287 lines
8.0 KiB
Markdown
287 lines
8.0 KiB
Markdown
# Job Criteria Checklist
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Quick reference for evaluating whether a position matches your requirements.
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---
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## Hard Requirements (Must-Have)
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These are non-negotiable. Skip if ANY are missing or violated.
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### ✅ Remote Status
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- [ ] 100% remote OR
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- [ ] Work from home (no office required) OR
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- [ ] Async-first with occasional travel
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**Skip if:**
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- ❌ "Flexible remote" but office-based
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- ❌ "Remote but HQ in [city]"
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- ❌ "Hybrid" with required office days
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- ❌ Relocation required
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---
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### ✅ On-Call Status
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- [ ] No on-call mentioned
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- [ ] No pager duty mentioned
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- [ ] No 24/7 support mentioned
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- [ ] No "production ownership" in incident response context
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**Skip immediately if:**
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- ❌ "On-call rotation"
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- ❌ "Pager duty"
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- ❌ "24/7 support"
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- ❌ "Incident response team"
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- ❌ "Weekend on-call"
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- ❌ "Production ownership requires on-call"
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This is a hard requirement. One mention = reject.
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---
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### ✅ Salary
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- [ ] Base salary $130K+ (minimum)
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- [ ] Salary is transparent or negotiable
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- [ ] If equity offered: solid base salary (not equity-heavy)
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**Check:**
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- [ ] Posted salary is $130K+, OR
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- [ ] Company pays that range for the role, OR
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- [ ] Willing to negotiate to $130K+
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**Skip if:**
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- ❌ Salary $120K or below
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- ❌ "Competitive" with no range
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- ❌ Mostly equity, low base
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---
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### ✅ Role Type
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- [ ] Backend Engineer OR
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- [ ] Platform Engineer OR
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- [ ] Infrastructure Engineer OR
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- [ ] Site Reliability Engineer (if not heavy on-call)
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**Skip if:**
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- ❌ Full-stack (unless clear backend focus)
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- ❌ Junior Developer
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- ❌ DevOps only (different focus)
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- ❌ Systems Administrator
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---
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### ✅ Technology Stack
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- [ ] At least one: Python, Go, Rust, Java, C
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- [ ] REST APIs mentioned or implied
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- [ ] Modern infrastructure tools (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, etc.)
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**Preferred stack:**
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- ✓✓ Python + REST APIs + Kubernetes
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- ✓✓ Go + REST APIs + Kubernetes
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- ✓✓ Rust + REST APIs + distributed systems
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- ✓ Java + REST APIs (learnable from Python)
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- ✓ C + systems programming (learnable)
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- ✓ JavaScript/TypeScript (if full-stack opportunity)
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**Skip if:**
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- ❌ Only C++/C# unless very compelling
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- ❌ Only legacy languages (COBOL, Fortran, etc.)
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- ❌ Frontend-heavy with minimal backend
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---
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## Strong Positives (+1 point each)
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### Company & Culture
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- [ ] Explicitly mentions "async-first" or "async culture"
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- [ ] Remote-first company (not traditional company with remote option)
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- [ ] Company founded specifically as remote
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- [ ] Multiple office locations or fully distributed team
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- [ ] Clear communication about work-life balance
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- [ ] "No crunch" or "sustainable pace" mentioned
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### Role Quality
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- [ ] Clear role description and responsibilities
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- [ ] Growing engineering team (hiring actively)
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- [ ] Opportunity to learn new tech mentioned
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- [ ] Mentorship or growth path mentioned
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- [ ] Architecture/design work emphasized
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- [ ] API design or system design mentioned
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### Compensation & Benefits
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- [ ] Salary at top of range ($180K+)
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- [ ] Equity offered (if profitable/stable company)
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- [ ] Generous vacation/PTO (unlimited or 25+ days)
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- [ ] Professional development budget mentioned
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- [ ] Flexible hours mentioned
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- [ ] Parental leave or family benefits
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### Mission & Impact
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- [ ] Mission statement aligns with your values
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- [ ] Company solves real problems (not just hype)
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- [ ] Profitable or well-funded (stability)
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- [ ] Growing rapidly (opportunity for impact)
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- [ ] Social impact or meaningful work mentioned
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---
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## Red Flags (-1 point each)
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### Culture Red Flags
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- [ ] "Startup hustle" or "high energy" mentioned
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- [ ] "Move fast and break things" philosophy
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- [ ] "Startup mentality" emphasized
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- [ ] "On-call is learning opportunity" framing
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- [ ] Heavy emphasis on long hours
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- [ ] "Passionate" mentioned 5+ times
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- [ ] "Rocket ship", "unicorn", "rapid growth" without context
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### Role Red Flags
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- [ ] Vague role description
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- [ ] Too many responsibilities (5+ distinct areas)
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- [ ] Heavy on meetings or "collaboration"
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- [ ] Management/mentoring heavily emphasized
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- [ ] "Wear many hats" or jack-of-all-trades
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- [ ] Recent team departures (from research)
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- [ ] High turnover rate (5+ people left in 1 year)
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### Compensation Red Flags
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- [ ] Mostly equity, low base salary
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- [ ] "Equity is the real comp" messaging
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- [ ] Salary negotiable only "for right candidate"
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- [ ] Significantly below market ($100K for your experience)
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- [ ] No mentioning of benefits
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- [ ] Unlimited PTO (often means less vacation)
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### Company Red Flags
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- [ ] Negative Glassdoor reviews (3.5 stars or below)
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- [ ] Comments about work-life balance issues
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- [ ] Recent major departures or layoffs
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- [ ] Funding running low or burn rate high
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- [ ] Legal issues or regulatory problems
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- [ ] Poor remote culture reviews
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### Remote Red Flags
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- [ ] "Remote but in [time zone]" requirement
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- [ ] Occasional "required" office days
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- [ ] "Mostly remote" with unstated expectations
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- [ ] Timezone restrictions
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- [ ] Limited async communication
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- [ ] Heavy emphasis on meetings/sync time
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---
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## Fit Score Calculation
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Use this to score positions 1-10:
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### Start at 5 points (baseline)
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### Add points for:
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- [ ] +1: Preferred tech stack (Python, Go, Rust)
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- [ ] +1: Explicitly remote-first / async culture
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- [ ] +1: Salary at top of range ($180K+)
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- [ ] +1: Mission alignment (meaningful work)
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- [ ] +1: Strong company fundamentals (profitable, stable)
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- [ ] +1: Team stability (low turnover)
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- [ ] +1: Growth opportunity (learning or advancement)
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- [ ] +1: Excellent benefits (25+ PTO, parental leave, dev budget)
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- [ ] +1: API/system design work mentioned
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- [ ] +1: Architecture/infrastructure focus
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### Subtract points for:
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- [ ] -1: Secondary tech stack (Java, JavaScript)
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- [ ] -1: Traditional company with remote option (not remote-first)
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- [ ] -1: Salary below $150K
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- [ ] -1: Mission not aligned
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- [ ] -1: Early-stage startup (high risk)
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- [ ] -1: Team appears to be high-churn
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- [ ] -1: Limited growth opportunity
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- [ ] -1: "On-call" mentioned (ALSO SKIP THIS, hard requirement)
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- [ ] -1: Heavy management expectations
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- [ ] -1: Vague role description
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### Final Score
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- **9-10:** Perfect match — Apply immediately
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- **8:** Excellent fit — Apply enthusiastically
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- **7:** Good fit — Apply with customized materials
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- **6:** Okay fit — Apply if meeting quota
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- **5:** Neutral — Consider if other criteria stand out
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- **Below 5:** Skip — Not a good use of time
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---
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## Quick Evaluation (2 minutes)
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Use this if you want to quickly evaluate a position:
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```
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1. Remote? YES / NO → If NO, skip
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2. On-call? YES / NO → If YES, skip
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3. Salary $130K+? YES / NO → If NO, skip
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4. Backend role? YES / NO → If NO, skip
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5. Has Python/Go/Rust? YES / NO → If NO, maybe skip
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6. Red flags? YES / NO → If YES, skip
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If all ✓ (except #5):
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→ Verify on company site
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→ Add to dashboard
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→ Build resume
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```
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---
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## Position Evaluation Template
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When you find a promising position:
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**Basic Info:**
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- Company: _____________
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- Role: _____________
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- Posted: _____________
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- Salary: _____________
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- Link: _____________
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**Must-Have Check:**
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- [ ] Remote: YES / NO
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- [ ] On-call: None / Minimal / Mentioned / Mentioned heavily
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- [ ] Salary: $_____ (meets $130K+? YES/NO)
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- [ ] Backend role: YES / NO
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**Tech Stack:**
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- [ ] Languages: _____________
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- [ ] Frameworks: _____________
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- [ ] Infrastructure: _____________
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- [ ] Fit: ✓ Preferred / ✓ Acceptable / ✗ Not ideal
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**Culture:**
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- [ ] Red flags found: YES / NO
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- [ ] If YES, list: _____________
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- [ ] Strong positives: YES / NO
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- [ ] If YES, list: _____________
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**Fit Score:** 1-10 ___
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- [ ] Apply immediately (9-10)
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- [ ] Apply with care (7-8)
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- [ ] Apply if quota allows (6)
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- [ ] Skip (5 or below)
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**Decision:** APPLY / SKIP
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**Reason:** _____________
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---
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## During Application
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After you decide to apply:
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1. **Use /build-resume** to generate customized materials
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2. **Double-check on-call** in full job description (final check)
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3. **Verify on company site** before submitting
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4. **Log in tracker** with date, company, role, fit score
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5. **Set follow-up reminder** for 1 week after
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---
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**Last Updated:** March 18, 2026
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