Application Review - Silicon Valley Staff SWE

Stage 1
1

Hi all,

I am a Staff SWE at a “Big Tech” company in Silicon Valley. I am applying for Exceptional Talent (as I am just past the 5 year experience threshold), and looking for feedback and suggestions on the following application portfolio. All evidence is within the past 5 years. I am looking to take a Social Impact / Mentorship angle beyond my technical talent.

Personal Statement and LoR

  1. Personal statement
  2. Resume
  3. LoR from CEO of tech social-impact non-profit [Completed 3 programs with the group, providing leadership and documented results partnering with partner NGOs]
  4. LoR from Sr. Staff SWE [Current company; Big Tech – can speak to my technical skills and projects]
  5. LoR from Sr. Engineering Manager [Current company; Big Tech – can speak to my leadership across the organization]

Evidence for MC

  1. High Salary: Total comp (base + bonus + equity) totaling > 300k GBP with evidence of 200+% growth over 5 years
  2. Assessing work of others: Evaluated 50 applications for international WIT initiative

Evidence for OC2

  1. Mentorship: Int’l WIT program mentor (3mo), 3x 1-month-long programs as a technical advisor for NGOs, technical apprenticeship program mentor (1 year), and 13 documented occasions of 1:1 career coaching volunteering with non-profits as both organizer and participant
  2. Speaking: Speaker at 7 events and workshops. Variety of topics and audiences, mostly college students. Max attendance is 75.

Evidence for OC3

  1. LoR from start-up CEO [Worked together as Principal Product Manager at my current company – can speak to my product and metrics impact]
  2. GitHub contribution: “Contributors” screenshots from GitHub repo at current company showing #1 contributor to a service used by >70 consuming products across my organization. [380 commits, 78,200 LOC added, 47,741 LOC deleted].

I am concerned how strict the minimum 100 attendees count is for speaking engagements, and whether the rest of my evidence can outweigh it. I can get LoR from higher titles at my current company if needed (e.g. Sr. Director of Engineering or Group Product Manager).

Any feedback is most welcome! Thank you all so much in advance for your time.

2

LoRs 2&3: I would try to get more senior members of your company to write the letters

Generally 2 evidence files is the minimal amount per criteria but you can submit 10 evidence files in total and it’s a shame to to use that. People tend to do 4,3,3 for MC and the relevant OCs they use.

I would look for more evidence for MC - there were several declines stating that high salary by itself isn’t enough. Can you give details about the WIT review process that you mention?

3

Your mandatory criteria is not strong enough to show you have been recognised as a leader. Even evaluating 50 application on WIT programme is not substantial when compared to what other applicants have submitted. What is WIT? Do you have media recognition or confidence speaking? Do you have any opensource contribution?