By Vickie Allen-Collier··3 min read
Whether you are nominating an incredible colleague, a mentor, or putting yourself forward (which we highly encourage!), writing a standout award nomination can feel a bit daunting.
To help you navigate the process and give your nominee the best possible chance, we’ve put together a guide of our top tips for crafting a winning DevelopHER award nomination.
1. Quality Over Quantity
It is easy to think that filling every text box to the absolute maximum character limit is the secret to winning. In reality, judges review dozens of nominations, and a wall of text can sometimes obscure the most brilliant achievements. Focus on making every word count. Keep your writing clear, concise, and punchy. A focused, high-impact nomination is always more memorable than one packed with fluff.
2. Embrace the Simplicity of the Criteria
We intentionally keep our criteria for each award very simple. We don't want nominating someone to feel like a grueling checkbox exercise, so we don't tie our judges to a rigid, multi-page checklist. Instead, judges are free to develop their own scoring methods tailored to the specific essence of each category.
Don't spend your time worrying if you've ticked off a dozen hyper-specific corporate requirements. Instead, lean into the spirit of the award category and let the nominee's genuine strengths shine through naturally.
3. Back It Up with Detailed Examples
Because the criteria are open, the best way to score highly with judges is to provide concrete, real-world evidence. Don't just tell the judges someone is "innovative" or "a great leader"-show them.
Use metrics where you can: Did their marketing campaign hit a massive milestone? Mention the specific return on investment (ROI) or growth data.
Highlight problem-solving: What exact challenges did they overcome, and what was the ripple effect on the team or business?
Share the human impact: How did they lift others up or build community?
4. Gather Recommendations and Perspectives
A great nomination doesn't have to be written in a vacuum. Gathering brief quotes, testimonials, or feedback from other teammates, clients, or mentors can add incredible depth. Hearing how a nominee's work impacts those around them provides judges with a well-rounded view of their influence and character.
Inspiration from Our Past Winners
If you want to see these principles in action, look no further than the phenomenal submissions from our previous shortlists and winners.
Our 2025 Winners perfectly illustrate how powerful detailed, story-driven nominations can be:
Viktoriia Moskalenko (Apprentice Award): Rather than just listing technical progress, her nomination told a powerful story of resilience-retraining in tech from scratch while fleeing war, achieving a distinction, and simultaneously volunteering to build the local tech community.
Georgina Slater (Digital Marketer Award): Her nomination blended strategic leadership with undeniable data, noting how she built a marketing function from the ground up and delivered a stunning 3106% ROI on a single piece of high-value content.
Katy Gibson-Hill (Eye for Design Award): Instead of vague praise about aesthetics, her entry focused on execution and impact, detailing how she led user experience design for massive e-commerce brands generating over £150 million.
Charlie McCormack (Tester Award): Her nomination brought in the human element beautifully, illustrating how she transformed the QA department with ferocious attention to detail while keeping team spirits high and inspiring everyone around her.
Ready to Nominate?
The best nominations come from the heart and are grounded in real impact. Take a look at the categories, pick the perfect match for your nominee, and use these tips to tell their story. We can't wait to read your submissions!