Hi all! I received my endorsement for exceptional promise a couple of days ago and I wanted to share my experience, in the hopes of helping others. I decided to go about this by sharing some tips as opposed to detailing my entire case, because every case is different.
Profile Background
- I am currently based in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa
- I have less than 5 years of experience working as a full-time Product Manager in the digital technology sector
- All of my prior work experience is in the digital technology sector, specifically in product-led companies
- All my letters of reference and support letters were written by senior or management-level (director level and above) product leaders, working in the digital technology sector
1. Recommenders: All of my recommenders were in some way leaders in the digital technology sector. This part is obviously really important. This doesn’t mean that they were all influencers with 1000s of followers, but they all had 7+ years of experience, were high-ranking (but not necessarily C-level), and served as mentors or were speakers at conferences etc. They were all from different companies. Only 1 of my recommenders worked with me for 12+ months as my manager. The others worked with me for less time, but I was able to prove we maintained a relationship/they were aware of my projects after our working relationship ended (via mentorship etc.)
2. Drafting the letters of recommendation: I highly recommend drafting the basis of the letters of recommendation ahead of time for your recommenders, as they are busy people (e.g. formatting the letter with a header and other relevant pieces of information). Be clear about the goal of the letters is and provide them with a detailed breakdown (or pre-drafted lines) for when you met, what projects you worked on etc.
3. Own you story and be clear about your impact: As long as you meet the high-level criteria, focus on writing a really good story about the work you have done and your background (this includes the pieces of evidence, the personal statement etc.) Don’t compare yourself to others too much (I did this) and it doesn’t help. Focus on the work you have done and the impact (e.g. I saved the company x amount, or I helped the team deliver faster etc.)
4. Be specific: This one is really important. If you mentored as part of a program, provide the email screenshots. If you attended a conference where you were a speaker, include a banner from the event, a recording if possible, your slides, the email invitation etc. Explain everything as though the person reading your case is not an expert in the digital technology sector.
5. Edit, edit and edit again: Read your pieces of evidence over and over and over again. I can’t stress this enough. You will notice typos every-time. Make sure it is readable and understandable for someone who does not work in tech and is not familiar with your projects. One thing I did to test this is ask friends (who do not work in tech) to read some of my pieces of evidence.
6. Ask people for help: From family, to friends, to former colleagues or strangers on the internet. People are willing to help. If they don’t answer that’s ok, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. For example I asked a friend’s boyfriend (who happens to be a copywriter) to proofread my personal statement.
7. FINALLY make your application pretty: I’m not kidding. TN staff have to read hundreds if not thousands of these applications. Make yours standout. Pay attention to detail, this goes a long way. I drafted ALL my pieces of evidence and CV using Figma. You don’t have to use this tool, but making sure your application is aesthetically pleasing should not be underestimated.