Frameworks Referenced

The hub's workflows are built on established frameworks. Using the framework name explicitly gives you vocabulary to research further and signals craft.

Resume writing

Google's XYZ formula (Laszlo Bock, former Google SVP People Ops)

"Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]."

Every bullet answers three questions: what did you do, how was impact measured, and what actions produced it. This is the single biggest lever on resume quality.

The one-number rule: every resume bullet must contain at least one quantified element (headcount, percentage, dollars, timeframe, scale). Bullets without numbers get cut in review.

CAR / PAR / STAR (Challenge-Action-Result / Problem-Action-Result / Situation-Task-Action-Result): alternative framings when XYZ feels over-structured for a short bullet. STAR is the dominant one, used explicitly in profiles/stories.md.

Interviews

BEI — Behavioral Event Interviewing (David McClelland, Harvard psychologist who pioneered the methodology)

The foundation of most behavioral interviews. Premise: past behavior predicts future behavior. Interviewers probe specific past events ("tell me about a time when…"), not hypotheticals. Prepare with specific events, not generalities.

STAR (Situation / Task / Action / Result): the dominant answer format for BEI questions. Used throughout profiles/stories.md.

Grant proposals

Heilmeier Catechism (George Heilmeier, former DARPA director)

Nine questions every research proposal should answer — even when the grant template doesn't ask them explicitly:

1. What are you trying to do? (Articulate objectives with no jargon.)
2. How is it done today, and what are the limits?
3. What's new in your approach, and why will it succeed?
4. Who cares? If you succeed, what difference does it make?
5. What are the risks and payoffs?
6. How much will it cost?
7. How long will it take?
8. What are the midterm and final "exams" to check for success?
9. What's your exit strategy?

Used as the narrative backbone of workflows/grant-application.md.

Career positioning

T-shaped / π-shaped / M-shaped skills (McKinsey / IDEO popularized)

Deep expertise in one vertical + broad fluency across adjacent areas. For senior roles, often π-shaped (two depths) or M-shaped (multiple depths). Use when articulating unique value.

Career capital (Cal Newport, So Good They Can't Ignore You)

Rare-and-valuable skills build leverage. When doing gap analysis, the question isn't "what skills am I missing?" — it's "what capital do I have, and what's worth investing in?"

Job search strategy

Stretch target heuristic ("1-2 levels up, 1.2-3x comp, 70% match")

A widely-used recruiter heuristic for external moves:

• Seniority: target roles 1-2 levels above current title. Not same-level (no growth, rarely worth switching). Not 3+ levels (usually delusional unless founder path).
• Compensation: floor 1.2-1.5x current total comp (external moves command a premium); stretch ceiling 2-3x when also leveling up AND shifting company type.
• Match threshold: apply at ~70% match. Senior hires are expected to grow into the role.
• Channel weight: warm intro >>> cold apply (~10x conversion). Invest in network activation before mass-applying.

Exceptions: career pivots (pay cut normal), downshift by choice, at market ceiling, early-career (smaller multipliers). Foundation of workflows/jd-sourcing.md.

Due diligence

Triangulation

Every load-bearing claim needs ≥2 independent public sources before submission. Standard practice in qualitative research, applied here to pre-submission resume / proposal verification. Foundation of workflows/verification.md.

Goal framing

SMART (Specific / Measurable / Achievable / Relevant / Time-bound)

Used in todo.md to keep priorities concrete — vague items get rewritten into SMART form.

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Reading list

Want to go deeper on these?

• Laszlo Bock, Work Rules! — origin of the XYZ formula and Google's hiring philosophy.
• David McClelland, "Testing for Competence Rather Than for Intelligence" (American Psychologist, 1973) — the seminal BEI paper.
• Cal Newport, So Good They Can't Ignore You — career capital, deep work.
• George Heilmeier, "The Heilmeier Catechism" — DARPA's official page.
• Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone — networking / warm-intro playbook.