# SAMPLE — Application Quality Gate (pass + fail) · fiction

**SAMPLE = fiction only.** Not a testimonial. Not a result claim.  
**Twin of:** `../02-proof-assets/ats-quality-gate.md` (ownership / Day-0 Gate pack / EXAMPLE / anti-patterns / stop / Related).  
**Also wires:** `../01-target-map/targeting-map-worksheet.md` · `../03-pipeline-tracker/job-kanban.csv` · `../08-troubleshooting/COMMON-FAILURES.md` **CF-09** / **CF-01** · `../07-playbook/weekly-command-review.md` · Evidence Bank ACH-001…003  
**Persona:** Jordan Lee · Backend / Full-stack SWE (same season as `SEASON-NARRATIVE.md`)  
**Open when (worksheet):** resume_version locked + Priority A/B + about to mark Applied—not after Easy Apply spray.  
**Anti-AI bar:** kill phrases + same-day kanban ownership + stop rule on 3 fails / resume_version (see twin).  
**Purpose:** density bar showing **one Gate FAIL (stay Sourced)** and **one Gate PASS (may mark Applied)** — **not** a real application, **not** a testimonial, **not** proof you will get Screens.

Replace every ID and company with yours. Keep the rule: any Part B 1–4 fail → stay **Sourced**. Pass → same-day `job-kanban` write with `gate_pass=Y`.

---

## Ownership (filled — Jordan)

| You own | How Jordan held it |
|---------|-------------------|
| Part B 1–4 before Applied | Northline Fail held; BrightHarbor Pass only after 1–4 ✅ |
| Same-day kanban on Pass | APP-003 → Applied + `gate_pass=Y` + next_action 2026-11-06 same Asia/Shanghai evening |
| Natural keywords only | No invented Kafka bullet for Northline |
| Targeting Map honesty | T-NL-BE stayed **C**; not promoted to A for volume |
| Soft checks Screen-defend | APP-003 bullets cite ACH-001…003; links load |
| Stop / freeze rule | Would freeze after 3 fails on RV-Backend-v1—this week: 1 Fail parked, 1 Pass |
| Core Gate not skipped | No vertical pocket override; Core Gate ran both cases |
| No “Gate later” | Easy Apply temptation on Northline refused |

**Write-stop check:** Incomplete Day-0 pack would have frozen Apply—pack complete before BrightHarbor submit. Kill phrases erased from draft cover (“passionate about commerce”).

---

## Day-0 Gate pack (filled — before either Gate run)

| Item | Ready? | Pointer |
|------|--------|---------|
| Targeting Map rows + Priority scored | ☑ | T-NL-BE = C · T-BH-API = A |
| `resume_version` locked | ☑ | RV-Backend-v1 |
| JD top-3 needs + ≥5 keywords listed | ☑ | per case below |
| Top bullets ↔ needs / Evidence IDs | ☑ | ACH map on PASS; FAIL exposed mismatch |
| Part A hygiene for RV-Backend-v1 | ☑ | both cases hygiene ✅ |
| Comp band known or risk written | ☑ | |
| Next-action date if silence | ☑ | PASS: 2026-11-06 |
| Warm contact_id or N/A | ☑ | FAIL: none · PASS: C001 |
| Same-day kanban discipline | ☑ | FAIL stay Sourced · PASS Applied same day |
| Vertical Gate | N/A | Core-only season slice |

**Live stop held:** Closed LinkedIn Easy Apply tab on Northline when Priority C + keyword miss showed—did not “Gate later.”

---

## Case 1 — FAIL · stay Sourced

| Field | Value |
|-------|--------|
| application_id | APP-FAIL-01 (fiction) |
| Company / role | Northline Commerce · Backend Engineer |
| target_id | T-NL-BE (Priority **C** — stretch brand, thin product fit) |
| resume_version | RV-Backend-v1 |
| Date Gate run | 2026-10-29 (Asia/Shanghai) |
| Channel temptation | Easy Apply on LinkedIn |

### Part A — ATS / parse (hygiene)

| Item | Pass? | Notes |
|------|-------|-------|
| PDF + sane filename | ✅ | `JordanLee_Backend_Northline.pdf` |
| Single column / standard headings | ✅ | |
| No tables / icons / headshot | ✅ | |
| Contact block | ✅ | |
| Length / fonts | ✅ | 1 page |
| Spell-check + read aloud | ✅ | |

Hygiene can pass while targeting fails. Do not confuse file polish with Gate pass.

### Part B — Targeting & keyword Gate

| Gate | Pass? | Evidence |
|------|-------|----------|
| 1. Company + role on Targeting Map as **A or B** | ❌ | Target is **C** — “prestige spray”; next_action was “maybe later” |
| 2. Correct resume_version for role family | ✅ | RV-Backend-v1 |
| 3. ≥5 posting keywords appear naturally | ❌ | JD leans **Kafka + Java monolith**; resume is Go/Postgres/Redis — only 2 natural overlaps |
| 4. Top 3 bullets mirror job’s top 3 needs | ❌ | Top needs: event streaming, JVM perf, multi-region failover — Jordan’s top bullets are checkout latency + Aurora migration |
| 5. Comp band known or accepted risk | ✅ | Band logged as stretch; conscious risk |
| 6. Next action if silence | ✅ | Would have been +7d — irrelevant while Sourced |
| 7. Warm contact linked | ❌ | No contact_id; would have been cold Easy Apply |

**Decision:** **FAIL.** Stay **Sourced**. Do **not** mark Applied.  
**Operator note (fiction):** Closing this prevented a junk Applied that would have crashed Screen/Applied in Week metrics (**CF-09** avoided). Optional: rewrite a Kafka-adjacent bullet **only if** Jordan can Screen-defend it; otherwise drop Northline from active list.

### Part C — Soft checks

| Check | Pass? | Notes |
|-------|-------|-------|
| Evidence IDs Screen-defendable | ⚠ | Would need invent for Kafka — refused |
| Cover / form outcomes not passion | ☐ | Draft had “passionate about commerce” → kill; would Rewrite |
| Location / visa silent mismatch | ✅ | Remote OK |
| Title / scope Screen-defendable | ❌ | JVM / multi-region claims not on resume |
| Links load guest path | ✅ | |

**Soft:** ≥2 fail/warn → Rewrite path anyway; already Fail on Part B.

### Part D — Submission log

| Field | Value |
|-------|--------|
| submitted_via | — (not submitted) |
| gate_pass | **N** |
| closed / parked reason | `gate_fail_targeting_keywords` |
| kanban stage after Gate | **Sourced** (park) |

### Fix list (Jordan)

1. Do not promote T-NL-BE to A/B without product fit evidence.  
2. No Kafka/JVM bullet invent—cannot Screen-defend.  
3. Prefer BrightHarbor-class A targets with natural keyword overlap.

---

## Case 2 — PASS · may mark Applied

| Field | Value |
|-------|--------|
| application_id | APP-003 (matches SAMPLE kanban / debrief season) |
| Company / role | BrightHarbor · Backend / API Engineer |
| target_id | T-BH-API (Priority **A**) |
| resume_version | RV-Backend-v1 |
| Date Gate run | 2026-10-30 (Asia/Shanghai) |
| Channel | Company careers + warm note to C001 alumni |

### Part A — ATS / parse (hygiene)

| Item | Pass? | Notes |
|------|-------|-------|
| PDF + filename | ✅ | `JordanLee_Backend_BrightHarbor.pdf` |
| Single column / headings | ✅ | |
| No parser traps | ✅ | |
| Contact | ✅ | email · LI · GitHub |
| Length / fonts | ✅ | |
| Spell-check + read aloud | ✅ | |

### Part B — Targeting & keyword Gate

| Gate | Pass? | Evidence |
|------|-------|----------|
| 1. A/B on Targeting Map | ✅ | T-BH-API Priority A · product = checkout / payments-adjacent APIs |
| 2. resume_version | ✅ | RV-Backend-v1 |
| 3. ≥5 keywords natural | ✅ | API · Postgres · p95 latency · Redis · dual-write · on-call — all appear in bullets/skills |
| 4. Top 3 bullets mirror top 3 needs | ✅ | JD asks: API latency, data-store cutovers, ownership under freeze — maps to ACH-001, ACH-002, ACH-003 |
| 5. Comp band | ✅ | $165–190k base band; accepted |
| 6. Next action if silence | ✅ | 2026-11-06 bump if no auto-ack |
| 7. Warm path | ✅ | contact_id **C001** alumni; Framework B note queued same day |

**Decision:** **PASS.** Marked **Applied** on job-kanban with `gate_pass=Y`, resume_version, contact_id, next_action_date—**same Asia/Shanghai day**.

### Part C — Soft checks

| Check | Pass? | Notes |
|-------|-------|-------|
| Evidence IDs Screen-defendable | ✅ | ACH-001 p95 · ACH-002 dual-write · ACH-003 on-call |
| Cover / form outcomes | ✅ | Latency + cutover outcomes; kill phrases erased |
| Location / visa | ✅ | Remote US accepted |
| Title / scope defendable | ✅ | Backend / API matches Loop later |
| Links load guest | ✅ | GitHub + LI checked incognito |

### Part D — Submission log

| Field | Value |
|-------|--------|
| application_id | APP-003 |
| submitted_via | Company site (+ alumni ping) |
| datetime (Asia/Shanghai) | 2026-10-30 21:10 |
| confirmation # | BH-REQ-88421 (fiction) |
| resume_version | RV-Backend-v1 |
| gate_pass | **Y** |
| next_action | 2026-11-06 bump if silence |
| contact_id | C001 |

---

## Side-by-side (why both cases exist)

| | APP-FAIL-01 | APP-003 |
|--|-------------|---------|
| Hygiene | Pass | Pass |
| Targeting A/B | Fail (C) | Pass (A) |
| Keyword / bullet mirror | Fail | Pass |
| Warm path | None | C001 |
| Soft checks | ≥2 fail/warn | Pass |
| Kanban stage after Gate | **Sourced** (park) | **Applied** |
| Metrics lesson | Would have polluted Screen/Applied | Clean denominator |
| CF code if sprayed anyway | **CF-09** → **CF-01** | — |

**Rule reinforced:** Volume without Gate pass lies to Weekly Command Review and to Metrics Pack dashboards.

---

## Pack wiring (Map · kanban · CF-09 · weekly)

| Wire | What Jordan logged |
|------|--------------------|
| Targeting Map | T-NL-BE = C parked · T-BH-API = A Applied |
| Gate sheet | This SAMPLE twin; FAIL + PASS same week |
| `job-kanban.csv` | APP-FAIL-01 Sourced `gate_fail_targeting_keywords` · APP-003 Applied `gate_pass=Y` |
| Evidence Bank | PASS bullets ↔ ACH-001…003; FAIL refused invent |
| Contacts | C001 on PASS; FAIL explicit none |
| CF-09 check | No ungated Applied; Easy Apply temptation refused |
| Weekly Command Review | Funnel skim: 1 parked Fail · 1 clean Applied; no Gate≠Y rows |

---

## Stop-rules check (held)

| Rule | Held? |
|------|-------|
| Part B 1–4 Fail → stay Sourced | ✅ (Northline) |
| Incomplete Day-0 pack → no Apply | ✅ pack before BrightHarbor |
| 3 fails same resume_version → freeze | ✅ (1 Fail only; freeze not triggered) |
| Kill phrases / Gate later erased | ✅ |
| Soft fail 2+ → Rewrite / no Apply | ✅ (FAIL path) |
| Ungated Applied demote / CF-09 | ✅ none created |
| Priority C not inflated to Applied | ✅ |
| PII strip before share | ✅ (not shared) |

---

## Anti-pattern check (Jordan this week)

| Anti-pattern | Present? | Fix / note |
|--------------|----------|------------|
| Easy Apply before Gate | ☐ | Closed tab on Northline |
| Priority C marked Applied | ☐ | Stayed Sourced |
| Hygiene Pass = Gate Pass | ☐ | Part B failed Northline despite hygiene ✅ |
| Keyword stuffing / invent | ☐ | No Kafka bullet invented |
| Gate later / weekend batch | ☐ | Same-day PASS write 21:10 |
| Friend override of Fail | ☐ | Self-owned |
| Soft checks ignored | ☐ | Soft failed FAIL case; PASS defended |
| Spray after 3 fails same RV | ☐ | Only 1 Fail |
| Vertical Gate skip Core | ☐ | N/A; Core ran |
| “ATS conspiracy” blame | ☐ | Would Gate-audit first (**CF-01**) |
| Warm path blank when exists | ☐ | C001 logged on PASS |
| Passion-only cover | ☐ | Kill phrase erased |

---

## Honest limits

Fiction density bar only. Does not prove BrightHarbor will Screen you or that Northline-class fails always appear. Use the blank Gate with **your** Map and `resume_version`. No hire / interview / offer / ATS-bypass guarantee. SAMPLE ≠ your results.

*— End SAMPLE Application Quality Gate —*