This article is also posted on Wouter’s blog, the original author.
One of the questions that the vExpert PRO’s get is what people need to add to their vExpert application for it to be successful. While the things we do during the year are different for everyone, the first thing you need to do is to write everything down as extensively as possible. I will use my own current application as an example of how you can write everything down. There is no single truth to creating your application so you should see it as inspiration for creating your own.
One remark before you start editing or creating your application: make sure to save as often as possible. The vExpert portal needs to have a timeout and you wouldn’t be the first person where it times out and the progress hasn’t been saved and thus lost. I prefer to keep track of everything in a word document.
Preparation:
- During the year keep track of your activities, this way you won’t forget anything.
(Required) Ingredients for this recipe are:
- Qualification path
- Write down activities
- Add url’s to activities if available
- Be as extensive as possible
- Work with a vExpert PRO
Step 1, Qualification path:
You need to select a qualification path. I could try as a partner as I work for ControlUp but I always use evangelist as all of my work in the community is done on my own credentials.VCDX are automatically vExperts but these are always checked against the VCDX directory so there’s no way to cheat there.
Step 2, Checkboxes:
If you created content make sure to select all the relevant checkboxes
Step 3 Other Media:
Give examples of the content you have created. There is no need to list every blog post but I always add links to the ones that I think are the most useful for the community. While I don’t consider views count relevant I do add a total amount of posts and views.
Step 3 Events and speaking:
Been an (online) event speaker or Podcast guest? You can list those here, if possible add a link for proof of these. For VMUG events I know a lot of the old links give a 404 these days so make sure they work at the moment of submitting. If you can’t get a direct link to the event maybe you can find tweets about it that you were presenting so add those (I would advise to mention why you did that though). If you are an organizer of something like I do with the EMEA Breakfast events those can also be listed here. I won’t hold it against you when voting if you don’t have an attendance count but if you have it it’s even better.
Step 4 Communities, Tools and Resources:
Tools & resources: Here is where you can link that nifty GitHub repo where you share all your scripts. I for example list my Personal GitHub profile but also the links to the vCheck for Horizon and the python module for Horizon as those are the main projects I worked on.
Communities: List every and any related community that you are active on, this includes Discord channels, Slack channels, forums etc even if they are not in English. Make sure to add a link to your profile or post history so the people who are voting can easily find your activity. If there’s no link available you can at least post your username.
Step 5, VMware Programs:
This is where you can list all your vExpert titles but also things like VMware Champions, VMware {code} CodeCoach, beta programs, work as certification SME, Tanzu heroes, VMware Influencers and what not.
Step 6 Other Activities:
Here’s where you can list the things that aren’t publicly available so it can be very relevant for Customers & partners. I list the work that I internally do at ControlUp even if it is related to my work.
Step 7, references:
If you have a VMware employee that you worked a lot with and that can vouch for you make sure to check that box and list their email address. The same applies for the vExpert PRO that you worked with.
You don’t need to be a community crazy person like I am to become a vExpert but as said the most successful recipe for a successful application is to write everything down as extensively as possible. Do you have something that you don’t know if it helps? Just add it, it might be the thing that completes the picture for the PRO’s when we start voting.
If you want to reach out to a vExpert pro you can find the directory here and there’s also Facebook and Linkedin Groups.
Be sure to checkout my blog at https://www.retouw.nl where I discuss
