SMART
Goals
for
Job
Seekers
1 / 7
T HE
GOALS
01–10
01
Tailor
my
résumé
to
the
roles
I
am
actually
applying
for
S
SPECIFIC
Rebuild
the
résumé
around
one
target
job
title
,
replacing
every
generic
duty
line
with
three
quantified
achievement
bullets
per
role
.
M
MEASURABLE
One
master
résumé
plus
three
tailored
variants
—
individual
contributor
,
lead
,
and
career
-
change
—
each
scoring
80
or
higher
on
a
keyword
check
against
the
posting
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
About
two
hours
per
variant
,
spread
across
two
evenings
,
working
from
the
last
twelve
job
postings
already
saved
.
R
RELEVANT
Recruiters
spend
under
ten
seconds
on
a
first
pass
;
matching
the
posting
'
s
language
is
what
survives
the
automated
screen
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
Master
résumé
drafted
by
the
end
of
week
one
;
all
three
variants
peer
-
reviewed
and
finished
by
day
fourteen
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Open
the
three
most
recent
postings
and
list
every
skill
word
that
repeats
across
them
.
02
Build
a
target
list
of
40
employers
I
would
genuinely
say
yes
to
S
SPECIFIC
Assemble
one
spreadsheet
of
40
companies
filtered
by
industry
,
headcount
,
remote
policy
,
and
whether
they
posted
a
comparable
role
in
the
last
90
days
.
M
MEASURABLE
40
completed
rows
,
each
with
company
,
open
role
or
“
no
current
opening
,”
a
named
hiring
manager
where
findable
,
and
at
least
one
warm
connection
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Ten
companies
per
sitting
,
four
sittings
across
two
weeks
.
R
RELEVANT
Forty
researched
employers
beat
two
hundred
random
applications
,
and
the
list
is
what
makes
referrals
possible
later
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
Forty
companies
logged
within
fourteen
days
;
list
refreshed
every
thirty
days
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Add
the
first
ten
names
tonight
,
before
researching
anyone
'
s
hiring
process
.
2 / 7
03
Apply
to
eight
to
ten
qualified
roles
every
week
S
SPECIFIC
An
application
counts
only
when
the
résumé
matches
the
posting
and
I
have
attached
the
hiring
manager
'
s
or
a
team
member
'
s
name
.
M
MEASURABLE
Track
applications
,
response
rate
,
and
first
-
round
interview
rate
weekly
,
targeting
a
15
percent
response
rate
by
week
four
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Eight
to
ten
quality
applications
is
roughly
ninety
minutes
a
day
when
volume
is
not
the
priority
.
R
RELEVANT
A
steady
weekly
cadence
outperforms
burst
applying
—
pipelines
dry
up
when
everything
goes
out
in
a
single
weekend
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
First
eight
applications
submitted
by
the
end
of
week
one
,
then
reviewed
every
Friday
for
eight
consecutive
weeks
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Set
a
recurring
Friday
reminder
to
log
the
week
'
s
numbers
.
04
Get
referred
into
at
least
three
companies
each
month
S
SPECIFIC
Ask
for
a
referral
from
someone
I
already
know
at
a
target
company
—
never
a
cold
message
to
a
stranger
.
M
MEASURABLE
Twelve
referral
conversations
started
per
month
,
three
referrals
actually
submitted
,
one
resulting
first
-
round
interview
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Two
asks
per
weekday
morning
,
written
,
using
a
two
-
sentence
script
and
a
link
to
the
specific
posting
.
R
RELEVANT
Referred
candidates
reach
a
first
interview
several
times
more
often
than
cold
applicants
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
Twelve
asks
sent
within
the
first
thirty
days
;
results
reviewed
at
every
month
end
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Write
the
two
-
sentence
script
once
and
reuse
it
for
every
ask
.
3 / 7
05
Grow
a
real
network
by
ten
meaningful
contacts
a
month
S
SPECIFIC
“
Meaningful
”
means
a
two
-
way
exchange
:
I
replied
to
something
they
published
,
offered
help
,
or
we
spoke
for
at
least
fifteen
minutes
.
M
MEASURABLE
Ten
contacts
logged
per
month
with
date
,
context
,
and
next
touchpoint
,
with
40
percent
of
them
working
at
target
companies
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Three
short
conversations
per
week
,
mostly
on
LinkedIn
or
inside
two
active
professional
communities
.
R
RELEVANT
Most
mid
-
to
-
senior
roles
are
filled
through
networks
before
they
ever
reach
a
job
board
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
First
ten
conversations
completed
by
day
thirty
;
quarterly
review
of
who
has
gone
quiet
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Comment
on
three
posts
from
people
in
target
companies
this
week
.
06
Practise
interviews
on
a
fixed
schedule
,
not
the
night
before
S
SPECIFIC
A
repeatable
loop
:
record
a
thirty
-
minute
mock
,
review
the
recording
,
rewrite
the
two
weakest
answers
,
then
run
it
again
.
M
MEASURABLE
Twelve
recorded
mocks
by
the
end
of
month
two
,
plus
a
scored
bank
of
twenty
stories
covering
conflict
,
failure
,
leadership
,
impact
,
and
ambiguity
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Two
mocks
per
week
at
forty
-
five
minutes
each
fits
comfortably
around
an
active
search
.
R
RELEVANT
Structured
practice
is
the
fastest
measurable
way
to
lift
interview
outcomes
,
and
the
same
twenty
stories
get
reused
every
time
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
Two
mocks
in
week
one
;
twelve
completed
within
sixty
days
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Record
one
mock
this
week
on
a
question
you
already
dread
.
4 / 7
07
Publish
a
portfolio
that
proves
the
work
,
not
the
job
titles
S
SPECIFIC
One
page
with
three
case
studies
,
each
showing
the
problem
,
the
decisions
I
made
,
and
the
measured
result
.
M
MEASURABLE
Three
case
studies
live
,
page
loading
in
under
two
seconds
,
and
both
the
résumé
and
LinkedIn
profile
linking
to
it
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
One
case
study
per
week
for
three
weeks
,
roughly
one
hour
each
,
using
work
that
already
exists
in
some
form
.
R
RELEVANT
For
design
,
engineering
,
marketing
,
and
analytics
roles
,
the
portfolio
is
the
artifact
that
decides
the
outcome
after
the
résumé
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
First
case
study
published
within
seven
days
;
all
three
live
within
twenty
-
one
days
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Pick
the
one
project
you
are
most
often
asked
about
in
interviews
.
08
Close
one
named
skill
gap
that
keeps
appearing
in
my
target
postings
S
SPECIFIC
Identify
the
single
most
-
requested
skill
I
lack
,
based
on
twenty
saved
postings
,
and
learn
only
the
parts
those
postings
actually
require
.
M
MEASURABLE
Complete
one
course
or
guided
project
plus
one
piece
of
public
work
—
a
repository
,
a
write
-
up
,
or
a
case
study
—
demonstrating
the
skill
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Five
hours
a
week
for
six
weeks
,
scheduled
alongside
applications
rather
than
instead
of
them
.
R
RELEVANT
Closing
the
one
gap
that
blocks
the
most
postings
unlocks
more
roles
than
a
broad
,
unfocused
course
load
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
Skill
chosen
in
week
one
;
public
artifact
published
by
week
six
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Count
keyword
frequency
across
the
twenty
saved
postings
and
name
the
number
one
gap
.
5 / 7
09
Run
a
thirty
-
minute
pipeline
review
every
week
S
SPECIFIC
One
sitting
,
same
day
,
same
time
:
update
every
application
'
s
status
,
follow
up
on
anything
silent
for
seven
days
,
and
decide
what
to
drop
.
M
MEASURABLE
Every
application
carries
a
current
status
,
and
every
silent
application
receives
a
follow
-
up
email
within
seven
days
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Thirty
minutes
on
a
Friday
afternoon
with
a
simple
board
or
spreadsheet
using
five
status
columns
.
R
RELEVANT
Searches
usually
stall
because
follow
-
ups
and
stale
leads
get
forgotten
,
not
because
too
few
applications
went
out
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
First
review
this
Friday
;
twelve
consecutive
reviews
before
judging
whether
the
system
works
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Build
the
five
-
column
board
before
the
first
review
,
not
during
it
.
10
Set
a
salary
floor
and
rehearse
the
negotiation
out
loud
S
SPECIFIC
Research
a
defensible
range
from
three
sources
—
market
data
,
two
people
in
the
role
,
and
one
recruiter
—
then
write
down
a
floor
and
a
target
.
M
MEASURABLE
A
one
-
page
negotiation
script
containing
a
floor
,
a
target
,
and
three
justified
talking
points
,
rehearsed
out
loud
five
times
.
A
ACHIEVABLE
Two
hours
of
research
and
three
twenty
-
minute
rehearsals
,
done
before
the
first
final
-
round
interview
.
R
RELEVANT
Candidates
who
negotiate
with
a
researched
number
and
a
rehearsed
script
consistently
land
more
than
the
initial
offer
.
T
T IME
-
BOUND
Range
and
script
completed
within
ten
days
of
starting
the
search
.
FIRS T
AC TION
Write
the
floor
number
down
today
and
do
not
revise
it
downward
mid
-
process
.
6 / 7
T URNING
A
GOAL
INT O
A
WEEKLY
AC T ION
4
steps
1
Pick
three
,
not
ten
Run
a
maximum
of
three
goals
at
once
.
Choose
one
from
building
(
résumé
,
portfolio
,
skill
),
one
from
outreach
(
target
list
,
referrals
,
network
),
and
one
from
process
(
weekly
review
).
The
rest
wait
for
the
next
thirty
-
day
cycle
.
2
Convert
the
metric
into
a
weekly
number
A
monthly
target
becomes
a
weekly
number
:
three
referrals
a
month
is
one
ask
every
other
day
;
twelve
mocks
in
two
months
is
two
per
week
.
Write
the
weekly
number
where
you
will
see
it
daily
.
3
Block
the
time
in
the
calendar
Unscheduled
goals
fail
quietly
.
Put
the
application
block
,
the
mock
interview
,
and
the
Friday
review
into
the
calendar
as
recurring
events
with
the
same
duration
every
week
.
4
Review
every
Friday
,
reset
every
thirty
days
Friday
review
:
did
the
weekly
numbers
land
,
what
stalled
,
what
gets
dropped
.
On
day
thirty
,
keep
the
goals
that
are
working
,
retire
the
ones
that
are
not
,
and
add
one
new
goal
from
the
list
above
.
T RAC KING
SHEET
Weekly
G OAL
AR EA
WEEKLY
METR IC
TAR G ET
Applications
Qualified
applications
submitted
8–10
Referrals
Referral
asks
sent
3
Networking
Two
-
way
conversations
held
2–3
Interview
prep
Recorded
mocks
completed
2
Portfolio
Case
studies
published
1
Skill
gap
Focused
learning
hours
5
Pipeline
Follow
-
ups
sent
to
silent
applications
100%
Response
rate
Applications
that
received
a
reply
15%
```
7 / 7
