Staying and moving up
Scored against the internal specification for the role above yours. The score works exactly the same whether you are applying out or applying up.
Role Readiness · Established 2026
Know exactly what is standing between you and the role you want.
Most people are turned down without ever being told why. We measure your application against the actual job specification, put a number on the distance, name the specific gaps, and hand you the training that closes them.
Eleven minutes. No card. No account required to see your score.
54
out of 100 · Operations Manager, manufacturing
0406080100
Band 2 — close on paper, losing at the screen.
Skills against spec71
Evidence you have done it62
Signals in the first 30 seconds44
Proof a stranger can verify28
11 minTo a scored, written report on where you actually stand
4Dimensions scored, each traced back to a line in the spec
240+Free courses from universities and awarding bodies, mapped to gaps
£0To find out. The diagnosis is free and always will be
The problem
You are not being rejected. You are being filtered.
By the time a human reads your application, a shortlist already exists. It was built by matching what the specification asked for against what your application visibly showed — in about thirty seconds, by someone who was never going to give you feedback.
Three things go wrong, and all three are fixable. You hold a skill but never evidenced it. You evidenced it but buried it on page two. Or you genuinely do not hold it yet, and nobody has told you which one it is.
Guessing is expensive. A year of applications that never land costs far more than eleven minutes of being told the truth.
Worked example — Operations Manager
| The spec asks for | Your application shows | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Lean / continuous improvement | Named, not evidenced | Partial |
| P&L responsibility | Evidenced, page two | Buried |
| ISO 9001 working knowledge | Absent | Missing |
| Managing 20+ direct reports | Evidenced, opening line | Clear |
| Data reporting to board level | Absent | Missing |
Two of these five are training gaps. Two are presentation gaps. One is already fine. They need completely different fixes, and until somebody separates them you are working on the wrong one.
The Gap Method
Four steps, in this order. The order is the whole point.
Skip step one and you train for skills the job never asked for. Skip step four and you make a claim a stranger has no reason to believe.
STEP 01
Match
You give us the specification for one real job. Not a job title — the actual advert. Every requirement in it becomes a line you are scored against.
STEP 02
Score
Your Role Gap Score, 0–100, across four dimensions. Each point traced to a line in the spec, so you can see the working rather than trust the number.
STEP 03
Prescribe
Each genuine gap is matched to specific free training from universities and awarding bodies — the shortest credible route, not a reading list.
STEP 04
Prove
You close the gap, then evidence it: an exam, a certificate, a written example. A claim a stranger can check is worth more than three a stranger cannot.
What the score is measuring
Four dimensions, weighted. The weighting is fixed and published, because a score you cannot interrogate is a horoscope.
| Dimension | What it asks | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Skills | Do you hold what the specification asks for? | 30% |
| Evidence | Can you show a time you actually did it? | 25% |
| Signals | Does it read as a match in the first thirty seconds? | 25% |
| Proof | Can a stranger verify the claim without trusting you? | 20% |
What the bands mean
A score is a position, not a verdict. Every band has a next action, including the top one.
- 0–39 — Not yet in the running. Real skill gaps. Training first, applications second.
- 40–59 — Close on paper, losing at the screen. Usually presentation, not capability. The fastest band to move out of.
- 60–79 — Shortlist-capable. You will get interviews. One or two specific proofs move you to the front.
- 80–100 — Front of the pack. Stop rewriting and start choosing which roles are worth your time.
What we make
One method, four things built on it.
Start anywhere. They are designed to be used in order, and they work on their own.
thegapmethod.com · free
The Gap Method assessment
The free scorer. Paste one job specification, answer the questions, get your Role Gap Score and a written Gap Report explaining every point of it.
Take the assessmentshortlistengine.com · £19/month
Shortlist Engine
The application tool. Rewrites your work history against one specific specification, surfaces the evidence you already had, and shows what changed and why.
See the toolgapmethod.com · £45/month
Gap Method Membership
Your gaps tracked over time, the mapped course library, AI-led exam preparation, and Shortlist Engine included. The place the work actually gets done.
Inside the membershipwhatgetsyouhired.com · free
What Gets You Hired
One thing that got somebody hired, every Thursday. Four-minute read, one action at the end. The best way to see how we think before paying us anything.
Read this week'sWho this is for
People who can feel the job changing underneath them.
You have twenty years of doing the work well. The requirements list on the advert now contains four things that did not exist when you started, and nobody has ever sat down and told you which of them actually matter.
This is not a service for graduates who need a first break, and it is not a recruitment agency. It is for people who are already good at something and need to know precisely what to add.
I did not need another template. I needed someone to tell me which two things to learn.
[PLACEHOLDER — replace with a real early user quote]Changing sector
The hard part of a sector change is proving that what you did transfers. That is a Signals and Proof problem, and both are scored.
Returning after a break
The gap on the timeline is rarely what costs you. Unevidenced currency is. The report separates the two.
For employers and L&D teams
The same scoring, pointed at a workforce.
The Role Gap Score was built for individuals, and it runs just as well across a team. Score a department against the specifications for the roles you actually need next year, and you get a training plan built from evidence rather than from a survey.
[PLACEHOLDER — swap for a real enquiry form or booking link once you have one.]
- Skills inventory that is not self-reported. Scored against specifications, not against a form people fill in optimistically.
- A training budget with a denominator. Spend mapped to named gaps, with free provision used first.
- Internal mobility you can evidence. Show who is already within reach of the role you were about to advertise.
Questions
Straight answers
Do you find me a job?
No. We are not a recruitment agency and we do not place anybody. We tell you where you stand against a specific role and what to do about it. Everything after that is yours.
Do you guarantee I will get hired?
No, and be careful with anyone who does. Hiring outcomes depend on the market, the competition and the people in the room. What we can affect is whether your application accurately represents what you can do, and whether you are learning the right things.
Are the courses yours?
No. We map to free courses published by universities, awarding bodies and training providers. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with any of them, and we do not issue their certificates. We point you at the shortest credible route and get out of the way.
Is the score just an AI opinion?
The scoring uses AI to read the specification and your history, but the rubric is fixed, published and the same for everybody. Every point is traced back to a line in the spec, so you can disagree with a specific judgement rather than with a black box.
What happens to the job specification I paste in?
It is used to produce your score and report, and it is not shared with employers, recruiters or anybody else. You can delete your assessment and everything in it at any time.
Do I have to pay to see my score?
No. The Gap Method assessment, the Role Gap Score and the written Gap Report are free and stay free. The paid products are for people who then want the work doing with them rather than alone.
Eleven minutes to stop guessing.
Take one advert you would genuinely apply for, and find out what a stranger sees when they read your application next to it.
Or start with the newsletter
One thing that got somebody hired, every Thursday. Four minutes, one action.