I’m writing this after reading Corey Romero’s new post, “It’s Never Too Late to Become a vExpert!”, and I completely agree with the spirit of it: you don’t need a full year of output to submit a strong application—you need meaningful impact and clear evidence. If you’ve been on the fence, this is your sign to jump in. VMware Blogs
I’ve written about the program before—see my guides:
…but the landscape keeps evolving, and so should our strategy. This post is the 2026-season reality check and my personal case for why the effort is worth it.
What Corey’s article changes (and why it matters)
Corey’s reminder is simple and powerful:
- The application window opens in mid-December and closes by mid-January for the 2026 vExpert award cycle.
- Everyone must apply each year—even if you were awarded in the current cycle.
- You can still assemble a high-quality contribution pack now—think focused blog posts, webinars, talks, and useful tools/scripts—with proper links and dates. Quality beats quantity every time. VMware Blogs
If you’re reading this in November/December, you still have time to put together something excellent and defensible.
Why becoming a vExpert is worth the effort (my take)
There’s a reason so many of us keep coming back to this community. A few practical, career-level reasons from my experience:
- Accelerated network (that actually helps).
The vExpert circle puts you in rooms—virtual and real—where people share hard-won lessons about vSphere, VCF, NSX, Aria, and cloud. That saves months of trial-and-error and opens doors to collaborations, review swaps, and speaking slots. VMware Blogs - Credibility you can point to.
“vExpert” isn’t a cert—it’s peer recognition of community impact. If you create, teach, fix, and share, this badge tells hiring managers and customers you’re not just using VMware—you’re advancing it. VMware Blogs - Momentum for your content.
Blog posts, videos, and talks land better when the community already trusts your intent. The program amplifies that—your work travels further, faster, and the feedback loop improves your next piece. VMware Blogs - Structured way to grow.
The application forces you to log contributions with dates, links, and audience. That discipline compounds—suddenly you’re planning a talk, publishing a script, and closing the loop with a lessons-learned post. VMware Blogs
What to do now (the “Q4 sprint” plan)
If you’ve got ~6–8 weeks before the deadline, here’s a realistic playbook:
- Publish 3 in-depth posts: for example,
- vSphere/VCF upgrade runbooks that actually work in enterprise change windows,
- NSX microseg tips that survived your CAB,
- Aria Operations dashboards that reduce MTTD/MTTR.
Make them reproducible and linkable.
- Ship one “useful thing.”
A PowerShell/Ansible snippet, a vCenter health check, an NSX API helper—small, sharp, and documented in a README. - Go on-record once.
A VMUG lightning talk, a webinar, or a guest slot on a podcast/YouTube live. Publish the replay link. - Engage daily for 15 minutes.
Answer questions in the Broadcom/VMware community, Reddit, or your local VMUG Slack/Discord. Capture links to notable answers. community.broadcom.com - Track everything.
Keep a single doc with title, date, URL, audience/impact. You’ll thank yourself on application day. VMware Blogs
What the program values (and how to show it)
The vExpert team has been consistent: share knowledge and lift others. Demonstrate that with:
- Clear write-ups: problem → approach → code/config → pitfalls → outcomes.
- Evidence: links, dates, screenshots where relevant.
- Reach + relevance: who used it? what changed? what’s measurable? VMware Blogs
Ready to apply?
- Read Corey’s post for the current season pointers and timing. VMware Blogs
- Review the “Program Value & Application Process” guidance to see how reviewers think about impact. VMware Blogs
- Application portal (create/update your profile, gather links): vexpert.vmware.com. vexpert.vmware.com
If you want a nudge, talk to a vExpert PRO mentor or your local VMUG crew—they’ll tell you exactly what to polish and what to cut. VMware Blogs
Final thought
If you’ve shipped something useful, taught someone a skill, or made a gnarly upgrade safer for the next admin—you’re already doing the work. Put it on the record and apply. And Corey’s right: it’s not too late—it’s exactly the right time.
