Hi,
I am grateful to have found this community and especially grateful to the volunteers who have shared their knowledge in this forum. Thank you for everything that you do. I am requesting assistance in appealing my rejection - I was awarded OC1 but not MC or OC4.
Please find below the list of my evidences, the feedback that was provided and so far my draft of appeal. I’d truly appreciate your feedback and assistance in this process.
MC Evidence:
- Employment Contract & Payslip from Mar 2024 which includes 10% discretionary increase to bonus
- Internal excel dashboard that reflects success of a Product A that I developed in terms of revenue generated demonstrating that we are on our way to exceed revenue expectations
- Participation in top tier podcast (screenshot and link)
- Event A I presented in where 18,000 people were present (website has my name + letter from organiser talking about how important my research is, why I was invited and how successful the panel was)
LORs:
- Professor & Chair of CS department in a top tier university
- Managing Director of a non-profit where I have done some volunteer work in data science
- Former Executive Director at my current company who was my signing manager
OC1 Evidence (Awarded):
- Letter from Director stating revenue impact of analysis I spearheaded + PPT showcasing my analysis and role in project
- PPT showcasing an ML project I am leading
- PPT regarding my analysis, role and internal slide showing revenue we have generated for Product A
OC4 Evidence:
- Letter from Director of LMN program (extremely selective program in top tier UK university) saying I was top 1% of cohort
- Grant letter saying I was awarded $X for application of digital technology in non-profit
- Award of excellence that recognizes “top 10% of graduating class” + Scholarship letters
Here is the feedback that I received:
This is my appeal related to specific sections:
1. Responding to feedback related to MC:
As highlighted in LOR3 from X, who was my signing manager and the Executive Director of Y at Z (as noted on page 1 of the MC evidence titled “Emp_Contract”), I was the “founding engineer who spearheaded the analytics division” of Product A, a pivotal product projected to generate $6 million in revenue by 2025. To support this claim, I have submitted an internal dashboard tracker (as seen in MC evidence titled “Dashboard”) which is a pivotal tool in monitoring performance revenue wins, in addition to OC1 evidence titled “RT1” slide 2 that vividly demonstrates my central role in Product A’s success. The internal dashboard tracker reveals a 400.3% increase in revenue just between June and July, given the continuous innovative improvement methods under my leadership. The collaboration with Company S has resulted in increasing our reach and helping us advance beyond our $6M goal. While direct external documentation is not available due to the proprietary nature of our work, my leadership’s strategic impact is reflected in X’s detailed account, highlighting key decisions influenced by my contributions. Furthermore, all projects mentioned in this application have been spearheaded by me, underscoring my leadership and direct contributions to these initiatives as evidenced by supplementary letters such as OC1 LOR titled “NPS”.
My Additional comment: I understand that an external link could help here but given the nature of the product, there are no external links. What else can I show as evidence?
2. Responding to feedback related to LORs:
All three of my recommenders are acknowledged experts in digital technology who have made significant contributions to the field and society:
• LOR1: Professor A’s endorsement highlights the significant impact of my advanced analytics work, particularly in the development of methodologies that have influenced industry practices and set new standards. His recognition, as the Chair of CS at University B, as my professor and mentor underscores my role in pioneering these approaches, which have been instrumental in shaping strategic decisions and achieving tangible results.
• LOR2: C leads the Q as the Managing Director, where she leverages digital technology to drive societal impact. Her extensive experience in using data and technology to foster socio-economic change underscores her expertise.
• LOR3: LOR3, authored by X, the Executive Director at Z, has a proven track record of leading analytics divisions across international companies and developing multi-million-dollar digital products. He was my signing manager, not merely a colleague (as can be seen on pg 1 MC evidence titled “Emp_Contract”). His LOR provides a detailed account of my role in developing a product projected to generate $6 million in revenue. To further illustrate my impact, I would like to note that this product has directly influencing our market share and positioning us as a leader in drug development.
I appreciate the feedback regarding the need for greater detail in these letters. I would like to highlight the following sections:
• LOR2, Page 2, Paragraph 2: “Applicant’s innovative application of data analytics and digital tools has greatly enhanced the accessibility and impact of our cultural programs, helping us strategize for hyper-inclusivity and economic growth across our city.” This highlights the significant influence of my data analytics methodologies on enhancing accessibility and impact, leading to a increased engagement and better strategic funding.
• LOR3, Paragraph 3: “By expertly leveraging her proficiency in SQL and Python, she integrated a diverse set of data and performed in-depth statistical analysis to uncover key trends and insights into customer behaviors, guiding our engagement decisions. Her efforts culminated in the development of a product projected to generate $6 million in revenue by 2025. Applicant continues to lead the implementation and growth of this product, making substantial improvements.” This provides insight into the product’s role in expanding our market share by 12%, confirming our leadership position in diagnostic.
These examples illustrate my technical abilities and leadership in driving impactful digital technology projects. Each recommender’s expertise and detailed assessment of my work underscore my exceptional promise in this field.
3. Salary and Experience Comparison:
My compensation package of £X, including a 10% bonus, reflects my role in high-impact projects like 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 (submitted for OC1). This exceeds industry salary ranges reported by Glassdoor, Indeed, and Payscale. Within our company, the median salary for data scientists with similar experience is approximately £66.7K (link), and my compensation is aligned with our internal metrics for top performers yet is significantly higher given my exceptional performance which led to a further 10% bonus increase, as detailed in the evidence provided (as can be seen on pg 3, MC evidence titled “Emp_Contract”).
Here is the average salary of data scientists:
• Glassdoor (UK): £38K-£62K
• Indeed (City-specific): £48,448
• Payscale (UK): £41,359
My Additional comment: This part of the feedback really surprised me because of how much my salary was out of the ranges reported by these sites.
4. Academic Contributions and OC4:
While my research has not yet been published, it has been recognized and applied in significant ways within the industry. This recognition is why I was invited to speak at Event A, as mentioned in the letter by the Director of Event A (as seen in MC evidence “Event”): “We specifically invited Applicant because of her innovative research and passionate advocacy in the field of digital technology.” Further, my research led to my feature on a Spotify podcast, which is “in the top 5% of most shared podcasts listened to in more than 50 countries,” and this episode was deemed the “top episode of the year” in 2022 (as seen in MC evidence “Podcast”). Additionally, I have utilized my research during the highly selective and rigorous LMN program, where I was ranked in the “top 1% of my cohort” (as seen in OC4 evidence titled “S_Letter”), to inform and guide non-profits internationally as well as in the UK.
The methodologies I developed, such as segmentation analysis, have been applied in various non-profit projects, resulting in a 20% increase in public engagement and optimized fiscal investments for non-profit Q (as noted in LOR2). This consistent, practical application of my research has been widely appreciated by academic institutions such as University B in the form of prestigious grants (as can be seen in OC4 evidence titled “Grant”) as well as in recognition from senior management that demonstrates the real-world impact of my research (as noted in LOR2 page 1, last paragraph). This is why I was awarded the highly sought “Award of Excellence” and year after-year, given my exceptional academic record and leadership, I was also given a high amount of scholarship year after year (as seen in OC4 evidence titled “Awards”). At present, I am preparing to submit my research on Clustering methodologies to the Journal of Big Data, aiming to address segmentation analysis challenges and advance applied machine learning techniques.
