A job search contains many small tasks: research, alerts, resume decisions, applications, outreach, interviews, follow-up, and offer evaluation. Without a system, those tasks expand into continuous browsing and uncertainty.
Use this checklist as a sequence. Not every item applies to every search, but the order helps you separate preparation from activity.
1. Define the Target
Before opening job boards, decide:
- Primary role family
- Adjacent titles you will consider
- Target level
- Industries or company types
- Location boundaries
- Remote, hybrid, or onsite preferences
- Maximum commute or travel
- Full-time, contract, or other employment type
- Compensation target
- Minimum acceptable package
- Work-authorization considerations
- Deal-breakers
- Nice-to-have features
Write a Target Statement
Example:
Director or senior-manager roles in marketing analytics, growth measurement, or customer analytics; subscription commerce, retail tech, or other data-intensive consumer businesses; U.S.-remote or Denver-area hybrid; target base of at least $155,000 depending on total scope and compensation.
A target statement guides decisions without preventing you from considering a strong adjacent opportunity.
2. Build the Core Materials
Resume
- Clear target role and level
- Accurate contact information
- Professional summary aligned to the target
- Relevant skills and tools
- Reverse-chronological experience
- Accomplishment-focused bullets
- Scope and results quantified where useful
- Internal terms translated
- Standard headings and readable format
- File opens and text can be selected
- Dates and titles are accurate
- No unexplained placeholders or track changes
- Final proofreading completed
Create a strong base resume, then tailor emphasis for specific roles.
- Professional photo
- Searchable headline
- Targeted About section
- Accurate dates and titles
- Relevant experience and accomplishments
- Priority skills
- Current location
- Job-preference settings reviewed
- Profile URL cleaned up when desired
- Resume and profile are consistent
Supporting Materials
Depending on the role:
- Portfolio
- Work samples
- GitHub or technical projects
- Case studies
- Certifications
- Reference list
- Executive biography
- Presentation examples
Remove confidential employer information before sharing work samples.
3. Build Search Channels
Use more than one source.
Job Alerts
- Core title alerts
- Adjacent title alerts
- Priority-skill alerts
- Target-company alerts
- Location and remote alerts
- Recent-posting filters
Target Employers
- Create a list of priority companies
- Review company career pages
- Follow company updates
- Identify relevant leaders or recruiters
- Note likely competitors and similar employers
Recruiters
- Identify internal recruiters for target employers
- Identify agency recruiters in your specialty
- Prepare a recruiter summary
- State level, location, work arrangement, and compensation clearly
- Track recruiter conversations
Network
- List former coworkers and managers
- List clients, vendors, and partners
- Review alumni and professional groups
- Identify target-company connections
- Schedule informational conversations
- Follow up on promised introductions
4. Review a Job Before Applying
Confirm:
- Employer is legitimate
- Job appears current
- Core work fits your target
- Level is plausible
- Location is eligible
- Work arrangement is acceptable
- Compensation is plausible or stated
- Required qualifications are substantially present
- Preferred qualifications are understood
- No central deal-breaker exists
- You can explain why the role interests you
Do not confuse “I could do this” with “this advances the search I defined.”
5. Tailor the Application
Resume Tailoring
- Use the target title or function truthfully
- Reflect important job language when accurate
- Move the most relevant evidence higher
- Add missing relevant accomplishments
- Reduce unrelated detail
- Support important skills with experience
- Spell out important acronyms
- Save with a professional filename
Example filename:
Jordan-Reyes-Resume-Director-Marketing-Analytics.pdf
Application Form
- Review parsed contact information
- Correct titles, employers, and dates
- Answer screening questions truthfully
- Use consistent salary information
- Complete required fields
- Review work authorization and location answers
- Confirm attachments
- Proofread before submitting
- Save confirmation or job ID
Cover Letter or Written Questions
When required:
- Address the actual role
- Explain specific interest
- Select two or three relevant examples
- Avoid repeating the resume
- Answer every part of the prompt
- Keep claims accurate
6. Record the Application
Track:
- Company
- Job title
- Job link or saved description
- Job ID
- Location and work arrangement
- Compensation range
- Source
- Application date
- Resume version
- Contact or referral
- Current stage
- Next action
- Follow-up date
- Outcome
- Notes and lessons
Save the job description because postings can disappear before an interview.
7. Follow Up Appropriately
After applying:
- Contact a relevant recruiter when there is a clear reason
- Notify the referral contact
- Avoid repeated daily messages
- Update the tracker
Example:
Hi Maya — I applied for the Director of Customer Analytics role today. My background includes nine years in subscription-commerce analytics, leadership of a five-person team, and ownership of acquisition measurement and experimentation. I wanted to introduce myself because the role’s customer-growth scope is especially relevant. I would welcome a conversation if the team sees a potential fit.
8. Prepare for a Recruiter Screen
- Review the job description
- Research the employer
- Prepare your professional introduction
- Explain why the role interests you
- Prepare reason for leaving
- Prepare salary expectations
- Confirm location and work arrangement
- Identify two or three strongest qualifications
- Prepare concise questions
- Test audio, video, and environment
9. Prepare for Interviews
Story Bank
Prepare examples involving:
- Major accomplishment
- Difficult problem
- Conflict
- Mistake or failure
- Leadership or influence
- Competing priorities
- Change
- Incomplete information
- Feedback
- Developing someone
Role Research
- Understand products or services
- Understand customers
- Review recent company developments
- Learn the team structure when possible
- Identify likely business problems
- Research interviewers professionally
- Prepare questions by interviewer
Practice
- Practice aloud
- Use STAR for behavioral examples
- Keep your personal action clear
- Include results
- Prepare follow-up detail
- Avoid memorized scripts
10. After Each Interview
- Write notes immediately
- Record interviewer names and roles
- Capture questions asked
- Note weak or incomplete answers
- Record what you learned about the role
- Update your interest level
- Send thank-you emails
- Record the expected timeline
- Schedule follow-up
The notes improve later interviews and help you compare opportunities.
11. Evaluate the Opportunity
Do not wait for an offer to notice problems.
Evaluate:
- Actual responsibilities
- Manager
- Team capability and turnover
- Decision authority
- Resources
- Culture and working norms
- Work arrangement
- Commute and travel
- Career growth
- Business stability
- Compensation
- Benefits
- Risks or contingencies
- Personal fit
Write unanswered questions before each stage.
12. Evaluate and Negotiate an Offer
- Obtain the offer in writing
- Review base salary
- Review bonus or commission
- Review equity
- Review health and retirement benefits
- Review paid time off
- Confirm work arrangement
- Confirm title and level
- Review start date
- Review contingencies
- Compare with target and minimum
- Identify negotiable components
- Prepare evidence-based counteroffer
- Confirm revisions in writing
- Avoid resigning before important contingencies are resolved
13. Measure the Funnel
Every week or two, review:
- Qualified jobs identified
- Applications submitted
- Recruiter screens
- Hiring-manager interviews
- Final interviews
- Offers
- Response rate by source
- Response rate by resume version
- Time spent
- Reasons for withdrawal or rejection
Diagnose the Stage
Few relevant jobs: broaden titles, industries, geography, or sources while keeping core requirements.
Strong-fit applications but no screens: review resume positioning, keywords, level, location eligibility, and application accuracy.
Screens but no hiring-manager interviews: improve professional introduction, motivation, salary alignment, and explanation of concerns.
Interviews but no finals: improve story selection, evidence, relevance, and role understanding.
Finals but no offers: seek feedback when available and examine executive presence, depth, competition, and fit. Do not assume every late-stage loss indicates a fundamental problem.
14. Protect Your Time
Schedule focused blocks for:
- Search and alerts
- Applications
- Networking
- Interview preparation
- Follow-up
- Weekly review
Avoid leaving job boards open all day. Continuous checking creates anxiety without necessarily improving results.
A possible weekly structure:
- Monday: review alerts and target companies
- Tuesday: applications and recruiter outreach
- Wednesday: networking and interview preparation
- Thursday: applications and follow-up
- Friday: metrics, cleanup, and next-week planning
Adjust to the pace of your market and active interviews.
15. Protect Yourself From Scams
- Verify the company and recruiter
- Use official company career pages
- Review the email domain
- Do not pay for a job
- Do not deposit a check and forward money
- Do not buy gift cards or cryptocurrency
- Do not share banking or identity documents before a legitimate hiring stage
- Be cautious with unexpected text, WhatsApp, or Telegram recruiting
- Report suspicious activity
A real employer may need sensitive information after an accepted offer for payroll and verification. A stranger offering a remote job before a real interview does not.
Final Weekly Review
Ask:
- Did I spend time on strong-fit roles?
- Which channel produced the best opportunities?
- What commitments need follow-up?
- Where is the funnel breaking?
- What should I change next week?
- What should I stop doing?
The checklist is not a demand to do everything every day. It is a way to know what comes next and why.