Applications for joining the Tech Speaker Program (2018)

Speaking
#1

Hello, everybody!

Mozilla Tech Speakers is a program aiming at creating a community of technical specialists interested to promote the open web by speaking in public, giving workshops or training.

Most of our Tech Speakers already served in their communities as technical evangelists and educators before they join the program. Many, but not all, also contribute to Mozilla. All support the open web.

We are pleased to announce that the application period for a new onboarding cohort is now open!

Who: Anybody interested in becoming a Mozilla Tech Speaker. We are looking for people who are interested in technical communication. The program is global and we encourage people from everywhere to participate.

When: The onboarding itself will happen from January to the end of February 2019.

What to do: to apply, you need to fill the application form. In this application form, you will be asked to share a video of you speaking, as well as to share your experience in addressing technical audiences, and what motivates you to join the program.

Deadline: Applications will close on November 22nd, 2018 at 11 pm Pacific Time

We will review the different applications and will select candidates with the greater potential, depending on our needs and their ability to demonstrate they can be advocates of the open web.

If you get accepted, you will be expected to complete a few introductory lessons – one once a week between mid-November and the end of January. The precise calendar will be communicated to the accepted applicants. There won’t be sessions during the festive period at the end of the year.

For the Tech Speaker Team,
Jean-Yves Perrier

3 Likes
#2

Hello, everybody!

As you probably know, we have opened applications for our next cohort of Tech Speakers.

I would like to give you some extra information about what will be asked in the application form.

  1. You can only fill the application once. If you fill it several times, only the first application will be considered. This is done voluntarily as conferences will often not allow you to amend a proposal you submit.
  2. We will first ask you some basic data: name, email address and country are mandatory, but other information, like a Mozillian.org pseudo or your LinkedIn profile, can be also given.
  3. We will ask you to post a link to a video of you speaking. We want to have a sense of your level, with at least 60 seconds of you speaking. It doesn’t need to be a public event, but a link to you giving a talk is perfectly fine. You can create a video of you speaking for this. Just use your mobile phone, it is perfectly fine. It can be a technical presentation, a personal presentation, a pitch. Remember: we want to see you speaking in front of a camera, and it needs to be at least 60 seconds.
  4. We want to know about your activities: you will be asked for your GitHub repo (if you have one), to more links to you speaking or having written blog posts or presentation about tech. You can link slide decks you have produced and available online, videos, blogs, … Our goal is to know what is your activity: most tech speakers are already active in their community.
  5. We will ask you to pitch yourself: a small text explaining why you think you are a good fit for the program.
  6. Finally, we will ask you a few questions about your goals: what are the topics of interest that you would like to speak about, why you want to join the program.
  7. We are also curious to know how you heard about us and any other feedback: we want to improve!

I recommend you to record the video before starting to fill the form, as well to think about the answer to the different questions.

If you have any question, feel free to ask them here on Discourse, or to e-mail me (jperrier@mozilla.com)

Cheers,
Jean-Yves, for the Tech Speaker Program

FAQ

  • Do I need to speak English?
    You need a certain level of English: all the communication in the program happens in English, as well as the sessions, meetings and meetups. You need to be able to read English and understand spoken English. You don’t need to be absolutely fluent when speaking in English: a tech speaker can be active in another language than English. Nevertheless, we need to evaluate your content, so for your application, if you want to submit your demo video in another language, please contact us in advance so we can check that somebody who will understand your language can assess you.
  • Can I re-submit my application?
    If you have already submitted your application during this year application process, you can’t submit an amended version. If you do so, we will consider the first one! If you have submitted an application for another cohort: yes, please submit it again!
  • What is the deadline for the submission?
    Nov 4, 2018, 11pm Pacific Time
  • What if I don’t have a video of me speaking on YouTube?
    We don’t need a video of you on YouTube, or even at a public event. You can record a 60-second (or longer) video of you, even with your phone, and put it in the cloud (that is a place that has URL), and share this URL with us (we should have access to it, though!)
  • What if I don’t have a video of me publicly speaking?
    To assess you, we need to see you speak, but not necessarily in public. You can record a 60-second (or longer) video of you, even with your phone, and put in the cloud (that is a place that has URL), and share this URL with us (we should have access to it, though!)
  • When will I know if I’m accepted?
    We will contact all applicant mid-November and tell them if they are accepted.
1 Like
#3

¡Hola @teoli!

Can one apply again if already a member of a previous cohort to do a refresher or is that not allowed?

¡Gracias!
Alex

#4

Hi Alex. People who are part of the program will be able to attend the sessions and do not need to apply.

Cheers,

#5

Hi all!

We have decided to extend the deadline from Nov 4th to Nov 22nd, 2019, 11pm.

Thanks all!

2 Likes
2017/2018 cohort likely to happen?
#6

Extended date added to the UK Community Calendar.

1 Like
#7

Hi there, when will the speakers for this cohort be decided on and will we hear if we are not successful?

#8

Hi!

We here on the Tech Speakers Team would like to share a quick update with you on the planned selection and onboarding process for the 2018/2019 Tech Speakers cohort.

Firstly, we would like to thank each of you who have taken the time and effort to submit their application to become a Mozilla Tech Speaker. The applications that we have received have been well thought out and of very good quality. We thank you all for showing such a great interest in the program; the response has been truly amazing.

The incredible response that we have received has led to a interesting problem for our team: the influx of several hundred more applications than we originally anticipated. Giving these individual applications the careful thought, review, and consideration that is required to be able to assess and process each fairly has taken more time than we initially scheduled.

Consequently, in order to review each application objectively and make the (very difficult) choices needed, we need more time than we initially expected.

We would therefore like to communicate our updated and revised timeline for this round of onboarding into the Tech Speakers program. Our new timeline is as follows:

January 15th: all applicants will get an e-mail announcing whether or not their application was selected to continue. Those who have been selected will also be assigned to an onboarding group at this time. Due to the the volume of applications received, we will be unable to provide specific feedback as to why certain applications were not selected.

January 18th - January 27th, you will be contacted by the facilitator of your group. The facilitator will discuss your specific group’s schedule and timetable for the onboarding sessions.

Feb 4th to Mar 10th: There will be 6 group onboarding sessions (of 1h - 1.5h each), typically held once per week. Facilitators will evaluate each individual’s performance to determine if program standards have been met. Once approved by facilitators and confirmed by staff, you will be integrated in the program as official Mozilla Tech Speakers at the end of March. There will be a last session held during the last week of March covering administrative details and providing the information you will need to successfully navigate the Tech Speakers program.

The newly onboarded speakers will be formally part of the program from April 1st, 2019.

We want to again thank all of the applicants and we hope you will bear with this small delay.

7 Likes
#9

Hi!
Have the acceptance/rejection emails been rolled out?

#10

The Tech Speaker team has reviewed all of the submitted applications. Over the past few days we have been meeting to finalize our consideration set down to a list of ~45 individuals whom we will be able to grant access to this round of onboarding. Due to the volume of applications that we received, applicants should expect a response email to arrive in their inbox within the next 48 hours.

2 Likes
#11

Results of the 2018 end-of-year Mozilla TechSpeakers application period are now in! Check your mailboxes! :mailbox: Everyone who applied should have received a response, regardless of the decision—if you haven’t, please reach out.

1 Like
#13

I just missed out but wanted to extend my congratulations to the team supporting this new roll-out, and to the many successful applicants in this round. Really excited about even more folks stepping up to publicly drive a stronger voice from within our communities.

Wishing you all every success!