I want to send special thanks to everyone that has offered help on this forum- i have learned loads.
I currently live and work in the UK but I plan to switch my visa. Having almost 9 years experience, it was natural for me to pick the Talent Route. So I submitted the following:
-CV and Personal Statement
-3 reference letters (1 from startup partner, 1 from previous HO Product, 1 from a BCS member)
-Screenshots from BCS to show mentorship
-Screenshots from blog with most articles having 200-500 views
-Photo of Award from IEEE
-degrees and certifications to show technical strength
-screenshots of YouTube videos with 3K views of workshops
-photos of ERD, wireframes of mobile app I am making in my startUp, Investors Deck and startUp company formation documents in the UK (I wrongly assumed that I had to show my own app; Yesterday, I found out that I could use the ones that I built for my employers ).
-work contracts and salary information (I assumed my salary was high- i guess itâs not! )
TIMELINE: Submitted 1 September 21. Received Response: 24 Septemeber 21
-It is weird that they said that I got recommendations from people that I have worked with (am I not supposed to?)
-also, I have not worked with the last referee (from the BCS). I only met her on a group that she is a patron of; she agreed to recommend me because I was also a member of the society.
-The screen shots of my blog had the VIEWS beside the likes-- I donât get how they missed it.
-They ignored all the other evidence and then spoke about the start-up that I am bootstrapping (any reason why?)-- i thought showing them that I had a business idea would make the application strong.
Questions
I would appreciate if you guys can please answer these questions for me, because I struggled to understand their response:
Can I reuse my old references?
How do I detail how I mentored (I previously attached screenshots of Whatsapp and conversations on the BCS platform)?
How much is a high salary? I thought 63K was high
I feel like I am doing something wrong since they referred to my application as weak and lacking details. How do I put details and screen shots in 3 pages?
Next Steps
I will re-apply as a Promise-- I have worked in a Product-led company for 3-4 years. I will use the above evidence and proof of a publication in a Magazine this month, and evidence apps that I built with my previous employers.
However, i really need to learn how to package my evidence so it doesnât lack details (i mean how am I to squeeze everything in 3 pages? and what details are they talking about?)
As @Francisca_Chiedu said, I will read the new TN guide effective 6th Oct and only focus on 2 OC and 1MC.
Sorry to hear that. It seems like you need to work better at the documentation, rather than not being eligible.
I guess youâre not supposed to get recommendations letter to prove your mandatory requirement. They should be from independent sources. My guess is that this is required to make sure no one applies for the visa only with recommendation letter all around (you should somewhat prove your impact to the industry).
re: mentorship
From their response, it feels like it was hard for them to tell how structured and impactful your mentorship was. Just meeting people and doing random 1:1s can be mentorship, but might not be impactful mentorship. They are looking the the latter, not the former. Try to show them if youâre part of some larger groups, what were the outcomes you help drive throughout your mentorship, etc.
Bless you plenty Lucas, thank you. Please can you explain what you mean by âindependent sourcesâ. Do you mean me asking the organisations that I am a member of to recommend me? or do you mean asking a top person in my field that I have never spoken to, to recommend me?
It is on their guide the following information regarding the mandatory criteria:
Evidence of recognition, such as Reference Letters, provided by an immediate colleague, manager, or friend are not sufficient.
You led the growth of a product-led digital technology company, product or team inside a digital technology company, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work, or as evidenced by news clippings, lines of code from public repos or similar evidence.
You led the marketing or business development at a product-led digital technology company, demonstrably enabling substantial revenue and/or customer growth or major commercial success, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work, senior global commercial executives inside the company and/or at company partners/customers, or similar evidence.
You led the growth of a non-profit organisation or social enterprise with a specific focus on the digital technology sector, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work, or as evidenced by news clippings or similar evidence.
So a 3rd party could be some industry leader reference letter. This could also come in a form of an award, for example.
!. Your old recommendation letters are not strong enough, they are mostly from you colleagues. Which may be suitable for optional criteria. You need to get letters from âThree letters of recommendation from three different well-established organisations acknowledged as experts in the digital technology fieldâ. Note the words well established organisations and experts.
Evidence of mentorship must be for activity outside the applicantâs organisation or normal course of work duties and excludes mentorship of other commercial organisations as part of a commercial arrangement. Mentorship should be on behalf of a structured programme with selection criteria and is inclusive of non-profit charities and social mentorship programmes. You must be able to demonstrate a consistent track record of mentoring and have received recognition for your personal contribution.
63k is high salary, no comment was made on you salary, this is just one evidence. I also think they consider the type of company " salary level and company youâre being hired by". Is this a known company?
I have not seen your application but the evidence you have listed above could be better. You may need to read the guideline and demonstrate the impact of your work. There are also some good examples of evidence type shared in this forum.
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