Recruiting is a pipeline, not a mood. The board exists so you do not apply to McKinsey twice and forget Bain's deadline.
Use the board at the bottom of this page. It lives in your browser. No account. If you want the same thing next to your cases after you sign in, use the in-app tracker.
The five columns
| Stage | What it means | What "next action" looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Interested | You might apply | Coffee chat, or a date you will decide |
| Applied | Portal submitted | Confirm the deadline for tests / first round |
| Interviewing | A real round is booked | Case prep for that format, not generic |
| Offer | Written numbers | Read the salary bands, then ask recruiting |
| Rejected | This cycle is closed | One note to the person who helped. Then the next firm |
Do not invent extra columns. "Waiting" is not a stage. Waiting is Applied with a date.
What to store on each card
- Firm and office
- Role (BA, intern, experienced)
- Deadline (application, test, first round)
- One next action with a day on it
- The person you actually talked to, if any
If you cannot name the next action, the card is decoration.
Weekly ritual (20 minutes, Sunday)
- Move anything that changed.
- Kill two Interested cards you are not going to apply to. Be adult about it.
- Put this week's cases on the Interviewing cards. Format-specific: Casey is not a PEI.
- Send at most three follow-ups.
Deadline hygiene
Calendars change by office. Confirm on the firm site, not on a screenshot from last year. Put the real date on the card. Put a reminder two days before, not the morning of.
How this connects to prep
The board does not practise for you. When a card hits Interviewing, you owe that firm a scored case this week. Try a case. If the round is PEI-heavy, open the workbook.