SAMPLE — Application Quality Gate (pass + fail) · fiction
SAMPLE = fiction only. Not a testimonial. Not a result claim.
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: a fictional worked example 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
- Do not promote T-NL-BE to A/B without product fit evidence.
- No Kafka/JVM bullet invent—cannot Screen-defend.
- Prefer BrightHarbor-class A targets with natural keyword overlap.
Case 2 — PASS · may mark Applied
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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)
Scroll for all columns
| 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
This is a fictional sample 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 —