Hello All,
First of all a big thank you to this community for helping me out till now in every step .
Now that I have a clear understanding of the whole process and my situation, because of your guidance I was able to sort out my profile a bit more. I am planning to gather the documents I have and start the process.
Please have a look at the documents and the case and comment on any and everything I have and if anything else could be added.
Background:
I have been working as a full-time quality assurance engineer for last 4 years in Germany and along side finishing my studies in Masters in web and data science .But was working in India for 5 years before I came here in a service based company.(which does not count from my understanding) due to financial conditions in the house had to get a job.
Track exceptional promise:
LOR:
LOR from current director of the department in my company
LOR from ex director of product (left company 3 months back)
LOR from CTO of my current company
( I have all LOR from one company as I am not having the best relationship with my last company( 20 people company) , and I have worked fulltime in only 2 product companies till now. any tips?)
MC1:
As a part of my job role, I am not supposed to be doing the below but I have done it.
Pushed AI in the company hence increasing customer retention.
Screenshot showing the complete design and product flow of the AI initiatives I pushed in the company.
Promotion letter in 1 year of joining the company
Salary proof of above-average salary
LinkedIn post from the company of the product I have worked on and led from scratch in my company.
Speaking at an event with 500 audience.( Europes biggest Test conference)
Article published in the Ministry of testing and the same one got pulled into another news letter because of good content.
OC2:( work beyond occupation)
Git hub repository for regular contributions since last year in various open-source projects
slack screenshots / reference letter of working in “Code your Future” a non-profit organisation in UK for helping people get jobs. ( here for 6 months now)
Screenshots of mentoring people at meet-a-mentor
Spoken at an online conference of 1k people
Spoken for online conference of 270 people
Helped start the meetup in my area for knowledge sharing of my field.
Email for an invitation to speak at a conference of 500 people but rejected it because I was working on another project.
OC3:( work contributions at the company )
Company private GitLab details showing my code contributions and proving that I alone made the whole test architecture.
Proof of increase in product quality due to my architecture by 100%
Proof of Increase in speed and efficiency of our team by 30% because of this architecture.
P.S. I have a certification for the product owner role from scrum.org , it is not my field but I am interested in it, so learning .Can I /Should I put it somewhere?
I have many speaking proofs I think , not sure if I should put them all, any tips?
Are these good enough proofs? what should I move where? would love to know your views.
Letters of Recommendation (LOR): Since all your LORs are from the same company, consider diversifying them to strengthen your application. Reach out to former colleagues, professors from your master’s program, or individuals from your volunteer work or open-source projects who can attest to your skills and contributions.
Mandatory Criteria (MC):
AI Initiatives: Highlight the impact of pushing AI in your company by quantifying results, such as percentage increases in customer retention.
Promotion and Salary: Provide industry benchmarks to show your salary is above average and emphasize the significance of your quick promotion.
Product Leadership: Include success metrics of the product you led and any significant engagement the LinkedIn post received.
Conference Speaking: Detail your role at Europe’s biggest testing conference and include any positive feedback.
Published Article: Mention the reach and impact of your article in the Ministry of Testing, including views or shares if available.
Optional Criteria 2 (OC2):
Open-Source Contributions: Highlight notable projects you’ve contributed to and the significance of your work.
Volunteering and Mentoring: Emphasize the impact of your mentorship, including testimonials or success stories.
Speaking Engagements: Focus on events with larger audiences or greater prestige, and provide details about your topics and any feedback.
Community Involvement: Showcase the growth and impact of the meetup you helped start.
Conference Invitation: Even though you declined, the invitation itself highlights your expertise.
Optional Criteria 3 (OC3):
Test Architecture Development: Explain the challenges you addressed, innovations introduced, and the significance of your work. Include any acknowledgments or testimonials.
Impact Metrics: Provide before-and-after data to demonstrate the 100% increase in product quality and 30% increase in team efficiency.
Additional Points:
Product Owner Certification: Include it if you can show how it has enhanced your skills or contributed to your projects.
Selection of Evidence: Focus on the most impactful speaking engagements and contributions.
Organization: Clearly label and explain each piece of evidence, linking it directly to the criteria.
Authenticity: Ensure all evidence is verifiable and avoid including confidential information.
Your blend of professional achievements and community involvement positions you well for the endorsement. By refining your application to highlight your most significant contributions and diversifying your references, you strengthen your case.
Thank you for your amazing reply @pmsept . that was so detailed and provides so much value. love it!
just a small question, the individuals from my volunteer work , don’t have any extra ordinary work records of me as I was managing the bare minimum there.
Professors , nothing special on that from normal average student.
old colleagues, I can get normal colleagues to write a letter for me , that is lead level but the CEO and CTO wont be able to provide me with anything due to a harsh ending. And as tech nation says that the people should be significant position holder I am kind of confused what to do in this situation.
I understand your concern about not having high-level individuals for your recommendation letters. While letters from top executives are valuable, what’s most important is that the recommenders can attest to your skills and contributions in detail. Consider asking senior colleagues or managers who have worked closely with you and can provide specific examples of your impact. They should highlight your achievements, leadership qualities, and potential, while also mentioning their own credentials to establish credibility. This approach can strengthen your application by showcasing genuine endorsements from professionals who truly understand your work.
It states on the official page that these two criteria must be met. so I am extremely confused now
because my old company was like 20 people and the senior-est person was the CEO who I did not get well with. and then there was a flat hierarchy so just devs, and it was a pretty young company so people were around my experience.
no senior managers or colleagues maybe like 1 year senior max.
@Sharma.shray do you have this issue in all 3 LORs? If so then that won’t qualify, TN does reject if the recommenders are themselves not experts in digital tech sector
@pahuja Thank you for your comment, it means a lot.
I can get 3 letters from 3 established people
LOR from current director of the department in my company
LOR from ex director of product (left company 3 months back)
LOR from CTO of my current company
The only thing is that they are in my current company.
But from earlier comments, I was told that I should have the letter from different companies.
that would mean I drop one of these people to go for a junior person somehow as my old company was very small and flat hierarchy and I was not having good terms with the ceo/CTO.
Yes that was the right suggestion as it’s a better strategy - TN wants to see your credibility and how you contributed in the sector not in one company. How are you going to manage your evidence documents for criteria if you can’t get any third party evidence from your previous workplace? It will be an issue even in criteria evidences then.
@Sharma.shray you will need to dig through your work experience in detail to create a list of evidences that you have and evaluate how strong they are. If you want to show 10 evidences plus 3 LORs from the same work place, it will be quite difficult for you to provide enough substantial evidence.
oooo that’s a very thin line in my case.
I have 5 years experience in service-based IT company in India.
After coming to Germany I had 1.5 years as a student job in product based
then 3 years 2 months full time in product based.
and currently 1 year 4 months in another one.
Till the time I apply it will be 2 months short of the 5 years bracket
in product based full time role.
So , I was wondering if my profile would actually satisfy requirements for global talent visa? in terms of achievement and if I should wait the 2 more months and go for the global talent?
You can apply for whichever route you like but TN will decide which one to assess you for.
I had a similar case as you with 3 yrs experience in service-based company and <5 years in product-based company after that. I applied in Promise but was endorsed for Talent.
Number of evidences needed doesn’t change in the two routes. You should apply whenever you feel ready with strong evidences.
Well as per the official guidelines, the letters need to be on letterheads. It’s tough to establish authenticity otherwise. It’s a risk to not have it on letterheads - please get some more inputs on this.
@hsafra - any advice on the LORs without letterheads?
@hsafra could you please also explian how you used docusign?
I am completely lost with it.
SO all my referees told me to write a draft copy and I will give it to them for review.
But in docusign I have to send the documents from my side for them to sign it.
Which means in the trace it shows that the reference letters were sent from me, which actually should not be the case, the letters should be from the references itself.
How do you amange this?
would this list of LOR work now?