I have recommended for years that my clients and candidates use a 30/60/90-day plan when they go into job interviews (I’ve even used it myself), and for good reason–it WORKS!

A 30/60/90-day plan is, of course, a written outline that tells the hiring manager what your plans are for the first 3 months on the job.  It covers how you’ll get your training, how you’ll begin to incorporate yourself in to the flow of the company, and how you’ll begin contributing to the team.  It’s very impressive because it shows your initiative as well as your strategic thinking skills, and it also demonstrates to the hiring manager that you are prepared for the job (even if you are new to the field).  I have never heard of any hiring manager who’s failed to be impressed by this document and the candidate who created it.

Because I started out in sales and sales recruiting, that’s where I started telling folks about this remarkable tool.  It’s a natural for sales and sales management jobs.  I developed a product incorporating samples, templates, and serious, intensive coaching on exactly how to use the plan to win the job:  The 30/60/90-Day Sales Plan.

Because it’s worked so well for sales reps, word got out.  Candidates in other career areas started asking if it would work for them, too.  The answer is:  Absolutely. A 30/60/90-day plan is a tremendously effective tool for all job interviews.

Why does a 30/60/90-day plan work so well for non-sales jobs?  For the same reasons it works so well for sales jobs:

(1) it shows the hiring manager you’re willing to go above and beyond to get the job done;

(2) it shows that you have the thought process/experience/knowledge to do the job;  and

(3) it communicates to the hiring manager that it’s going to be beneficial to their own success if they hire you.

In response to the questions and requests I was receiving from candidates who weren’t in sales but still needed that extra boost to help them stand out from the competition, I developed a tool that is customizable for all careers:

The 30/60/90-Day Action Plan

This product includes detailed samples for different career areas, a fill-in-the-blank template, and intensive, comprehensive coaching on how to use your plan.  You not only learn how to create a customized plan, you learn exactly what to say to use it to control your job interview.  It’s incredibly powerful.

I would never go into a job interview of any kind without a 90-Day plan for success.

Have you used a 30/60/90-day plan in your interview?  Did it make the difference?  What’s been your experience?  Let me know in the comments below.  Tell others about your success and we’ll celebrate with you.

Best of luck to you all.

I was recently asked this question by a candidate:  “If bringing a 30/60/90-day plan to the interview is so impressive, would a 1-year plan be even better?”

Now that’s a go-getter!

But, my answer is:

Maybe, but probably not.

I can see where there’s a possibility that someone with tremendous amounts of experience who’s going for a very high-level executive position might want to extend the plan out for a year, in the same way that someone who’s starting their own business would do–it’s a big deal.

A well-written 30/60/90-day plan is very impressive to hiring managers for a lot of reasons, and one of them is that not many people take the time to create one.  So you’re already ahead of the game if you do. When you add in the advantages of your careful and thoughtful analysis for exactly how you’re going to be successful at this job (and make your new boss look great!) and the way it helps you turn the interview into a professional conversation rather than a question-and-answer session, you become a job-winning candidate.

I think the answer is that for most people, a 90-day plan is going to be as far out as you need to go.  You’re showing the manager how you’re going to transition into being a contributing, productive member of the team, and by 3 months in, you should be sailing along pretty well.  And you’ll have additional goals given to you from your boss and your boss’s boss that you can’t predict right now–so there’s no point.

What do you think?

Listen to this audio of how to incorporate a 30/60/90-day plan into your interview. It will change your job search.

All sales job candidates should create a 30/60/90-day sales plan to use in their job search and interview process.

A 30-60-90-day sales plan is a document that spells out how you will spend your time in the first 30 days, the first 60 days, and the first 90 days on your new job.  To do one correctly, you have to research the position and the company, and you have to analyze the job so that you can lay out the steps to success.  It takes some effort, but the results are almost always worth it in terms of great job offers.  It’s amazingly impressive to hiring managers that you’ve put in this kind of effort before you even get the job, and it demonstrates to them that you understand the job and what it takes to be successful from the start.

But how do you go about introducing your innovative 30/60/90-day plan to the hiring manager?

• In an ideal situation, you bring your 30-60-90-day plan to the interview and “wow” the hiring manager when you present it during your conversation–as an answer to “How do you see yourself in this job?” or “Why should we hire you?”.  You ask the hiring manager for input during the interview, and in your follow-up thank you note, you should attach your sales plan with the changes that the hiring manager suggested.
• Less than ideal, but better than nothing:  you don’t get a chance to present your 30-60-90-day plan during the interview, but you realize that thank you notes can be second chances.  Either you attach your sales plan to your thank you note (which points out how the information you gained during the interview is included), or you put a shortened version of a 30-60-90-day plan in the body of the note if you think he might not open the attachment.

What if you can’t even get the interview?

Read more…

A 30-60-90-day plan is a written document outlining what you will do as an employee within the first 3 months of your employment.  It’s broken up into sections:  the first 30 days usually includes training, as well as getting to know the company and customers; the next 30 days are more focused on getting out on your own and into the swing of things; and the last 30 days are often more about branching out and bringing in new business. 

As a sales recruiter, I encourage all of the people I send to companies for interviews to create this kind of document and learn how to present it.  It really sets them apart from other candidates, and the ones who have done it usually see tremendous results.  But why is it so important?  Why does it make a difference?

Read more…

One way to impress a hiring manager: SWOT Analysis

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