Seeking early feedback on my case for Exceptional Promise

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Hello!

I’m a Product Marketer at a tech company with over 7 years of experience. My background is a mix of general/brand marketing and product marketing.

I would appreciate some early feedback on my current situation to assess my chances of getting endorsed. I have a few concerns, particularly regarding contributions outside of my work, such as media appearances and non-profit activities, and I’m planning to work on this. Also I took the Readiness Check on TechNation, and I didn’t pass.

Another concern is that, despite having over 7 years of experience, I’m a bit pessimistic about applying for the Exceptional Talent route. Hence I’m considering the Exceptional Promise route instead.

Here’s my case so far:

Mandatory Criteria:

MC #1: High salary

  • I’m at scale 4 in my company’s Wage Structure (which ranges from 1 to 4) and my salary is about 2X higher than the general market average for similar experience.
  • Question: Which salary data source is most appropriate for comparison? Should I focus on tech industry-specific averages or a broader context?

MC #2: Leading the Launch of a Safety Feature for Women Drivers

  • As the Product Marketing Lead in a leading tech-company in Southeast Asia, I spearheaded a launch that drove an X% improvement in driver’s productivity and create safer environment for women drivers. Context is in Southeast Asia where gender bias still occur, this feature lower down the barrier for women to participate in gig-economy, especially ride-hailing which mainly dominated by men in my region.
  • Evidence (1) An article published on my company website where I’m listed as the writer. (2) I will also get a statement from the Business Owner to support this.
  • There is a local media publish an article about this also but no mention of my name.

MC #3. Startup Marketing

  • While working as the lead marketer for a startup, we achieved #1 iOS beauty app status in my country (July 2020).
  • Evidence: (1) Screenshot of the App Store rankings, (2) Statement from the Founder.
  • Question: Since this was some time ago and I’ve since transitioned into Product Marketing, would this still fit my narrative?

Optional Criteria

OC #1. Speaker at Online Webinar

  • I was a speaker at an online marketing webinar 4 years ago.
  • Evidence: (1) Webinar event page ticket, (2) Letter of Agreement.
  • Question: This event was quite long time ago and I don’t have a photo of the event or numbers of participants

OC #2. Marketing Campaign Awards

  • I was part of a team that launched a marketing campaign (in the tech company) that won multiple awards.
  • Evidence: (1) Screenshot from the organiser’s website with my campaign listed and my name mentioned and (2) I will get a statement from my manager to confirm my involvement.
  • Question: Since I’m now in Product Marketing (not general marketing), is this still a relevant achievement for my application?

Appreciate any feedback on this. Thank you!

2

You need to read the Technation Guideline then structure your evidences based on that. That would make it easier to give feedback.

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@Oladips Thanks for your prompt response! Have edited my post for easier reading! I’m still uncertain about which should go to mandatory and which should be optional. Was hoping to get feedback on this too

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For MC1, high salary is good but it doesn’t tell how you have been recognised as a global leading talent. If you could pair it with more evidences then it would be good.

For MC3, looks weak atm. You need to state your contribution and how it led to the ios app being the number 1 beauty app in the country.

Also, you need to submit at least two evidences for each OC.

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@Oladips got it! Should I be concerned on the nuances I marked as “question” as some of them are quite old but still within 5 years.

Do you have any recommendations of evidence for MC #1?

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@Francisca_Chiedu @Maya @hsafra @pahuja could I also get more thoughts from you for other pairs of eyes please? I’m especially concerned about the lack of public work (which I’m planning to address as I aim to apply Q2 next year) and whether my current case/experience is seen as having potential. I’ve noticed mixed feedback on how difficult / easy it is to get approved, so any insights would be really helpful.

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Hi @isabela_dian It is unclear which 2 OCs are you applying for. You need atleast 2 evidences towards 2 OCs.

Without photos and attendee size > 100, the online webinar would be a weak speaking evidence.

You need to show your personal significant contribution, its impact and award. It will be considered a team award if you were part of a bigger team contribution that was awarded. Also if it was an internal award, it wont be valid.

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Thanks @pahuja!

For the marketing award, I’m thinking to put under (3) How do I demonstrate that I have made a significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as a founder, senior executive, board member or employee of a product-led digital technology company. It’s an external award, other than that the campaign also had business impact such as user acquisition and low cost of conversion - but yeah it’s a team effort. Would this still count?

Also, it seems the online webinar won’t meet the criteria then.

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Your evidence are not compelling. For MC2, aside the self authored article and external publication, what other evidence do you have to show prove of leading product?
Your mandatory evidence do not show how you are a recognised leader. Nothing external outside of your work…

For OC2, if you don’t have pictures of the speaking event, video and letter from the organiser it may be week. Besides is the evidence linger than 5 years?
Generally, your evidence are not convincing m