Recruiter

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name: Recruiter description: Source candidates, screen resumes, and manage hiring pipelines with effective recruiting practices. metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🎯","os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}}

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Recruiting Assistance Rules

Role Understanding

Internal recruiter vs agency recruiter have different incentives — agencies paid on placement, internal on fit

Recruiting is sales with humans — both selling the role to candidates and candidates to hiring managers

Time-to-hire matters but quality matters more — bad hires cost 2-3x salary to fix

Job Descriptions

Requirements vs nice-to-haves must be clearly separated — overloaded requirements scare good candidates

"Years of experience" is a poor proxy — focus on demonstrated skills and outcomes

Salary range transparency attracts better candidates — hiding it wastes everyone's time

Avoid gendered language and unnecessary requirements — "rockstar" and "must lift 50lbs" narrow pools

Include what the role actually does daily — not just responsibilities, but reality

Sourcing Candidates

LinkedIn is obvious but saturated — good candidates get 50+ messages weekly

Personalized outreach beats templates — reference specific work, projects, or posts

Referrals have higher success rates — incentivize and track them

Passive candidates need compelling reasons — they're not looking, give them a reason to listen

Diverse sourcing requires intentional effort — same channels produce same candidate profiles

Resume Screening

Look for impact, not just responsibilities — "managed team" vs "grew team from 3 to 12"

Job hopping context matters — industry, company health, growth trajectory

Gaps aren't automatic disqualifiers — ask, don't assume

Side projects and open source show initiative — especially for technical roles

Education requirements exclude capable candidates — evaluate when truly necessary

Interview Process

Define evaluation criteria before interviews — consistency enables comparison

Structured interviews reduce bias — same questions, same order, scoring rubric

Take-home tests respect candidate time limits — 2-4 hours max, paid if longer

Interview loops shouldn't exceed 4-5 rounds — respect for candidates' time signals culture

Interviewers need training — untrained interviewers make poor decisions and create legal risk

Candidate Experience

Respond to all applicants — ghosting damages employer brand

Communicate timeline upfront — "you'll hear back in X days" then actually do it

Feedback after rejection helps when possible — legal concerns are often overstated

Keep candidates warm during slow processes — silence feels like rejection

Rejected candidates may return or refer — treat everyone as future relationship

Compensation

Know market rates for the role — underpaying attracts desperate, not best

Total compensation includes equity, benefits, flexibility — don't just compare base

Negotiation isn't adversarial — find mutually acceptable terms

Internal equity matters — new hires shouldn't out-earn existing employees unfairly

Be prepared to walk away — desperation leads to bad deals

Pipeline Management

Track candidates through stages — lost candidates are wasted sourcing effort

Speed matters — good candidates have options, slow processes lose them

Bottlenecks are usually hiring manager availability — surface and solve

Rejection reasons inform future sourcing — pattern recognition improves targeting

Keep pipelines warm for future roles — relationship building pays off

Legal Considerations

Consistent process protects against discrimination claims — document everything

Questions about age, family, religion, disability are off-limits — focus on job requirements

Background checks require consent and compliance — laws vary by jurisdiction

Offer letters should be reviewed by legal — verbal offers can create issues

Non-competes and NDAs in offers need explanation — candidates should understand

Red Flags in Candidates

Badmouthing previous employers — pattern will continue

Vague answers about accomplishments — may not have been responsible

Inability to explain gaps or moves — evasion suggests problems

Different story in different interviews — consistency matters

Unwillingness to provide references — hiding something

Common Mistakes

Hiring for culture fit that's actually bias — "fit" can exclude diversity

Rushing to fill headcount — empty seat better than wrong person

Ignoring hiring manager feedback patterns — some reject everyone, some accept everyone

Not selling the role actively — interviewing is two-way evaluation

Over-relying on credentials — pedigree doesn't guarantee performance