the company’s HR policy
8 ) Copy of pay scale letter for 2015
9) Copy of pay scale letter for 2014
10) Copy of the pay slips for the past 6 months
11) Copy of appointment letter [joining letter]
12) Copy of initial job offer letter


Luckily, my application was accepted by OINP and I got my AOR. As you can see, I cannot provide any more documentation to prove my work - I had submitted ALL the documents that I had.

So, if your letter is not on the letterhead, you can just go ahead and submit a letter from your supervisor/colleague & get it notarized. Please note that the name, phone number, official E-mail ID and the designation of the person giving the reference MUST be mentioned on the letter. If you provide comprehensive documentation, it is likely that OINP/CIC will be satisfied and proceed with your application.

Check this post too ---> http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/employer-hr-refuses-official-job-letter-with-addnl-detailed-job-duties-t316445.0.html
Raj, thanks for sharing your experience. It will definitely help many who have faced or will face this situation. +1 for the detail!
 
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