Course › Module 2 · Intake and the job blueprint

Lab 1: build a full job blueprint

Module 2, Lesson 6  ·  3 min read ·  Updated 21 September 2026

Module 2 · Lesson 6

Build the thing the rest of the course runs on: one job blueprint, complete enough that someone else could search and screen from it without asking you a question.

What to do

Use the job brief in the practice folder (/job-brief.md). Treat it as your meeting notes — it is deliberately incomplete, in the same ways a real meeting is.

  1. Pull out a structured profile using the method from Lesson 2, including the not stated rule. Note every gap.
  2. Write the job advert, applying the requirement test from Lesson 3. Under 700 words.
  3. Build a scorecard with five to seven items, each with a description of what you could watch someone do, and a written description of what a 3 looks like.
  4. Give every item a stage where it gets checked. Cut anything with nowhere to go.
  5. Set three must-haves and share 100 points between your scores, each with a note on what counts as proof.

What to hand in

One document, no more than two pages: the profile with its gaps marked, the three must-haves, the scores with their proof notes, and the scorecard with its descriptions.

Keep it. Module 4 uses it directly as screening rules, and the final project in Module 12 builds on it.

How to know you have done it right

CheckGood looks like
You found the gapsAt least three fields marked not stated
Must-havesExactly three, each surviving the rejection test
ScoresFour to seven, none above 30 points or below 5
Scorecard itemsEvery one has a stage and a written description of a 3
Proof notesEvery score can be checked against a CV

Check yourself before Module 3

  • Could a recruiter who has never met the hiring manager search from this?
  • Is anything in your must-haves something a person could learn in the job? If so, it is in the wrong place.
  • If you gave your weights to someone else and they ranked ten candidates, would you expect to agree with their order?
  • Which three questions would you actually need to ask the manager to close your gaps? Write them down. That habit is worth more than the blueprint itself.

How long to spend

Forty minutes. If it is taking two hours you are writing a policy document instead of a working tool. The blueprint is meant to be changed after your first screening run, not perfected beforehand.

Common questions

What is a hiring scorecard?

A scorecard is a written plan for what evidence you will collect about each competency, from which stage, and what counts as good enough. It is not a list of skills. The test for any line is whether two people watching the same interview would independently agree it was demonstrated.

How many must-have requirements should a job have?

Three at most. The test for each is whether you would genuinely reject an otherwise outstanding candidate for missing it — not whether it is important. Most requirement lists collapse to one or two real must-haves under that test, and a list of five usually describes a person who does not exist.

What should you ask in a hiring intake meeting?

Twelve questions across four areas: the problem the hire solves, the bar, the market, and the process. The three that do most work are what the last failed hire got wrong, which skills must arrive intact versus can be learned, and what the manager would trade to fill the role in three weeks.

Do long job descriptions reduce applications?

Long requirement lists do not filter — your screening does that. What they change is who applies. Candidates who match twelve of fifteen requirements often do not apply, while those matching six frequently do, and the effect is uneven across groups. A long list quietly selects on confidence rather than capability.

Check yourself

Four questions. Nothing is recorded anywhere but your own browser — this is for you, not for a score.

  1. 1Which intake question most reliably surfaces the real bar for a role?

  2. 2A hiring manager will not trade anything to fill a role in three weeks. What does that mean?

  3. 3Which of these belongs in a scorecard?

  4. 4You have five must-haves. What is the problem?