review-linkedin-opportunity

Always read:

• career/job-search/inbound-tracker.md — Read first: at-a-glance index of every prior approach, deduped by company. Tells you immediately whether this is a repeat (which company, which round) before you spend effort researching.
• career/job-search/context.md — Current search status, open loops, standing rules
• career/job-search/archive/inbound-2026-h1.md — Prior approach narratives + reply patterns (read when handling a repeat company)
• career/job-search/CLAUDE.md — Job search persona and strategy
• career/CLAUDE.md — Career domain expertise
• career/context.md — Current role, compensation, priorities
• career/job-search/recruiters.md — Known recruiter database
• career/job-search/target-companies.md — Target company list
• career/reference.md — Compensation details, career history
• decisions.md — Any settled career decisions

Read if relevant:

• finances/context.md — If compensation comparison needed
• finances/reference.md — Current total comp for comparison

2. Parse the Outreach

Extract every available signal from the recruiter message:

Direct Clues

• Recruiter name and firm — Search recruiter database, identify if specialist or generalist
• Job title — Exact title mentioned
• Company name — If disclosed
• Seniority signals — "leadership", "build a team", "strategic", "hands-on"
• Domain signals — Industry, tech stack, problem areas mentioned
• Company descriptors — "high-growth", "Series B", "profitable", "global expansion"
• Team size — "growing team of X", "first hire", "established function"
• Location/remote — Office requirements, hybrid policy
• Compensation hints — Salary range, equity, day rate

Indirect Clues (for identifying unnamed companies)

• Recruiter's other listings — Search the recruiter/firm's recent job postings
• Industry + descriptor combination — e.g., "high-growth fintech" + "newly created data function"
• Funding stage — Series A/B/C, PE-backed, profitable
• Team composition described — "6 data scientists", "80-person analytics team"
• Problem domains — "marketplace optimisation", "experimentation", "pricing"
• Geographic signals — HQ location, office locations, expansion markets
• Headcount — Approximate company size
• Retained vs contingent search — Retained (company-paid) suggests senior/exec role

3. Research the Opportunity

Run parallel research across multiple angles:

Identify the Company (if unnamed)

Strategy 1: Recruiter OSINT

• Search the recruiter's name + firm on LinkedIn, Google
• Check the recruiting firm's recent job listings (their website, LinkedIn, job boards)
• Look for matching roles on the firm's public job board
• Cross-reference job descriptions — retained searches often have near-identical wording

Strategy 2: Company Descriptor Matching

• Combine all descriptors (industry + stage + size + domain + location)
• Search for companies matching the profile
• Check recent funding rounds (Crunchbase, TechCrunch) that match the stage
• Look at VC portfolio company job boards if fund is mentioned

Strategy 3: Role Matching

• Search job boards for the exact title + industry
• Look for recently posted then removed listings (suggests retained search took over)
• Check LinkedIn Jobs for matching descriptions from different recruiters

Strategy 4: Market Context

• Research the sector's current hiring trends
• Identify which companies in that sector are in growth/build phase
• Check for recent news: funding rounds, leadership hires, expansion announcements

Research the Company (once identified or shortlisted)

For each candidate company, research:

1. Growth & Funding — Recent funding, revenue trajectory, profitability, valuation
2. Global Expansion — New markets, office openings, headcount growth
3. Data/Analytics Function — Team size, maturity, tech stack, hiring patterns
4. Tech Stack — dbt, Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Looker, etc.
5. Culture & WLB — Glassdoor reviews, flexible working, parental leave
6. Leadership — Who runs data/DS, their background, reporting structure
7. Compensation — Glassdoor, levels.fyi, market benchmarks for similar roles
8. News — Recent press, blog posts, tech blog, conference talks
9. Red Flags — Layoffs, leadership churn, Glassdoor complaints, funding concerns

Research the Recruiter

• Firm type: Executive search, specialist DS, generalist, internal?
• Reputation: Known in recruiter database? Specialist or spray-and-pray?
• Track record: What companies do they typically recruit for?
• Retained vs contingent: Retained = company paying upfront = serious search

4. Assess Fit

Rate the opportunity against Pedro's priorities:

Fit Dimensions

Timing Assessment

Always check against current timeline:

• Now → April 2026: Pre-baby, not exploring
• April → August 2026: Parental leave, completely unavailable
• September 2026+: Potential search window

If timing is wrong, assess whether to keep door open for later.

Compensation Comparison

Build a quick comparison table:

| Component | Current (Meta) | This Role (Est.) | Δ |
|-----------|---------------|-------------------|---|
| Base salary | £211k | £X | |
| Bonus | £X | £X | |
| RSUs/Equity | £X | £X | |
| **Total comp** | ~£375k | £X | |
| Day rate equiv | — | £X/day | |

For contract roles, calculate:

• Day rate × working days × take-home percentage
• Compare to perm equivalent and current comp

5. Format the Output

# LinkedIn Opportunity Review

## The Approach
**From**: {Recruiter name} ({Firm})
**Date**: {Date}
**Role**: {Title as described}
**Company**: {Named or "Unnamed — likely {Company}"}

## Company Identification

{If company unnamed, explain the detective work:}
- Clue 1: {descriptor} → narrows to {X}
- Clue 2: {recruiter's other listings} → points to {Y}
- Clue 3: {funding/size match} → confirms {Z}

**Confidence**: {High/Medium/Low}% — {Company Name}
{If multiple candidates, rank them with confidence percentages}

## Company Profile

| Attribute | Detail |
|-----------|--------|
| Company | {Name} |
| Industry | {Sector} |
| Stage | {Funding stage, revenue if known} |
| Headcount | {Approx} |
| HQ | {Location} |
| Data team | {Size, maturity} |
| Tech stack | {Known tools} |
| Remote policy | {Details} |

## Role Assessment

**What they're looking for**: {1-2 sentence summary}
**What this actually is**: {Honest read — is "Head of DS" actually a senior IC? Is "build from scratch" actually firefighting?}

## Fit Assessment

| Dimension | Rating | Notes |
|-----------|--------|-------|
| Role type | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {IC vs management, scope} |
| Compensation | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {Estimated range vs current} |
| Work-life balance | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {Evidence from research} |
| Domain interest | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {Problem space assessment} |
| Company trajectory | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {Growth/risk assessment} |
| Timing | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {Against parental leave timeline} |
| Strategic value | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {Portfolio career alignment} |

## Compensation Estimate

| Component | Current (Meta) | This Role (Est.) | Δ |
|-----------|---------------|-------------------|---|
| Base | £211k | £X | -£X |
| Bonus | £X | £X | -£X |
| Equity | £X | £X | -£X |
| **Total** | ~£375k | ~£X | **-£X** |

{Context on whether comp cut is worth it for other gains}

## Verdict

**Overall**: {Worth pursuing / Keep door open / Polite decline}

{2-3 sentences: honest bottom line. Factor in timing, fit, compensation, and strategic value. Don't sugar-coat — if it's a bad fit, say so clearly.}

## Suggested Reply

{If worth replying, draft a response following voice-guide.md:}
- Matches Pedro's established reply pattern (polite, noncommittal, no parental leave mention)
- Appropriate level of door-opening based on fit assessment

---
*Sources: {List key sources used in research}*

6. Update Context

After the review:

• Update career/job-search/inbound-tracker.md — if the company already has a row, bump its Round count and refresh Latest contact / Status / Next move (don't add a duplicate row); otherwise add a new one-line row. This is the dedup index.
• Append the full approach narrative to the current half-year archive file (career/job-search/archive/inbound-2026-h2.md, create if missing — same format as inbound-2026-h1.md): contact, date, role, company (confirmed or likely), fit assessment, reply status, market intel. Keep context.md lean — it carries only the approach count, open loops, and standing rules.
• If the approach leaves a follow-up hanging (e.g. "they'll revert in September", "decide whether to re-engage"), add an ⏳ **OPEN:** marker (tracker Open loops section and/or context.md) so /today surfaces it.
• If a new recruiter is identified, consider adding to career/job-search/recruiters.md

7. Draft Reply (if requested)

When drafting a reply:

1. Read voice-guide.md for Pedro's writing voice
2. Read career/job-search/outreach-templates.md for established patterns
3. Match the tone of previous replies (see the inbound archive narratives)
4. Key rules:
   • Never mention parental leave (avoids "mercenary" optics)
   • Polite but noncommittal unless genuinely interested
   • Keep door open for September 2026+ if role has potential
   • Short — 2-4 sentences for a standard decline/defer