IN THIS GUIDE · Reconciling a public job advertisement with the duties actually proposed, and obtaining accurate employer confirmation
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Map the differences before asking for anything
Set the advertisement beside the offer letter, the interview notes, and any written scope from the hiring manager, then mark each difference: title, seniority, listed responsibilities, tools, reporting line, and the share of time on each activity. Some differences are cosmetic, such as marketing language. Others are substantive, such as a posting emphasizing duties the person will barely perform, or omitting ones central to the job. The useful next decision is whether the written record supports this point now or identifies a specific document to obtain.
Ask the employer to describe the role as it will be performed
Request a letter stating the profession, the actual duties, the proportion of time on each where that is meaningful, the reporting relationship, the remuneration, and the intended period. Ask the employer to explain briefly why the advertisement differs, for instance that the posting was reused from an earlier opening or covered a broader team need. A short, factual explanation is more credible than silence. Keep the source document beside the conclusion so a later reader can see why the point was accepted or deferred.
Do not solve a mismatch by deleting real work
Removing genuine activities from a description to make it fit a profession creates a worse problem than the original discrepancy, because the person's day-to-day work will not match what was represented. If substantial duties fall outside the professional character of the role, that is information the applicant needs, not something to edit away. It may point to a different profession, a different structure, or a different category. Do not let a label decide the issue when the contemporaneous facts point elsewhere.
Check the corrected description against the profession's listing
Once the real duties are documented, compare them with the profession being claimed and with the credential that listing accepts, since requirements differ by profession and some listings include experience-based alternatives while others do not. Do not assume a general rule applies. Where the fit is arguable, counsel reading the exact listing against the written duties is more useful than further edits to the letter. Resolve that question before treating the plan, offer, or timetable as settled.
Health-care certification and the state licence
A Canadian provincial engineering licence is one accepted route to qualification but is not required if the degree is there, and it is not the same as any state practice requirement that United States law may impose on the work itself.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.