TL;DR – What you need to know
- Your evidence pack is 10 documents + 3 letters + CV + personal statement
- Each document should make one clear point about your impact
- Use clear labels and cross-references so assessors can follow your story
- Think in "claims", not just documents — what does each piece prove?
- Assessors have limited time — make it obvious, not clever
1 What an Evidence Pack Actually Is
When you apply for endorsement, you're allowed to submit a specific set of materials. The exact format varies slightly by endorsing body, but across the main Global Talent routes (digital technology, arts & culture, and academia/research) it typically includes:
Personal statement
Your narrative and how you meet the criteria
CV / Resume
Your career timeline and key roles
3 recommendation letters
From senior people who can vouch for your work
Up to 10 evidence documents
Proof of your impact, recognition, and innovation
The 10 evidence documents are where most people struggle. These aren't just random PDFs — they're the proof points that back up your story and show assessors you meet the criteria.
Think of it like a legal case
Your personal statement is the argument. Your letters are witness testimony. Your 10 documents are the exhibits — the hard evidence that proves your claims.
2 Anatomy of a Strong Evidence Pack
A strong pack has three qualities that make it easy for assessors to understand and trust:
1. Clarity
Each document has a clear purpose and a clear label. The assessor doesn't have to guess what they're looking at or why it matters.
2. Consistency
The story in your personal statement matches the story in your letters and CV. The dates, roles, and achievements all line up.
3. Credibility
Your evidence comes from verifiable sources — press/reviews, institutional announcements, public metrics (audience/users/citations), invited talks/performances/lectures, publications/grants, open-source/public work, etc.
If your pack has these three qualities, assessors can quickly understand your impact and feel confident endorsing you. If it's missing any of them, they'll hesitate — even if your actual achievements are strong.
3 Choosing Your 10 Evidence Documents
The biggest mistake people make is treating the 10 documents as a random collection of "impressive things." Instead, think of them as a portfolio of claims that map to the criteria.
Step 1: Map your achievements to criteria
Start by listing your key achievements in the last 3-5 years. For each one, ask:
- What outcome did this create? (revenue, users, research impact, community growth, etc.)
- Who else knows about it? (press, investors, users, peers, etc.)
- Which criterion does it support? (innovation, impact, recognition, etc.)
Example mapping
Example (Digital Technology): Led a product launch that scaled to 100K users in 6 months
Outcome
100K users, measurable growth or revenue impact
Evidence
Public announcement + metrics screenshot + credible letter confirming your role
Criteria
Impact + Leadership
Example (Arts & Culture): Commissioned work presented by a recognised institution
Outcome
Commission + public presentation + critical/audience response
Evidence
Programme/credit listing + institutional letter + press review or curated selection
Criteria
Recognition + Impact
Example (Academia/Research): Led research that resulted in peer-reviewed output
Outcome
Publication(s), citations, invited talk, or funded grant
Evidence
Paper acceptance/DOI + citation page + grant award letter + letter from PI confirming contribution
Criteria
Recognition + Leadership
Step 2: Choose documents that prove each claim
For each achievement, identify the single best piece of evidence that proves it. This could be:
Step 3: Balance your portfolio
Your 10 documents should collectively cover:
- The mandatory criterion (leadership/potential)
- At least 2 optional criteria (innovation, impact, recognition, etc.)
- Different types of evidence (not all press, not all metrics)
- Different time periods (showing sustained impact, not just one moment)
Quality over quantity
You don't need to use all 10 slots if you don't have 10 strong pieces. 8 clear, credible documents are better than 10 weak ones.
4 Labeling and Cross-Referencing Like a Pro
Once you've chosen your documents, the next step is to make them easy to navigate. Assessors are reading quickly — they need to know what they're looking at and why it matters.
Use clear, descriptive filenames
Don't use generic names like evidence_1.pdf or screenshot.png. Instead, use
filenames that describe what the document proves:
Bad filenames
- evidence_1.pdf
- screenshot.png
- article.pdf
- metrics.xlsx
Good filenames
- TechCrunch_ProductLaunch_2023.pdf
- GitHub_5K_Stars_OpenSourceLib.png
- Forbes_AI_Leader_Interview.pdf
- Analytics_100K_Users_6Months.png
Add a cover page or annotation to each document
For each evidence document, add a brief cover page or annotation that explains:
- What this document is (e.g., "Press coverage in TechCrunch")
- What it proves (e.g., "Shows innovation and public recognition for our AI product")
- Which criterion it supports (e.g., "Optional Criterion 1: Innovation")
- Where it's referenced (e.g., "See personal statement, page 3, paragraph 2")
Example cover page
Evidence Document 3
External Recognition: Public Feature / Review / Publication
Cross-reference in your personal statement
In your personal statement, when you make a claim, reference the evidence document that proves it:
"In March 2023, I led the launch of our AI-powered analytics platform, which was covered by TechCrunch [Evidence Doc 3] and grew to 100,000 users within 6 months [Evidence Doc 4]."
This makes it easy for assessors to verify your claims without hunting through documents.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
Here are the patterns we see in weaker evidence packs:
Mistake 1: Documents that prove nothing specific
A 20-page company deck or a generic LinkedIn profile screenshot doesn't prove a specific claim. Assessors won't hunt through it to find the relevant bit.
Fix: Extract the specific page or section that proves your point, and annotate it.
Mistake 2: Internal documents with no external validation
An internal performance review or a Slack message from your manager isn't credible to an external assessor. They need evidence that's verifiable by a third party.
Fix: Use press, public metrics, conference invitations, or letters from external stakeholders.
Mistake 3: No clear link between statement and evidence
You claim you "led a major product launch" in your statement, but none of your evidence documents clearly show this. Assessors won't connect the dots for you.
Fix: Use cross-references and make sure every major claim has a corresponding evidence document.
Mistake 4: Inconsistent dates or roles
Your CV says you were "Head of Product" from 2021-2023, but your evidence shows a product launch in 2020 where you're credited as "Product Lead." Small inconsistencies create doubt.
Fix: Make sure dates, titles, and company names are consistent across all documents.
Mistake 5: Too much "noise" in screenshots
A screenshot of a dashboard with 20 different metrics and no highlighting makes it hard to see what you want the assessor to notice.
Fix: Crop, highlight, or annotate screenshots to draw attention to the key number or fact.
6 Final Checklist Before You Submit
Before you submit your evidence pack, run through this checklist:
Evidence Pack Checklist
The "fresh eyes" test
Ask someone who doesn't know your work to read your pack. If they can understand your story and see why you're a leader in your field without asking you questions, you're ready.
Need help building your evidence pack?
We'll map your achievements to the criteria, design your narrative, and stress-test your evidence so you submit with confidence.