Recruiter playbooks

Adapt the prompts to your organisation. Use approved tools and information you are authorised to share. Check the sources, accuracy and suitability of every draft before using it.

Research [COMPANY] and the [ROLE TITLE] role before my intake call. Use public information plus anything I paste below. Give me, on one page: what the company does and how it makes money, the team this role sits in, three likely reasons this hire is open now, and five specific questions to ask the hiring manager. [PASTE ANY NOTES] Label possible reasons as hypotheses, not facts. Cite sources for factual claims.

Build an intake question set for the [ROLE TITLE] role at [COMPANY]. Cover seven areas: role and purpose, team and structure, the ideal candidate, success at three, six and twelve months, the assessment and interview process, ways of working, and how AI tools change this role. Give three to five non-leading questions per area, each with a one-line follow-up. Format as a checklist I can use live.

Here is my intake transcript: [PASTE, OR NAME THE FILE]. Produce a structured role brief: title, level, reporting line, team context, must-have requirements written as evidence not labels, nice-to-haves, disqualifiers, and success measures at three, six and twelve months. Use only what was said. Where something was not covered, list it as an open question rather than guessing.

Check my intake transcript against these seven areas: role and purpose, team and structure, ideal candidate, success measures, assessment and process, ways of working, and the role's relationship with AI tools. Tell me which areas were covered well and which were thin, then give the specific follow-up questions to close each gap. [PASTE TRANSCRIPT]

Here is the confirmed role brief: [PASTE]. Draft a short sign-off email to the hiring manager. Summarise the essential requirements, the success measures and the process we agreed. Keep it under 200 words, polite and direct, and end by asking them to confirm or correct before I start sourcing.

Here are the requirements for the [ROLE TITLE] role: [PASTE]. Flag any that are proxies rather than evidence of capability: years of experience, a named degree, single-tool expertise, or tenure on a named framework. For each, propose an evidence-based rewrite describing what the person must be able to do. Return a two-column table, original and rewrite.

Write an outcome-led job description for the [ROLE TITLE] role at [COMPANY], using the brief I paste below. Base it on what success looks like in year one and what the person will actually do. Lead with the three outcomes that matter most. Keep it under 500 words. [PASTE THE ROLE BRIEF]

Build a role scorecard for the [ROLE TITLE] role from the brief I paste below. Give five competencies, each with behavioural descriptors on a one to four scale and one non-leading question that tests it. Keep technologies and domains out of the questions and put them in the scoring notes. [PASTE THE ROLE BRIEF]

Review this job description for language that narrows the candidate pool: gendered terms, age signals, unnecessary requirements, and insider jargon. [PASTE THE JD]. Return each flagged phrase with a plain, inclusive rewrite and a one-line reason.

Using the role brief I paste below, draft a 90 day success plan for the new hire: what they should learn, deliver and own by day 30, 60 and 90. Tie each milestone to the success measures in the brief. Keep it to one page. [PASTE THE ROLE BRIEF]

Build search strings to find candidates for the [ROLE TITLE] role using the brief I paste below. Give a LinkedIn Recruiter Boolean string, a Google X-ray variant, and a GitHub X-ray variant if the role is technical, plus three variations that widen or narrow the result. Explain what each variation changes. [PASTE THE ROLE BRIEF]

Build a list of 20 target companies to source [ROLE TITLE] candidates from in [MARKET], tiered by priority, using the brief I paste below. For each, give one line on why their people fit. Add a five company pass list of places not to source from and why. [PASTE THE ROLE BRIEF]

Estimate the realistic talent pool for the [ROLE TITLE] role in [MARKET]. Give a tight, base and broad range with the assumptions behind each. Then check whether the pool supports the timeline and must-haves I paste below, and flag if the spec is too narrow for the market. [PASTE TIMELINE AND MUST-HAVES] Use available source data and name it. If reliable data is unavailable, say so and do not invent a count.

Write a 100 word LinkedIn message to [CANDIDATE NAME] for the [ROLE TITLE] role at [COMPANY], using their profile I paste below and the role brief. Open with something specific to them, not flattery. Lead with why this move is interesting for someone like them, name the company, and end with a low-pressure question. No buzzwords. [PASTE PROFILE AND BRIEF]

Write a three message outreach sequence for the [ROLE TITLE] role: an opener, a follow-up with additional relevant information five days later, and a close five days after that. Each under 100 words, each able to stand alone in case earlier ones were not read. Use the role brief I paste below. Give three subject line options for the email version. [PASTE THE ROLE BRIEF]