HSMP Refusal 2nd Application

[gautat]

I Called up HO yesterday and got a news that my HSMP application is refused again
This was my 2nd application. Case worker only awarded me 25 points for my past earning and 5 points for my age.
No points were awarded in work experience category however I have 5 yrs of experience working in IT and my reference
letter are on company letter head clearly mentions job description, roles and responsibility and requirement of this position is minimum graduate level degree. I have had difficult time and gone through night mares in arranging these 5 reference letters from my all employers.

My first application was rejected and was awarded 15 points for degree and 25 for past earning+ 5 for education bcos the reference letter where not provided as per requirement. I didnt even receive my gegree certificate with the packet. Since I already hold a job offer from one company in UK I had to resume on the job ASAP and I waited for 1 month for my degree certificate to come back from HO
but then decided to apply 2nd time without degree certificate thinking that I can manage 75 points without showing my bachelor degree.
parellelly contacted university to issue me duplicate degree certificate.

In my 2nd application I have supplied evidence in which I demonstrated 5 yrs of expereince with reference letter on company letter head
having mentioned in depth roles and responsibilities + the job is graduate level job and requires minimum graduate level degree to perform the job
I am handling, however I was not awarded any points. As far as I know and I have been reading on this forum many
ppl have got hsmp approval without graduate degree but showing graduate level work experience and same is given in HSMP
guide that "Work experience in a position that normally requires education to at least the equivalent of a UK bachelor degree level. The individual need not necessarily have a bachelor degree in order to score points for graduate level experience. However, the applicant must supply satisfactory evidence that the job in question would usually only be offered to candidates who had at least a bachelor level degree."

I need your expertise comment on this is it necessary to have a graduate degree to claim for work experience points or a reference letter having mentioned in depth roles and responsibility + the requirement of job is minimum graduate level person is enough.

how do I deal with this situation.


Thanks

[gautat]

Thread I posted month back for missing documents.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... highlight=

[Jeff Albright]

In my understanding there could have been a few reasons for this:
- Caseworkers are not satisfied that the documentation/employer provided are authentic
- Caseworkers could not verify the work experience with your employer

You will probably need to speak to your caseworker to find out what exactly the reasons for refusal were.

Also, the consideration of the HSMP applications has recently become very strict, so anyone applying now will not get away with things the others could get away with a year ago.
On the other hand, the decision making remains very poor and sometimes applications get unreasonably refused.

[gautat]

Jeff,

Thanks for your comments. All the evidences I provided were on company letter head, signed by authorized person with contact details of the person. I spoke with my case worker and all he has to say is that he couldnt not verify that the the roles & responsibilities mentioned in evidences provided were graduate level. However the letters were clearly mentioning that this is a highly qualified position and minimum requirement for this position is a person having graduate level degree.

As far as authenticity concern caseworker just can not reject without doing verification.

[olisun]

I have 5 yrs of experience working in IT and ...........5 reference letters from my all employers.

<== I am not an expert but, could working for 5 employers in 5 yrs could be the cause of the problems with regards to the experience letters

[Jeff Albright]

Gautat,

Having read the Caseworker Manual I can see it is not sufficient just to say that the work you performed was of a graduate level, you have to demonstrate in depth what duties you have performed within your role. In the more detailed way your present it the better chance you have. It is also important to show how you have contributed to your project and how significant the results of your work were to the company you worked for and to the entire industry/area you were employed in. Your employer should write a testimonial for you where all these things are described in every detail.
Remember, you are selling your skills and your achievements in your field to the UK Government. The better way you do it, the better chance you will have.

I am not judging on how you did it - you might have done it to some extent. But this is just my personal guess where the things might have turned against you.
Better luck next time!

[Markie]

Gautat,

Remember, you are selling your skills and your achievements in your field to the UK Government. The better way you do it, the better chance you will have.

Agree on this Jeff. Gautat, a few months back, JohnnyECU mentioned about guiding the caseworker on assessing your work experience.

It not just a matter of having attachments for the work experience but rather explaining to the caseworker what you do and how it has impacted the company where you work. Please do remember that the caseworker is no expert in your field of work.

Hope it will be better the next time around. Try a different approach.

Markie

[gautat]

Thanks for suggetions Jeff, Markie. I have read post from JohnnyECU and as per guidance I asked my employer to prepare reference letters. It was not only mentioning graduate level but also mentioning why they need graduate for the role I was handling. I have also read case workers manual and roles and responsibilities mentioned in that also matches with what was written in reference letters.

Apart from mentioning graduate level experience and in depth responsibilities it also mentions some of the things like "He was involved in day to day interaction with development team, designing, creating and managing implementation project plans, directed implementation team, interacted with client’s senior management team, assisted in business requirements analysis and tailored the software. He played significant role in building intelligent software solution to modern business. He was wonderful asset to the company. His strong analytical and technical skills and the ability to work with people and on urgent and demanding task made him successful."

I am planning to go for review now and hoping for the best

[Jeff Albright]

Gautat

I would put more specific details in addition to what they have written, as follows:

- The exact software packages you have developed - names, functions, applications for the type of industry, where is it used now? Is it on the market? Where? What for?
- The techniques you employed when developing these packages - programming languages (names), specific techniques (Names), details, functions - everything.
- What projects have you managed (names), what were your day to day duties?
- Who are your customers, what industry, names? Can they provide the reference saying how happy they are with the software packages you supplied? That will also be beneficial to your HSMP application.

This sort of stuff... Should be more specific rather than general words sort of "he is so good, he has done so well, etc."

Best of luck!

[webhunter]

I wonder, if it is practically possible to get indepth reference letters like that(unless we make them on our own).

With great difficulty I was able to ask some of my employers to write 10 lines listing the duties and responsibilities. After a couple of days I tried requesting them if they can put some more information.

The answer I got was "The company has some standard way of issuing relieving letters. We dont customize them the way you want them to, Should anyone have any doubts, they should contact us by phone".

I believe any respectable employer must be saying the same. So I wonder, how others are making these pages of pages of documentation and getting them signed. If someone is getting letters in that format, then you are really really lucky.

[Jeff Albright]

True, actually. I mentioned it in another post. Most of the UK companies will not provide such detailed references and on the headed paper. However, the universities usually do. I had the one from my university in the UK.
That't the trick with the HSMP application but this is the requirement under the rules.

[webhunter]

Hi Jeff,

you are really lucky to get it from the Uni. But in real life, not many ppl are working for 4 to 6 yrs under universities. They are with proper employers and hence the trouble.

In my whole opinion, the HSMP team might be considering applications if the duties and responsibilites are properly written(with the appropriate designation) even though we skip the details of our contributions and other fancy details that we only put on our CVs.

But yes, if you can get the rest of the documentation, it always helps. But dont be afraid to apply with out it. ( Assuming the duties and responsibilites and designations held are indicating graduate level work )

[gautat]

webhunter, I totally agree with you as i said I had been gone through night mares arranging for those reference letters. But It all depends upon how is your relation with the employer. When I asked my employer that I need this kinds of letter they Asked me if your manager approves it and confirms that you are performing same roles & responsibility we will give you that and I had a good relation and proper justification why I need them ofcourse I didnt tell my manager that I need this to apply for HSMP but for doing post graduation this is a requirement of university.

Jeff, to answer your question. I also provided certificate given by client which says that he carried out all the activity and played a significant role and that was great achievement and under budget.

[Jeff Albright]

I guess you need to proceed as you planned. Go for review, if that does not help, lodge a complaint with the HSMP management.
Good luck!

[webhunter]

Since your case is strong, I guess that your review application might be successful.

Good luck!!

[gautat]

Thanks for your wishes Webhunter and Jeff. I am planning to go for review. I have already drafted a covering letter and reasons referring to HSMP guidance and case workers manual vs evidences I have provided with my application.