Stage 1 Material Prep - Digital Tech Promise

Stage 1
1

Hi friends, my name is Qiana, I am on the process of applying for the Stage 2 for the GTV Exceptional Promise route, and I have some enquires on the Endorsement(3 different recommendation letters).
Here’s my background information to help you have a basic understanding of who I am before you continue to read through this post:

  • Current role: Partner Outreach Manager(no pay).
  • Work experience(to date): Social Media Marketing Intern, Content Marketing.
  • IT Skillsets(with Github portfolios): Python, SQL, Java, HTML, Pandas, Numpy, Tableau.
  • Self development: Google Analytics, SEO Marketing, video creating & advertising, foreign languages(fluency in Chinese, English, Korean, German) & Korean translation(news, social media contents).
  • Academic background: Bachelor’s in Auditing; Master’s in International Business Management with Merit.

It’s said that the evidence document should be submitted within the next 15 days, which is quite tight on the deadline. I am a little worried about two things:

  1. Who should I turn to? As stated on the Tech Nation guide, the endorser should either be a senior member of their organisation or creative founders in digital technology. The way I see it, the qualified endorser does not necessarily to be a C-Suite Executive, as long as the company they work for is reputable and international, but I haven’t yet built deep enough connections with potential prospects, either they’re way too occupied with replying tons of messages at work to see my request, or I just don’t have too many interactions with them. How should I fix this issue and adapt my way approaching the right people?

  2. What if I didn’t get to submit all the three recommendation letters by the end of the deadline? I am a little worried about this as you can’t tell when people are available to reply and how willing they will be to take your requests. Additionally, I am considering digital publications, with which I can get more credit for being accepted, however, it takes a lot of time and energy to finish. I haven’t published any paper or article outside of networking platforms like Linkedin, so and I am unsure how I would succeed in this case.

Any suggestions and advice are welcomed! Thank you for anyone who generously contributes her/his opinion :woman_technologist:t2:

2

Do you have other evidence outside of the letters of recommendation? And how do they fit into Tech Nation’s requirements because LoRs are simply not enough? If you do, then I would suggest that you ask for a meeting with them and present your case. If this isn’t feasible, then you should call UKVI and ask for a refund until you can get all your letters and other evidence in order.

1 Like
3

Apart from the letters of recommendation, I’ve uploaded a blend of materials, including:

  • Uni transcript of my Master’s degree with Merit
  • An on-hold job application for Deloitte that reached the stage of Assessment Centre
  • My past Korean translation project
  • A job offer(invalid due to visa issues) from a marketing company based in the UK
  • Marketing internship completion letter from the firm CEO
  • Self-developed Google certificate
  • Collaborative partnership with a tech startup

Hope the information above is insightful.

4

Have you reviews the Tech Nation guide Tech Nation Visa Guide - Tech Nation ?

I think most people will gather all the evidence and letter in advance and only then apply for endorsement. 15 days is tight but you may be able to make it.

5

Yes, I’ve read it. I am currently working on enhancing my Github portfolio and and discussing it with data scientists I connected with on Linkedin, so I think they may be the qualified endorsers that’d probably to proceed the request of my recommendation letter?

6

The guide states that recommenders should have “detailed knowledge of your work over a period of 12 months or more”.
How well aquatinted are you with these Linkedin contacts?

7

Considering the length of the period, I may have a couple of prospects (around 26 from IT industry)that meet the criteria, however, I don’t have much of conversations with most of them. I can pick up to 4-5 people that I developed a great relationship with, but are not all in the big companies or based in the UK.

8

I think you should only apply when you have most of your supporting documents. The documents you have shared doesn’t cut it.