Exceptional Talent - Software Engineer - Review & Advice

Stage 1
1

Hello everyone!
Was reading this forum for a bit already and finally put myself together to write my case :slight_smile:
I am preparing to apply for Exceptional Talent and would appreciate any feedback and bits of advice on my summary. I will split my message into two parts:

  1. Draft Summary
  2. A few additional questions due to my situation

Let’s start!

First part

Short Summary

I’m a software engineer working mostly on web development, but throughout my career had “a try” in multiple areas. I have 9 years of experience, started working while being in uni. I have a Masters Degree in Computer Science. I am in the UK right now and have been working for 2 years already for a London esports/digital platform company. I am leading the front-end development of one of several key company directions

Letters of Recommendation

(I think I have some choice here so happy to hear advice on which one to bring)

  1. Current C-level executive (CTO, CEO) or VP of Engineering, I think there will be no problem getting references from them
  2. Director of Engineering from previous Company
  3. Unsure, as LOR should be no older than 5 years, right? Will 2 LORs from current company work?

Mandatory Evidence

  1. “Led a team inside a digital technology company, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work” – I can add here also some metrics of how the product grew in 2 years and what numbers we have. On the other hand, I am curious how can I prove that engineering was done by me.
  2. “You command a high salary or other remuneration for your services”

Optional Criteria - 1 and 3

  1. I think here I can provide a few examples of some architectural decisions or initiatives which was innovative and impactful for our product (faster page load/increase in MAU (monthly active users, etc).
    from what I read in the guide there is a thin line between OC1 and OC3, where “innovation” should be innovative, while can have a low impact, while the latter should be something purely technical. Am I right?
  2. Potentially can add here some support letter(s)
  3. Shall I provide another salary contract, if that is from my previous company (where it was also high enough)?
  4. “GitHub account that contains lines of code clearly showing your continuing contribution” - I bet the usual Github commit visualisation graph won’t work here, what do they expect to see?

Second part

So, I am trying to plan early. I am a refugee from Ukraine and I will most likely have my visa extended for a year and a half soon, which means I would have a choice to apply for GT now or later.
This raises for me few questions:

  1. As I failed to have anything for OC2 during my career, is there anything I can start doing now to help me “strengthen” my application open-source-wise (OC2). Would that work, if I start contributing right now (as in the guide it is said “Contributions which have been made solely to support the timing of your application are unacceptable.”)? And if yes do you have any advice on what service to use or where to start looking?
  2. I find it hard actually to fulfil MC. Feels like I was doing something wrong throughout my career :slightly_frowning_face:
  3. Any advice on 2nd point or overall is highly appreciated.

Thanks a lot in advance!

2

Hey Shady, focus on diversifying your recommendation letters - avoid multiple letters from the same company. Instead, include perspectives from a previous employer, academic collaborator, or client to demonstrate broader recognition of your technical leadership. For salary evidence, combine payslips with tax documents (Form 16/I20) and appraisal emails to strengthen this mandatory criterion.

For OC1/OC3, highlight specific technical innovations like architectural decisions that improved page load times or MAU growth. Quantify these outcomes (e.g., “reduced latency by 40%” or “increased MAU by 25%”) and link them to your direct engineering contributions. Attach screenshots of contributions with verifiable open source data.

Prioritize the Promise route given your employee status and current job market realities. Emphasize how your work at the esports/digital platform company benefits the UK’s tech ecosystem - cite user demographics, partnerships with UK entities, or scalability of your solutions. Structure your personal statement as a narrative starting with your passion for web development, followed by quantified achievements, and conclude with your vision for contributing to UK tech.

3

Hello @Akash_Joshi !

Thanks a lot for replying!

I will take your valuable advices into consideration and will plan my future actions to align with those!

I still have few clarifying questions, if you may:
1.

I am not sure there is an open source for MAU growth or latency, as the data/measures are kept in-house. What to do in this case?

Not sure what this means, can I apply for Exception Promise? But I have 9 years of experience, 2 years of which I am in UK and working for UK company.

  1. Can you also advice is there any platform/excersices I can start working on to have possibility to add OC2 to my application?

Thanks a lot in advance!

4

Hard to say without looking at the actual application, sorry