Application Response Builder

This page provides templates for responding to the Outreach Program for Women applications. Please feel free to add in personalized feedback about the applications or identify common scenarios that should be added to this page.

What to look for in the application for building a response:

• Did the applicant make a contribution?
• Did the applicant link to or attach her contribution?
• If an applicant is a design applicant, did she send in or link to her design portfolio?
• Did the applicant discuss details of her project with a mentor?
• What are the other time commitments the applicant will have?
• Is the applicant in school full time and a summer round would work better for her?
• Did the applicant send in .doc or .docx attachment?

Applications with a contribution

Everything is in order

• The applicant made a contribution
• The applicant links to or attaches her contribution
• The applicant had discussed the details of her project with a mentor
• If the applicant is a design applicant, she has sent in or linked to her design portfolio
• The applicant didn't send in .doc or .docx attachment
• The applicant has no major other time commitments during the duration of the program

Hi [APPLICANT FIRST NAME],

Thank you for your application and for your contribution to [APPLICANT'S ORGANIZATION]!

The list of accepted participants will be posted on https://live.gnome.org/OutreachProgramForWomen at 8pm GMT on December 11 and we'll be in touch shortly afterwards with personal feedback.

Thanks,
[RESPONDER FIRST NAME]

Applicant made multiple contributions

Change "contribution" to "contributions" in the first paragraph.

Contribution is mentioned, but not linked to or attached

Add the following in the end of the first paragraph.

Can you please send in an updated application that includes a link to your contribution or has it as an attachment?

Design applicant didn't attach or link to her portfolio

Add the following in the end of the first paragraph.

Please send in or provide a link to your design portfolio that shows some of your previous works.

Applicant is in school full time during the duration of the program

Add the following after the last paragraph.

If the applicant gave a lot of details about how she will balance school and the internship work load, include this in the beginning of the paragraph:

Thank you for giving some thought to how you can balance your school commitments and your participation in the program.

This program is expected to be a full-time effort. We will consider your application, however the fact that you are engaged with school throughout the length of the internship period is not ideal for this round, and it's possible that continuing to contribute to [APPLICANT'S ORGANIZATION] in your spare time and applying for the summer round and Google Summer of Code with [APPLICANT'S ORGANIZATION] is a better plan for you.

Applicant is has a full time during the duration of the program

Add the following after the last paragraph.

If the applicant gave a lot of details about how she will balance two jobs, include this in the beginning of the paragraph:

Thank you for giving some thought to how you can balance your job and your participation in the program.

This program is expected to be a full-time effort. We will consider your application, however it might be more appropriate for you to continue contributing to [APPLICANT'S ORGANIZATION] in your spare time, develop more experience contributing to Free and Open Source Software, and apply for a full time job in the field. You can review the opportunities linked to in the recent post by Sumana Harihareswara http://www.harihareswara.net/sumana/2012/12/01/0 and listed on the FOSS jobs board http://www.fossjobs.net .

Application has .doc or .docx attachment

Add the following after the last paragraph:

I also wanted to note that .doc and .docx are not open file formats, and .odt or .pdf are more appropriate file formats to use when communicating in the FOSS community.

Applications without a contribution

Organization selected

• The applicant has indicated what organization they want to work with, but have not made a contribution and is not mentioning working on one

Hi [APPLICANT FIRST NAME],

Thank you for your interest in the program! Completing a small contribution to the project you are interested in is required for applying for the program. You can find all the information about the program at https://live.gnome.org/OutreachProgramForWomen

Because you have not yet made the required contribution, we will not have a chance to consider your candidacy for this round. I would like to encourage you to learn more about [APPLICANT'S ORGANIZATION] and other Free and Open Source Software projects, try out the technology they create, start contributing to one of them in your spare time, and apply for the next round which will have internship dates from June to August, and an application deadline in April.

Thanks,
[RESPONDER FIRST NAME]

No organization selected

Hi [APPLICANT FIRST NAME],

Thank you for your interest in the program! To apply for the program you are required to connect with a mentor from one of the participating organizations, complete a small contribution for the project you are applying for, and complete the application form in full. You can find all the information about the program at https://live.gnome.org/OutreachProgramForWomen

Because you have not yet made the required contribution, we will not have a chance to consider your candidacy for this round. I would like to encourage you to learn more about different Free and Open Source Software projects, try out the technology they create, start contributing to one of them in your spare time, and apply for the next round which will have internship dates from June to August, and an application deadline in April.

Thanks,
[RESPONDER FIRST NAME]

If an applicant with no contribution is in school

Add the following to the end of the last paragraph:

You should also keep an eye out and consider applying for Google Summer of Code, which is usually announced on http://google-opensource.blogspot.com sometime in February. The mentors from the organizations participating in this program are available to help informally outside of the program too and you can find  mentors from more organizations on http://code.google.com/p/google-summer-of-code/wiki/Mentors .

Responding early (no longer applicable)

An applicant already made a contribution

Add the following to the end of the first paragraph:

Please feel free to continue contributing in your spare time, and send in another update to your application by December 3 if you have a chance to make more contributions.

An applicant didn't make a contribution and does not have a strong background

Use

I'm not sure if there is enough time for you to put together a strong application for this round.

instead of

Because you have not yet made the required contribution, we will not have a chance to consider your candidacy for this round.