Profile Review - Senior Software Developer

Stage 1
1

Hi,
Thanks for such an amazing forum, it’s been very helpful.

I am applying for the Exceptional Promise route and, after reading many times the guide and the forum, I came up with the following application (i tried to state it briefly so it is faster to read, but please let me know if it’s too vague):

Context

I am from Argentina, working since 18 years old (now 22, 4 years of experience) and currently based in Berlin working as a Senior Software Developer. I have no university degree (only incomplete, abandoned degrees, one in Mathematics and the other in Physics).

Letters of recommendation

  1. CTO of the AdTech company based in Berlin I’ve been working for since the last year (medium-sized, highly profitable) stating how I led teams inside the organization and how I was a key technical contributor.
  2. Software Engineering Manager at Amazon (where I worked for a year before my current job) stating how I was a key contributor and team’s mentor of an, unfortunately, yet undisclosed Ring product.
  3. CTO of the first company I’ve been worked in, stating how I ended up leading the tech team of their most profitable products.

Evidences

  1. LoR from the Head of Infrastructure of the Rosario Board of Trade, one of the biggest economical institutions in Argentina, stating how I successfully led the engineering development of a product they are using (the company I have worked for at the beginning of my career developed a product together with this institution; development that I have led and is still being maintained and updated by both associations). This letter also contains some technical details that made such project technically innovative. MC/OC1
  2. News from important portals stating the innovation and national impact of a product I have led (although, the news in their own don’t state my name or any other name regarding the technical team). Such product is the same one I proven leading by my third LoR and Evidence 1. MC/OC1
  3. LoR from a Product Manager at Rosario Board of Trade stating that I made significant contributions both in terms of business and technical impact to the product I already mentioned. MC/OC1
  4. My history of earnings: from 2019 (~6.000/year pounds, from Argentina) to today (~78.000/year pounds). Considering the percentiles in such locations for the tech sector at the time of the salaries, that means from the 10th percentile (yikes!) in Argentina to the >90th percentile in Berlin (I have to research more the latter). Also, my current bonuses and virtual shares. MC/OC3
  5. My GitHub contributions to the most important project at my current company (I am the top contributor since I have joined the company). Also, some contributions to other important projects in the company. OC3
  6. LoR from the VP of Product of my current company, stating my leadership skills and that I am a significant contributor, together with profit numbers of the company, an AdTech startup that’s profitable since 6 years ago (founded 8 years ago), being one of the most important in the sector (proof of that) and documents showing the legal entity the company opened in UK, so it is available to contribute there. MC/OC3
  7. I’ve used this point to put some interactions with the community: my GitHub profile, showing my contributions to the Open Source (they are not a lot, and mostly in closed source); the formal acceptance to give a talk in the most important tech event in Latin America (proofs of that as well) and my email denying such opportunity given that I had a visa appointment at the time (proof of the appointment). Also, the assistance to the most important tech conferences in Europe this year. MC

Thanks in advance

2

Have you applied, as a fellow software engineer I’m wondering how it went?

3

Hey, i am just asking for a review here. I think my initial statement was misleading, hehe. Cannot edit it now :frowning:

4

I think you should use your contribution to open source in the mandatory criteria as reference letters are not sufficient. How long did you contrinute o Open source?

5

Hi @Francisca_Chiedu thanks for your review,

For the MC I presented three types of evidences:

  • LoRs (not enough)
  • News stating the importance of a project I led (although the news in their own don’t show my contributions, all of them are about the product itself) (evidence 2)
  • History of earnings (evidence 4)

I can also include my contributions to my company’s most important project in GitHub (evidence 5, used only for OC3 for now). It can only be screenshots as project is private.
Same with the project mentioned in the news. Such project is private, but I am the biggest contributor, and I can show screenshots of the repository statistics of contribution.

6

yes, you can show screenshots and explain your contribution