Hello again! Can you please take a look at my updated evidence list and follow up questions. I believe this is on the right track from the feedback I have collected thus far. I greatly appreciate your help and advice!
MC1
Led the growth of a product-led digital technology company, as evidenced by:
[1.1] Screenshots of news articles regarding current investments, highlights leadership as tech company in the space with promise. (My name is not in these articles)
[1.2] Spreadsheet of revenue increases since our launch date
[1.3] Product expansion plans. Trimmed down version of Pitch deck to investors (I was not pitching but my name is highlighted in this deck as a product exec)
[1.4] Sale of previous company to a VC: Press releases, equity documents.
MC3
You command a high salary or other remuneration for your services, as evidenced by commercial or employment contracts with salary information including any bonus and equity options and history of earnings as evidenced by
[3.1] Current employment contract and equity
OC1
Proven track record or examples of innovation in the digital technology sector as a senior executive of a product-led digital technology company or an employee working in a new digital field or concept as evidenced by:
[OC1.1] News clippings describing product innovation (these are not very different from my MC - should I remove this?)
[OC1.2] Screenshots of current product innovation and roadmap (This is also very similar to OC3.1 - should I remove?)
[OC1.2] Screenshots at previous employer to implement new technology from my previous startup which was acquired by my previous employer (startup was acquired in 2017 but I was moved over to the acquiring company and implemented the technology for the next 3 years)
[OC1.4] High salary information, title increases and prior Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs): employment agreement, org chart, equity disclosure (If I include M3 as salary and equity should I take this out?)
OC2 (Possibly remove)
Demonstrate that I have been recognised for my work outside of my immediate occupation that contributed to the advancement of the sector as evidenced by:
[OC2.1] Podcast guest on a tech leadership podcast. This is not a popular podcast - so not very strong
[OC2.2] Start up Mentorship program led by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Macedonia: letter from CEO, product screenshots. I was the primary mentor selected from the program. Should I include this
OC3
Demonstrate that I have made a significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as a senior executive of a product-led digital technology company as evidenced by:
[OC3.1] Product expertise at current company: screenshots of product, processes, releases, MVP description, client testimonials, public product reviews
[OC3.2] Current start up revenue numbers. Revenue increases since product launch
[OC3.3] Impacts of the new technology - previous company
[OC3.4] Mentorship?
Overall questions:
Is my MC strong enough? Do I need to include an MC3?
If I include M3 as salary and equity should I take it out of OC1?
Should I choose OC1 and OC3 rather than OC2?
OC3.1 and OC3.2 are VERY similar to MC - is this ok? What could I do differently?
Mentorship program - If I don’t chose OC2 should I add the mentorship as part of OC1 or OC3 or just include in CSV?
When providing evidence of revenue numbers is a screenshot of an excel sheet sufficient? Does this need some kind of verification? My company in not public so spreadsheets are how we communicate our numbers - is this ok?
I am new to this forum so I might not be able to provide the right review, but from what I have read so far on successful applications, you need to proof your recognition in digital technology and show evidences of your contribution in digital technology.
Screenshots of news articles are good, you can add link for verification only. However to make this relevant to you, you may ask one of the referer to talk about your contribution and match it to the news article, spreadsheet’s high-level KPI, and pitch deck.
Product expansion plans in the deck, may not make you differ from the other persons yet. Unless it is a success fund raising, and more importantly what you did to make you an exceptional leader in your field.
Sale of previous company to a VC: Press releases, equity documents <<< make sure that they are relevant to you, and back it up with some letters or evidence to show your contribution.
MC3:
Make sure that your salary is high at 70-90% above the industry average when you compare to salary comparison website like Glassdoor or similar.
OC1:
Letters of recommendations can support these news clipping and innovation contribution. Otherwise you need to show your work report, email, chat or anything showing your direct responsibility and contribution to the innovations.
You don’t need to remove the evidence, you just need to talk about INNOVATION in OC1, and you can talk about IMPACT in OC3 under the same project name.
Remove high salary, as it is not showing any INNOVATION in OC1.
OC2: I think you should remove them, as they do not seem strong
OC3:
Dont talk much about full list of project you did, or how heavy worker you were, but rather talk about the report which shows the measurable business impact in numbers.
Remove mentorship
…
Overall questions:
Is my MC strong enough? Do I need to include an MC3? <<< How many MC evidence do you have 1 or 4? Anyway I am still in doubt of your evidence strength, so add your very high salary comparison if it is considered strong. Otherwise, there is no point of adding Salary as your evidence.
If I include M3 as salary and equity should I take it out of OC1? ,<< yes
Should I choose OC1 and OC3 rather than OC2? << yes
OC3.1 and OC3.2 are VERY similar to MC - is this ok? What could I do differently? <<< Talk differently in different angles. INNOVATION for OC1 and IMPACT for OC3.
Mentorship program - If I don’t chose OC2 should I add the mentorship as part of OC1 or OC3 or just include in CSV? <, just in your CV
When providing evidence of revenue numbers is a screenshot of an excel sheet sufficient? Does this need some kind of verification? My company in not public so spreadsheets are how we communicate our numbers - is this ok? <<< LOR, chat, email, report deck, anything that proof the authentic of your numbers
Any other feedback on my evidence per category? <<< I feel it is still too early to say that it meet the assessor’s expectation. You have to read the TN guideline very thoroughly to understand and check each boxes by yourself.
@alexnk Thank you SO MUCH. This is incredibly helpful. One last question:
Letters of recommendations can support these news clipping and innovation contribution. Otherwise you need to show your work report, email, chat or anything showing your direct responsibility and contribution to the innovations.
Can you advise on letters of recommendations? From what I read, the criteria says that no letters can be provided as evidence if they come from your CEO or directly related colleagues. So it seems like I cannot have any letters from people in my company that I directly work with. Is this the case? I have worked with many of the same people at my last company and my current company so it leaves me at a disadvantage when it comes to getting letters as evidence. Is this correct? Or am I not understanding this one?
Well, I never heard that it could not come from CEO. Just be sure that it is not a friend/colleague’s letter. It should feel like it is from a senior executive.
And everyone should not use letters as a main evidence to be qualified, but we should rather use letters to support the legitimacy/authenticity of your other main 10 evidence. You can submit referer’s letter in either 3-letter section, but if you have more letters you can also add those additional letter in some parts of your 10-evidence section.
It is true that you know less people, it usually give you disadvantages. It is one of the requirements to qualify your exceptional promise/talent in this field.
@alexnk Perhaps I am interpreting this incorrectly but yes, in the mandatory cirteria as an example it’s stated here - “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.”
“Please note that ‘leading industry experts’ excludes roles listed as unsuitable in the Typical Applicants section of the guidance (for example, managers at Outsourcing or Consultancy firms etc.). Evidence of recognition, such as Reference Letters, provided by an immediate colleague, manager, or friend are not sufficient.”
In my current role, my CEO is my manager. Is this ok?
Ok, thanks @Francisca_Chiedu it’s disappointing because my manager (the CEO) is also an industry leader…If the Co-founder is not my manager would she be accepted?