A 30-60-90-Day Plan is the most important tool or document you can bring to an interview (besides your resume). It gives the potential employer a glimpse into the future by outlining how you will approach the most important tasks and action steps of your first 3 months. It lets the hiring manager or interviewer have a ‘test drive’ of what you’d be like in this new job. As a result, it changes the dynamics and scope of your interview in a big, impressive way. It’s the #1 way to improve your interview so you get the offer. I would personally never interview without one.
However—sometimes, people come to me and say, “I brought a plan, but I didn’t get the job.”
My question for them is, “What does your plan look like?”
You can’t just Google ’30 60 90 day plan’ and expect to find a good plan. Not all plans are created equal. I’ve seen plenty of useless (and even damaging) free plans online—some are too short, some are too long, and some don’t focus on the right actions.
In this article, I’m answering the most common questions I get from job seekers about what your 30-60-90-day plan should look like in order to get you the job offer—and I’ll show you where you can get a template that’s proven to be successful in a huge variety of jobs at all levels (entry-level to C-suite).
So…what does a good 30 60 90 day plan look like? How can you write the best plan?
The most important factors in any good plan are strategy and specificity.
Your plan should be thoughtfully and smartly laid out. You must think strategically about what actions would be most beneficial to your success in that role. Your plan should be specifically written for that particular job, at that company.
What if you don’t know the job because you’re new to it?
You have to research the job. Go online and google it. Read articles about that job and the tasks involved. Ask your network if they know of anyone who can give you some pointers.
(See How to Find Information for Your 30-60-90-Day Plan.)
How can you be specific if you haven’t worked for that company before?
Again—research. Dig into that company. Find out what software they use, what training they supply, or the names of their biggest customers or competition.
Yes, this is quite a bit of work to do before you know that you’ll get hired. It could all come to nothing—but the more work you do, the less likely that is. Chances are that with all this research and preparation, you’ll have the best interview of your life and get a great job offer.
**At this point, many people say, “What if I don’t find the right information? What if my plan isn’t perfect—won’t that hurt me instead of help me?” That’s a natural question, but it’s a needless worry. Of course your plan won’t be perfect. You don’t work there yet—you can’t know everything. It’s easy and reasonable to acknowledge that right up front: “I’ve been thinking a lot about how I could be successful in this role, and I did some research and put together some ideas. I know it won’t be exactly right, so I’d love to get your feedback.”
How should the plan be laid out?
Your plan should be broken up into a 30-day section, a 60-day section, and a 90-day section. Some people in certain jobs, at higher levels, make 6-month or even 12-month plans.
Each section should take up about a page.
I’ve seen people with 1-page (total) plans–but that doesn’t get into nearly enough detail or communicate that they’re taking this seriously. It’s almost an insult. I’ve also seen people with 10-page documents that are too overwhelming and become too much about what you’ve done, instead of what you’ll do for the company.
You can lay your plan out in a classic outline form, or you can use simple bullet points. (Never use paragraphs, for the same reason you don’t want paragraphs on a resume. In this situation, they’re too difficult to read and focus on. The hiring manager will skim it and skip over information you need them to know.)
What should be in the 30-day section?
Typically, in any job, the first 30 days or so are focused on getting your bearings…for instance:
- Completing training on products, services, HR policies, etc.
- Getting to know everyone—peers, support departments, primary customers or clients, etc.
What should be in the 60-day section?
Usually, this is when you’re able to dig in a little deeper…
- Get to know a second level of people—those people who aren’t a primary part of your day—maybe vendors, occasional customers, counterparts in other divisions, etc.
- Get routines established and/or refined
- Evaluating what needs to be done (now that you’re there and can find out more)
- Make a point to get feedback on your progress
What should be in the 90-day section?
In any role, by now you should be fully functioning on your own, and actively contributing. So you could be:
- Going after new business
- Starting new projects
- Establishing and enforcing new procedures
- Implementing specific improvements
- Increasing efficiency
- Setting longer-term goals
Some jobs may move a little faster or slower than others. That’s OK—simply adjust your plan.
(See additional examples specifically for sales, management, or technical jobs, even teachers.)
(See more 30-60-90-Day Plan FAQs here.)
So, because…
- there are so many bad plans online,
- this is such a critical document for you,
- I want you to get the job you want,
…I put together some plans for you that are PROVEN to work.
They are based on the plans I’ve used with literally thousands of job seekers in my almost 20 years as a successful recruiter and career coach. (They also borrow from the plans I used myself to get 5 offers the last time I was in a search.) I hear back from people who’ve used my plan, and they say things like, “I got the offer within 90 minutes,” “I beat out someone more experienced,” “They offered me a better job than what I interviewed for,” and even, “This got me my dream job.”
Each one has a detailed template, how-to guides, and a 100% money-back guarantee for a full year.
That means that you could go to 1000 interviews over the next 365 days with this plan, and still get your money back if you don’t get a job. (Although if you go to 1000 interviews without an offer, we need to talk—something else is going on. Get coaching.)
We’ve developed 4 different guaranteed plans so you can choose the one that fits you best
(click on the plan to get details on each one):
We want your success—so, we’ve even added an optional plan review for you. Send your completed plan to me and I’ll review it for you (with feedback) at no extra charge.
Get your plan and get your job today!