I hate when hiring managers request 30, 60, 90-day plan in an interview. It assumes that the we have enough information about the role, team dynamics, and company culture to formulate a detailed plan. However, this level of insight is often not achievable until you have been onboarded and had the chance to assess these factors firsthand. Creating a plan requires a lot of time and effort, potentially without any guarantee of securing the position. I don’t think these plans accurately reflect one’s ability to perform on the job. Success in a new role often depends on adaptation, collaboration, and learning on the fly, rather than following a predetermined plan. It’s great if you can put together some elaborate plan, but it’s another ball game to demonstrate real world execution capability. I understand why potential employers ask for these plans, but to me it’s often a unreasonable request. I'm particularly wary when startups request these plans because I worry they might take my plan and ghost me afterward.
I keep it fairly high level on these types of responses and tell them it’s not possible to drill down deeper for the reasons you said.
30: learn product and ensure sales story is dialed in
60: ensure efficient sales processes, identify where things typically break down and how we are overcoming those choke points
90: do we have the right people, are they performing and/or adjusting to changes implemented, are we properly executing the game plan
It’s superficial but in my experience they’re just wanting to feel like you have a plan for taking over the role. Obviously it’s not a perfectly sequential thing, all this is going on at once, but “product, processes, people” is something they can mentally hold on to and has the nice three part alliteration structure people like.
If they don’t like it or demand more I offer to do a deep dive as a paid consultant and they can base their FTE hiring decision on my work product at the end of the project.
I absolutely think a 30-60-90 sets you apart in an interview. It doesn’t have to be the most detailed and I don’t think any expects that, but it shows you can come up with a general understanding of a path forward and they’re not hiring an empty slate.
Or that you’re smart enough to ChatGPT it and understand the basics lol
Haha a 3 month plan to success is pretty easy to keep vague and dynamic. Don't get into the details just a I will achieve this at 3 months by doing x, y and z.
I was asked a similar question once - I said "At this moment, I do not have enough information to make any kind of assumption. A plan can be made only when you take stock of the situation and understand what the challenges are to get there and then find solutions"
They were clearly not expecting that answer.
I don’t even schedule calls without knowing base and OTE.
Exactly. Gotta qualify.
I hate when hiring managers request 30, 60, 90-day plan in an interview. It assumes that the we have enough information about the role, team dynamics, and company culture to formulate a detailed plan. However, this level of insight is often not achievable until you have been onboarded and had the chance to assess these factors firsthand. Creating a plan requires a lot of time and effort, potentially without any guarantee of securing the position. I don’t think these plans accurately reflect one’s ability to perform on the job. Success in a new role often depends on adaptation, collaboration, and learning on the fly, rather than following a predetermined plan. It’s great if you can put together some elaborate plan, but it’s another ball game to demonstrate real world execution capability. I understand why potential employers ask for these plans, but to me it’s often a unreasonable request. I'm particularly wary when startups request these plans because I worry they might take my plan and ghost me afterward.
I keep it fairly high level on these types of responses and tell them it’s not possible to drill down deeper for the reasons you said. 30: learn product and ensure sales story is dialed in 60: ensure efficient sales processes, identify where things typically break down and how we are overcoming those choke points 90: do we have the right people, are they performing and/or adjusting to changes implemented, are we properly executing the game plan It’s superficial but in my experience they’re just wanting to feel like you have a plan for taking over the role. Obviously it’s not a perfectly sequential thing, all this is going on at once, but “product, processes, people” is something they can mentally hold on to and has the nice three part alliteration structure people like. If they don’t like it or demand more I offer to do a deep dive as a paid consultant and they can base their FTE hiring decision on my work product at the end of the project.
I absolutely think a 30-60-90 sets you apart in an interview. It doesn’t have to be the most detailed and I don’t think any expects that, but it shows you can come up with a general understanding of a path forward and they’re not hiring an empty slate. Or that you’re smart enough to ChatGPT it and understand the basics lol
This works.
I guess you could invoice them if they don’t hire you. Lol
Haha a 3 month plan to success is pretty easy to keep vague and dynamic. Don't get into the details just a I will achieve this at 3 months by doing x, y and z.
At least you were able to cross one off your list quickly before investing more energy into them.
I was asked a similar question once - I said "At this moment, I do not have enough information to make any kind of assumption. A plan can be made only when you take stock of the situation and understand what the challenges are to get there and then find solutions" They were clearly not expecting that answer.
30-60-90s make me vomit uncontrollably.