Caution re Employment Reference Letter

[Onemoretime]

I just wanted to pass along a caution to all those applying in CEC and submitting employment reference letters. My application was denied because they did not believe that my duties met the LEAD STATEMENT in the NOC description. The duties outlined by my employer in the letter were the majority of those included in the NOC description and in fact, the employer went so far as to review the NOC listings and indicated in the reference letter that my job falls under the exact category I applied for. However, the person reviewing my application somehow knew better about the duties I performed as opposed to my independant third party employer's reference and decided it did not match, hence rejected. Not one single phone call was even placed to the employer to verify the duties and why the employer believed the job and duties fall under my NOC. Thank you for your interest in Canada and have a safe flight home!

Too bad it would take 2 years to fight this in a federal court! Ridiculous!

So please be very careful on what is included in the employer's reference letter. Make it WORD FOR WORD as per the description in the NOC in order to avoid this problem in your application.

 

[maniac2403]

I just wanted to pass along a caution to all those applying in CEC and submitting employment reference letters. My application was denied because they did not believe that my duties met the LEAD STATEMENT in the NOC description. The duties outlined by my employer in the letter were the majority of those included in the NOC description and in fact, the employer went so far as to review the NOC listings and indicated in the reference letter that my job falls under the exact category I applied for. However, the person reviewing my application somehow knew better about the duties I performed as opposed to my independant third party employer's reference and decided it did not match, hence rejected. Not one single phone call was even placed to the employer to verify the duties and why the employer believed the job and duties fall under my NOC. Thank you for your interest in Canada and have a safe flight home!

Too bad it would take 2 years to fight this in a federal court! Ridiculous!

So please be very careful on what is included in the employer's reference letter. Make it WORD FOR WORD as per the description in the NOC in order to avoid this problem in your application.

Very unfortunate! Can't imagine what you must be feeling. What was the reason quoted in your rejection email/ letter? Can you paste the letter here?

 

[hondaFan13]

Hey thanks for the warning and sorry for your application. Can you tell us what noc code were you applying under ?

thx

 

[gursimran31]

I have heard that 70% of the job responsibilities should match... On what basis your application got rejected.. Do I need to make my role and responsibility word to word? Can I prepare the certificate signed by any of my senior?

 

[maniac2403]

I have heard that 70% of the job responsibilities should match... On what basis your application got rejected.. Do I need to make my role and responsibility word to word? Can I prepare the certificate signed by any of my senior?

Do not do that. When I had ordered my GCMS notes, in the first review of my application, there was a note saying that the duties appear to be have been lifted from the HSRDC web site for the NOC Code. My employer matched the duties to about 80%. But it was eventually okay'ed by the final reviewer.

 

[Onemoretime]

Here is what it said...

Your application was assessed based on the occupation(s) which you identified as part of your skilled work experience in Canada: 0114 Administrative Manager

I am not satisfied that you meet the skilled work experience requirement(s) because:
•I note that you declared you are employed in the capacity of an Administrative Manager (NOC 0114) with xxxxxxxx.
•I note NOC 0114 is listed as ‘Other Administrative Service Managers’. The lead statement of this NOC states that this unit group includes managers who plan, organize, direct, control and evaluate departments responsible for corporate governance and regulatory compliance, records management, security services, admissions and other administrative services not elsewhere classified.
•I note that the letter of employment written by your employer dated xxxxx provides duties and functions which you perform in the capacity of an administrative manager do not meet the lead statement of the declared NOC 0114.
•I have assessed your application and I am not satisfied that you perform duties and functions of NOC 0114 but that these duties are in fact reflective of NOC 1221.
•Having reviewed the above, I note that you are employed in an ineligible occupation under the Canadian Experience Class and therefore, do not have the work experience required as set out in R87.1(2)(a).

So I guess in this case, he thought the duties were "REFLECTIVE" of NOC 1221, but they are "unsure" since that does not sound very definative to me. As opposed to writing something like " I spoke to your employer regarding your duties and CONFIRMED that they relate to NOC 1221 rather thatn NOC 0114 because of the following...."

Don't mind me, I'm just being bitter...

 

[Onemoretime]

Don't worry, two senior immigration lawyers in the city are salivating at taking them on, but 2 years of fighting is just too much. I happen to be fortunate and can do a family class application now after all this additional time has passed. But I feel bad for others who don't have that luxury.

 

[sjulien]

May I know your organization name? it could be possible that CIC has removed this Administrative officers (NOC 1221) from CEC. Actually, they found that you worked under this NOC in your organization.

Don't worry, two senior immigration lawyers in the city are salivating at taking them on, but 2 years of fighting is just too much. I happen to be fortunate and can do a family class application now after all this additional time has passed. But I feel bad for others who don't have that luxury.

 

[Onemoretime]

May I know your organization name? it could be possible that CIC has removed this Administrative officers (NOC 1221) from CEC. Actually, they found that you worked under this NOC in your organization.

Yes, I know that they no longer accept NOC 1221, but my job was categorized by my employer as NOC 0114...not NOC 1221. But like I said, the person reviewing my file knew more about my duties than my employer did, so I guess I can't argue with them on that.

 

[MenicMonday]

^Was your salary within the median of NOC 0114?

 

[Onemoretime]

^Was your salary within the median of NOC 0114?

Above. But why would that matter? I was not rejected because of the salary.

 

[LPS]

I have heard that 70% of the job responsibilities should match... On what basis your application got rejected.. Do I need to make my role and responsibility word to word? Can I prepare the certificate signed by any of my senior?

I don't know that there's an official percentage but there should be a good match, especially with the lead statement. My impression is that they pay closer attention to job duties that may make the difference between an eligible occupation and an ineligible one. They are wary of applicants attempting to 'up-skill', for example from a cook to a chef (I'm not saying the OP has done this).

I myself was concerned that my application would be refused, seeing the exhaustive lists of job duties other people had submitted, as the duties I submitted were quite brief. In the end it was fine. It probably helped that there are no ineligible occupations doing software development.

 

[LPS]

Above. But why would that matter? I was not rejected because of the salary.

It wouldn't matter - if you were underpaid on the other hand, that could be a red flag that makes them look more closely (e.g. someone who is nominally a supervisor but is earning a minimal wage).

 

[MenicMonday]

There's a similar discussion around this (chef vs cook).
This is just my opinion: CIC checks at the overall circumstances:
- NOC
- Reference Letter
- Salary
- Job History
- Education
So from the CIC's POV, these have to be consistent.

Example: you can't claim to be a Manager immediately after graduating or having no prior similar experience, or if your salary is way below the norm.
The above is possible, but to your point there could have been procedural fairness rather than outright rejection.

 

[Onemoretime]

There's a similar discussion around this (chef vs cook).
This is just my opinion: CIC checks at the overall circumstances:
- NOC
- Reference Letter
- Salary
- Job History
- Education
So from the CIC's POV, these have to be consistent.

Example: you can't claim to be a Manager immediately after graduating or having no prior similar experience, or if your salary is way below the norm.
The above is possible, but to your point there could have been procedural fairness rather than outright rejection.

Procedural fairness was all I expected. In my mind, it was just one phone call.