Endorsement Letters

Stage 1
1

Hi,

Getting endorsement letters from seniors like CEOs, or CIOs will be tough, especially on their company letter heads. Is it possible to get endorsement on plain paper and get their signatures?

2

Hey @abd. I am not sure your question is very clear. Could you please eloborate a little bit more?

3

Hey, what I meant is that endorsement on company letter is mandatory? The reason I am asking is because let’s say you need endorsement from someone who is working in enterprise like Microsoft and getting endorsement from someone in Microsoft’s letterhead is near to impossible. I hope it’s clear this time.

4

You can try using plain (not-branded) endorsement letters, especially from prominent people. But I would highly recommend trying to limit such letters (ideally to one).

1 Like
5

I don’t think anyone would do that until unless its a personal favour. writing on letterhead (branded) is a strange requirement to be honest.

6

Disclaimer: I am not working for Tech Nation and I am not entitled to represent Tech Nation.

Certainly, everyone’s experience is unique.

I can imagine that in most cases people, who are in a position to give a good and honest recommendation, would not mind making an extra step writing a recommendation on letterhead unless it is not specifically forbidden by the company policy. Frankly, I think writing any decent recommendation is usually a personal favour.

If you go through the guide and see what are the requirements for the recommendations, it is not impossible that letterhead will not be the most difficult requirement to meet.

I am not in a position to explain why such requirements are in place or judge how good are they. More importantly, what I (or anyone else) think of the requirements is irrelevant - those are the requirement one has to meet in order to be endorsed (and whether or not they are met is being decided by expert’s panel).
I hope it helps!

1 Like
7

Correct me if I am wrong. I did not see this requirement on the Tech Nation website. Following is what mentioned on their website

Each letter must:

  • Be about your Global Talent application - you cannot use a letter that was written for another reason
  • Say how the person knows you
  • Show your achievements in the digital technology sector, and how you are a leader or potential leader
  • Say how you would benefit from living in the UK
  • Say how you would contribute to the digital technology field in the UK
  • Explain what plans you have for work in the future

The letters must also:

  • Be typed and dated
  • Be up to 3 single sides of A4 paper, excluding the author’s credentials and contact details
  • Be signed by the author, or by someone on behalf of the organisation recommending you
  • Include a telephone number and email address, and the organisation’s logo and registered address, if applicable
  • Come with the author’s CV (or other proof of their credentials that the endorsing body will accept)

https://technation.io/visa-tech-nation-visa-guide/#document-checklist

I see here is a requirement for company logo and address “if applicable” but not any such such thing as a mandatory letterhead.

8

@zamana You right! The wording has changed since the last guide update.

9

I believe it was mandatory in 2018 guide but wording seems to have changed now.

10

On the other hand, the guide suggests that one has to be endorsed by the organisations, not individual:
"Three letters of recommendation from three different well-established organisations acknowledged as experts in the digital technology field."

That may as well suggest\encourage use branded letterhead (there should be no reason not to provide a recommendation on the letterhead if someone is endorsed by the organisation, right?)

11

@Alex_P this seems very weird requirement. Imagine you only worked in 1 company ever. You do have research and publications and people in your industry also know you well. Why would still an organization be recommending you? Getting recommendation from senior executives makes sense but why would they recommend on behalf of their organization?

12

I can’t tell - I think the requirement\wording was changed recently. It seems it was OK for an individual to provide the (some of the) recommendations before, but know it looks like that it is not the case anymore. But, as I mentioned:

I am not in a position to explain why such requirements are in place or judge how good are they. More importantly, what I (or anyone else) think of the requirements is irrelevant - those are the requirement one has to meet in order to be endorsed (and whether or not they are met is being decided by expert’s panel).

13

I am not sure if my answer will help, however, I think it will be better to get it from the most senior in the organisation as suggested by Tech Nation. However, the head of a unit in the organisation can also provide you with an endorsement letter. One of my recommendation I think in my opinion it will be better to get it from any senior member of the organisation on headed paper than to get it on plain paper with CEO signature.
Hope this helps
Sorry (I guess when you say endorsement letter you mean recommendation letter)

14

When they said get endorsement from people recognised in the field? and should have worked with me?

So if I get endorsement from a startup entrepenuer (not well known) but I have worked with and can endorse properly what work has been done- won’t suffice?