The 30-60-90 Day Job Search Plan for New Grads

TL;DR - A job search without structure becomes a daily grind of random actions with no feedback loop. - Phase 1 (days 1-30): Build the foundation. Materials, portfolio, LinkedIn, target company list. - Phase 2 (days 31-60): Active outreach. Applications, networking, recruiter conversations. - Phase 3 (days 61-90): Refinement. Assess what's working, fix what isn't, follow up and reapply. - Each phase has a weekly cadence so you know what to do on Monday morning. - Success at day 30 looks different than success at day 60. Knowing what to expect at each phase prevents unnecessary panic.

Starting a job search without a plan means you'll spend weeks doing whatever feels most urgent. Some days that's sending applications. Some days that's updating your resume for the fourth time. Some days that's browsing job boards and not applying to anything.

Ninety days is enough time to get a job if you use it well. It's also enough time to get nowhere if you don't. The difference is almost entirely structure.

This plan gives you that structure. It's concrete, phase-specific, and includes a weekly cadence so you know what work to do every week.

Before you start: The pre-work

Before day 1, answer these questions:

How much time can you dedicate per week? If you're searching full time, 30-40 hours per week is realistic. If you're working or in school, maybe 15-20 hours. Your answer changes the pace, not the phases.

What's your current state of readiness? Do you have a resume? A deployed portfolio project? An active LinkedIn profile? The more setup work you need in phase 1, the harder you'll push it.

What roles are you targeting? "Software engineering jobs" is not a target. "Junior backend roles at mid-stage B2B companies" is a target. You don't need to narrow to one company size or sector, but you need enough specificity to build a meaningful company list.

Phase 1: Foundation (Days 1-30)

The goal: be ready to compete.

Most new grads want to start applying on day 1. Don't. A week or two spent getting your materials right produces better results than six weeks of applying with a weak resume and a sparse GitHub.

What to build in phase 1

Your resume. Not "update." Build. A software engineering resume is a specific document with a specific structure. Recruiters spend less than 30 seconds on a first pass. Your resume needs to surface your strongest signals fast. Read what recruiters see in 10 seconds and the full software engineering resume guide before writing a single word.

Your portfolio. You need at least one deployed project that demonstrates something real. If you have three, that's better. If your GitHub shows commit history on your main project from the past few months, that's a signal. If your last commit was the day you finished your capstone, that's a different signal. How to pick a portfolio project helps if you're deciding what to build.

Your LinkedIn profile. Not just "complete the profile." A recruiter will look at your LinkedIn within minutes of seeing your resume. The profile needs to match the resume, show relevant skills, and not have three years of nothing. The LinkedIn guide for engineers who aren't influencers covers the specifics.

Your target company list. Build a list of 40 to 60 companies you want to apply to. Not all the same size. A mix of mid-stage startups, established mid-size companies, and agencies gives you a healthier pipeline than 60 FAANG applications. You'll use this list to prioritize outreach in phase 2.

Your materials tracked somewhere. A spreadsheet. Notion. Anything. Columns for: company, role, application status, who you know there, outreach sent, follow-up date. You'll need this in phase 2 and 3.

Phase 1 weekly cadence

Monday: Work on one resume section or do one round of targeted resume edits. Tuesday: Portfolio work. Commit something. Fix a bug. Add a feature. Write a readme. Wednesday: LinkedIn. Add connections, update the profile, write one post if you're comfortable. Thursday: Company research. Add 5-10 companies to your target list with notes on each. Friday: Review what you have. Does your resume, portfolio, and LinkedIn tell a consistent story?

What success looks like at day 30

At the end of phase 1, you have: - A resume that you'd be comfortable showing to a senior engineer without apologizing for it. - At least one deployed project with a real readme and clean commit history. - A LinkedIn profile that's complete and active. - A target list of 40+ companies with basic notes on each. - A tracking system set up and ready to use.

You have not applied to anything yet (or maybe a handful of roles as tests). That's fine. You're not behind.

Phase 2: Active Outreach (Days 31-60)

The goal: generate conversations.

Phase 2 is where the job search becomes a job. You're doing output work every week. Applications, outreach messages, follow-ups, phone screens, maybe first-round interviews by the end of this phase.

The weekly cadence in phase 2

This is the 10:10:10 structure:

10 targeted applications per week. Research each company before applying. Adjust your resume for the specific role. Write a short cover letter for roles at small companies or direct applications. Apply through the company's own careers page when possible, not just through job boards.

10 warm outreach messages per week. LinkedIn messages to engineers at your target companies, alumni from your school, or people you've met at meetups. Not asking for a job. Asking for a 15-minute conversation about what the team is like. How to reach out to engineers at target companies has scripts.

10 follow-ups per week. Applications submitted 10-14 days ago with no response. Recruiters who said they'd circle back. Outreach messages that went unanswered. One follow-up per contact, per thing. Not three.

That's the work. Some weeks you'll hit all three numbers. Some weeks you'll get to 6:6:6 and that's still a working job search.

What else happens in phase 2

Recruiter screens. These are 15-30 minute calls that gate access to the technical process. They're not technical but they're not easy. Have clear answers to: "Tell me about yourself," "Why are you looking for a new role," and "What are you looking for in your next position." Short, specific, forward-looking answers.

Technical phone screens. If you're past recruiter screens, you're in technical conversations. Have your LeetCode fundamentals current. Know your portfolio projects inside out. Be ready to walk through code you've written.

Coffee chats. Some of the outreach from your warm messages will turn into informal conversations. Treat these as information-gathering, not interviews. Ask genuine questions. Leave with a clearer picture of whether you want to apply to that company.

Refinement of your tracking system. After two weeks of active outreach, your spreadsheet should tell you: which companies are responding, which aren't, where in the process you're stalling, and which outreach messages are getting replies. This data is useful in phase 3.

What success looks like at day 60

At the end of phase 2, you have: - Sent 80-120 applications (10/week for 8 weeks, though it builds gradually). - Had at least 3-5 recruiter screens. - Had at least 1-2 technical conversations. - A clear picture of which parts of the process are working and which aren't. - A network that's starting to produce signal. People are replying. Some conversations are happening.

If you've had 0 recruiter screens by day 60, that's a specific problem. Usually it's the resume, role-targeting mismatch, or both. Don't continue into phase 3 without addressing it.

Phase 3: Refinement (Days 61-90)

The goal: close the loop.

Phase 3 is where most job seekers get discouraged. The initial energy of starting the search has worn off. You've had some rejections. Maybe a few good conversations that didn't go anywhere. The work is the same as phase 2 but the emotional fuel is lower.

Phase 3 is also where job searches succeed or fail based on two things: your willingness to adjust, and your consistency with the process.

The diagnostic review at day 60-65

Before the final push, take one to two days to assess what's working.

Resume: Are you getting past screeners at a reasonable rate? If you've sent 80+ applications and gotten fewer than 5 recruiter screens, the resume is probably the problem. Get it reviewed by someone who hires engineers, not just an engineer friend.

Portfolio: Are conversations stalling after interviewers see your projects? The portfolio might be the issue. One strong deployed project is better than three half-finished ones.

Role targeting: Are you consistently rejected at stages that suggest over-reaching? Applying to roles that ask for 3+ years of experience when you have less isn't persistence, it's poor targeting. Adjust.

Outreach response rate: Are your warm messages getting replies? If fewer than 1 in 10 messages gets a response, the message itself needs work. Compare it to the guide on reaching out to engineers.

Interview performance: If you're getting phone screens but not advancing, that's an interview skill issue, not a materials issue. Practice. Get a mock interview. Record yourself answering behavioral questions.

Continuing the weekly cadence in phase 3

Keep running 10:10:10. Don't drop the applications because you're waiting to hear back from a few conversations. The pipeline needs to stay full.

Add one thing: re-engage warm connections. People you spoke with in phase 2 who said "reach out again in a few weeks." Companies you applied to that weren't hiring immediately. Recruiters who said to circle back. Phase 3 is when that follow-up loop closes.

Following up on stalled applications

Applying to a company and hearing nothing after two weeks is normal. A single follow-up email to the recruiting contact, if you have one, is appropriate. How to follow up after a job application covers the exact language.

Don't follow up on applications where you have no contact information. A second application through the ATS is not a follow-up.

The pivot question

At day 75, ask yourself honestly: what would I change if I were starting over?

Common answers: - I would have built a more specific portfolio project targeting a particular domain. - I would have started warm outreach earlier instead of relying only on applications. - I would have been more selective about the roles I applied to. - I would have practiced technical interviews more seriously before my first phone screens.

You can't restart. But you can implement any of these changes in the final two weeks of the 90-day cycle.

What success looks like at day 90

The goal at day 90 is not necessarily a job offer. It's a functional, generating pipeline where you understand why each piece is working or not.

At day 90, a healthy search looks like: - Active conversations with 3-5 companies at various stages. - A clear picture of where you're strongest (which types of roles, which types of companies). - A network that's starting to produce inbound interest, not just responses to your outreach. - One or more final-round or offer-stage conversations in progress.

If you don't have a job by day 90, you don't start over. You continue. What to do when your job search has stalled after 6 months covers the longer-term version of this search, including harder pivots.

A note on expectations

The median time from starting a job search to accepting an offer for a new grad software engineer is measured in months, not weeks. Most candidates who get hired in 90 days are either in markets with high demand, have strong referrals, or started the search with exceptional materials already in place.

This plan is not a guarantee of a 90-day timeline. It's a guarantee that you'll spend those 90 days doing the right work instead of the most comfortable work. That matters regardless of how long the search takes.

Why CS grads and bootcamp graduates aren't getting hired covers the structural reasons the market is hard right now. Understanding the environment makes it easier to interpret your results accurately.

The 90-day structure works because it turns a diffuse process into specific weekly work. You know what to do Monday morning. You know what "done" looks like for each phase. You have data to make decisions with at the end of each phase rather than vague feelings about how things are going.

If you want structured support running this plan with coaching, accountability, and feedback on your materials at each stage, here's how the Globally Scoped program works.