Winning Industry Awards: Tips for Success and Recognition
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How to Secure an Industry Award
Recently, I had the privilege of serving as a judge for the European Software Testing Awards. You might be reminded of Mahatma Gandhi's words: “Imperfect men have no right to judge other imperfect men.” While that sentiment holds some truth (and I’m certain he meant “people”), in this context, we can make some exceptions.
Being a judge does necessitate a certain level of scrutiny. Now, I didn’t don a fancy curly wig as one might expect of a traditional judge, though I do have one tucked away in the kids’ dress-up box for emergencies—just in case that unlikely scenario arises!
Setting Gandhi’s wisdom aside and momentarily ignoring my wig collection, I eagerly accepted the challenge and prepared for the role ahead—Judgey McJudgeface was ready to roll!
The awards are now celebrating their 9th year, independently recognizing achievements within the software testing community. They invite submissions from businesses, teams, and individuals throughout Europe and culminate in a grand ceremony in London, where finalists learn the winners across 14 diverse categories. These categories encompass various aspects such as teams, projects, and innovations. Each judge is assigned a specific category and criteria to narrow down the finalists, with all judges scoring them to determine the ultimate winners.
When the time arrived for me to evaluate my category, I was taken aback by the volume of entries and the length of many submissions. I was committed to ensuring fairness and consistency in my scoring based on the provided criteria. My usual Sunday evening Netflix binge was sacrificed as I settled into a dimly lit office with a spreadsheet, notepad, and a stack of entries. My only companions were a steaming cup of tea and an optimistic cat.
The submissions showcased a fascinating array of modern techniques, technologies, and perspectives that were both engaging and enlightening. The core question remained: “What is the award-winning endeavor that has been accomplished?” However, if you believe your work deserves recognition, there are several additional tips that might elevate your entry from simply good to truly outstanding—small details can make a significant difference in a competitive environment.
These tips will help direct the judges’ focus while also easing their workload, which is beneficial as they sip their fifth cup of tea and nibble on the last jammy dodger.
Use the Appropriate Category
The inclination might be to submit entries across numerous categories: “More chances to win, right?” However, it’s crucial to resist that urge. Concentrate on the categories that align best with your entry, and refine your submission to cater specifically to them. Quality will always outshine quantity in this scenario. Submitting the same content for multiple categories can come across as vague rather than sharply focused.
Refer to the Criteria
Each category will likely have several associated criteria. It may seem obvious, but it’s essential to address each of these criteria as thoroughly as possible. These are the benchmarks that judges will utilize for scoring, and they are often weighted equally. A strong submission that fails to provide “evidence of overcoming obstacles” (if listed as a criterion) will suffer in scoring, which can detrimentally affect your overall score. Given the competitive nature of these awards, every point counts.
These criteria are so vital that I’d recommend structuring your submission around them as headings. This approach ensures comprehensive coverage and simplifies the judges’ tasks.
Use Complete Sentences
While it may sound simplistic, using full sentences significantly aids judges in grasping the narrative of your potentially award-winning work. Bullet points can be effective for brief, context-sensitive items, but should not be overused. Additionally, organizing your sentences into paragraphs enhances readability; no one enjoys sifting through large blocks of text.
Name Your Entry
Company names are often redacted to minimize bias, so unless you want your submission referred to as “submission 3,” giving it a title is beneficial for easy reference. It also helps make the entry memorable to judges: “Serverless Digital Platform Team” is much easier to recall than “the team that did some refactoring of the website foundations to improve it over the course of a year.”
Stay Focused
Your submission may be groundbreaking for your organization and beyond, but it’s essential to keep the content narrowly focused on the specific category you’re targeting. Broadening the scope can dilute the entry, making it challenging to convey its value in relation to other ongoing initiatives. If your company’s profits have risen year-on-year, can you directly link this to your project and demonstrate that connection?
Leverage Clear Language
I’m not referring to the hopeful parental advice to “use your words” instead of whining or pointing. Instead, aim to use clear language rather than acronyms and initialisms. You may have been immersed in the jargon for an extended period, but for the judges, terms like “T.P.S. reporting M.T.E. being replaced by the C.I.C.O. implementation of F.U.N.K.Y.” could be perplexing. At the very least, ensure you explain any abbreviations early in your submission.
Utilize Data
How can you substantiate the success of your work? More importantly, how can judges verify this? The answer lies in the data. The metrics you choose should effectively demonstrate value in a clear manner. Use this data to reinforce your argument that your entry is the one deserving of the award.
Concluding Thoughts
That’s it! Most of this advice is grounded in common sense. While these tips won’t compensate for a weak idea, they could offer a crucial advantage if you’re competing against equally strong submissions.
Judgey McJudgeface has concluded his deliberations on this matter—over and out (or is that for auctioneers?).
Let me know if you find these tips helpful or if you have any additional suggestions!
In this video, "How to Win Awards in Your Industry," you’ll discover effective strategies and insights that can enhance your chances of winning prestigious awards.
The second video, "WINNER! Awards are Easy to Win and Have HUGE IMPACT on SMALL BUSINESSES!" explores how small businesses can leverage awards for significant benefits.