Top tips on applying for membership
How to make your application to the UK Young Academy stand out from the crowd.
Writing an application can be daunting and is often the biggest hurdle on the road to success. At the UK Young Academy, we want our application process to be as open and accessible as possible, ensuring all eligible applicants feel empowered to apply to join our network of future leaders.
In this blog, we share some valuable tips and tricks from our members, selection committee and Staff team, to help you put your best foot forward when submitting your application.
If you have any questions about the application process, take a look at our FAQs or get in touch with the Staff team.
The basics
Sometimes it’s the simple things that get in the way of success. Before kicking off your application we recommend reading through the applicant guidance (also available for our At-Risk membership scheme).
When preparing an application for our general route, make sure to consider the following:
- Eligibility Requirements: There are four requirements for membership, which are essential in the consideration for your selection. These are: being in the early stages of a professional career, having approximately 3-12 years’ experience in your field, a track record of excellence, and you must reside in the UK or be a UK citizen. You can read the criteria in more detail in our eligibility requirements, including our considerations of career breaks and changes.
- Referee Responses: We require two references to progress your application. Make sure to inform your referees in advance of submitting your application, as the system automatically contacts them upon submission. It’s also worth following up with them after you submit your application, in case this notification gets stuck in their spam folder.
- Video: The application process includes a three-minute video, shared via web link. The most common pitfalls here are to go over the strict time limit and for the video to not be available for the full review period. We therefore recommend hosting your video on a free video hosting site, such as YouTube or Vimeo, and making sure that your video is available until at least the end of March 2025. Guidance on producing a good video is available in our applicant pack.
- Incomplete fields and word counts: Word counts are not just a limit on the length of your response, they are a guide for how much writing we are expecting to see. Make sure you complete all the question fields within the application and use the response boxes to the fullest advantage.
Making your application stand out
Applying for membership to the UK Young Academy goes beyond simply meeting the eligibility criteria – it’s about showcasing how your unique skills and experiences align with our mission and how you will use them to create meaningful impact.
Tell us about your individual work and achievements
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to demonstrating excellence. While awards and achievements are important, they are not the only way you should justify your case for membership. It’s important you provide clear detail of how your actions as an individual contributed to the work of your team and how this led to success.
In addition, give context and meaning to your success that will be understandable to a lay person. What was the outcome? What was the wider impact of this on your audience or in your field? Even better, did this success transcend your field and have positive impact beyond?
We suggest using simple strategies like the STAR method (outlining the situation, task, action and result) supported by tangible evidence of impact to help the reviewers recognise your contributions when assessing your application.
Show us how your ideas align with our strategic aims
Use your application to demonstrate how your skills, experiences, and aspirations align with the goals of the UK Young Academy. We want active members who are eager to contribute and get involved, not just add a line to their CV. Take a look at our Strategic Plan to understand more about our priorities and how your values and ideas might align with our work.
Use your video to share your passion
We are looking for passionate people who will proactively participate in our work programmes and activities. One way to demonstrate this is through the video component of the application. Amy Vincent, a member and Executive Group representative for the UK Young Academy, says:
Writing isn’t for everybody, and the video is a great way to convey your passion and desire for change, and specifically highlight how you as an individual can contribute to the UK Young Academy. My advice: Firstly, let your personality shine through. And secondly, don’t just tell us your ideas, tell us how you would effectively implement them too!
Don’t be afraid to tell us what more we could do
Do you see a gap in our representation or work programmes? Tell us! As a Young Academy still in the early-years of our activities, we know there is always room for growth and improvement. We want members who recognise this and strive to help us grow. Use your application to tell us how you can help us improve as an organisation and contribute to our work streams. You can read more about our current projects on our activities page.
Key takeaways
- Ensure your application meets the eligibility requirements: Carefully review the eligibility criteria before starting your application. If you have any questions not covered by the FAQs, ask the Staff team.
- Prepare your referees and video ahead of time: Notify your referees in advance and ensure your three-minute video is accessible for the full review period.
- Complete all sections and adhere to word counts: Fill in every field in the application and use the word count as a guideline to provide detailed responses.
- Showcase your individual contributions: Highlight how your unique actions have contributed to team successes, using the STAR method to clearly communicate your impact.
- Align your application with the UK Young Academy’s strategic goals: Demonstrate how your skills and aspirations match the Young Academy’s priorities, showing your commitment to active involvement.
- Use your video to convey passion and implementation plans: Let your personality shine and outline how you would effectively implement your ideas to contribute to the UK Young Academy.
- Proactively suggest improvements: If you see areas where the Young Academy could improve, include these in your application supported by ideas on how you can contribute to development.
- You should be ready to get ‘stuck in’: The UK Young Academy is not just a group of people with a lot of ideas, this is a group that want to make change happen. Demonstrate this in your application through a proven track record of activity.
Other things to do before preparing your application
Author
Lead Author
Supporting Authors
Dodge Newton
Assistant
UK Young Academy
Charlotte Senior
Memberships and Communications Officer
UK Young Academy
