50+ AI Prompts for Recruiters (Copy and Paste)

01 — Prompts & Templates

Copy. Paste. Source.

Battle-tested prompts for AI-assisted sourcing, outreach, JD parsing, and Boolean building. Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.

Talent Mapping Prompt

sourcingstrategy

I'm sourcing for a [ROLE TITLE] at [COMPANY]. The ideal candidate has experience with [KEY SKILLS]. List 15 companies where this talent typically works, organized by tier: - Tier 1: Direct competitors (same product/market) - Tier 2: Adjacent companies (similar tech stack) - Tier 3: Surprising sources (non-obvious companies using this stack) For each company, name the team or org where this talent sits.

Multi-Channel Search Strategy

sourcingadvanced

I need to find [ROLE TITLE] candidates who have [KEY SKILLS]. LinkedIn Recruiter is saturated. Generate search strategies for these alternative channels: 1. GitHub (repos, contributions, stars) 2. Google X-ray for personal sites and portfolios 3. Conference speaker lists and meetup organizers 4. Stack Overflow and technical forums 5. Academic papers (Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar) 6. Patent databases For each channel, give me the exact search string or query I should use.

Ideal Candidate Persona Builder

sourcingpersona

Here is a job description: [PASTE JD] Build an ideal candidate persona: - Years of experience range - Most likely current titles (3-5 variations) - Companies they probably work at now - Technologies on their resume - Career path that led them here - What motivates them to move (pull factors) - What keeps them in their current role (retention risks) - LinkedIn headline patterns to search for - Keywords that appear on their GitHub/portfolio

Hidden Talent Pool Finder

sourcingdiversity

I'm sourcing for [ROLE TITLE] and want to expand beyond the usual channels. Identify non-obvious talent pools: 1. Professional communities & Slack groups for this skill set 2. Bootcamps and reskilling programs producing this talent 3. Open-source projects where contributors have this expertise 4. Industry conferences where this talent speaks or attends 5. Adjacent roles where people have transferable skills 6. Geographic markets with untapped supply 7. Nonprofit/academic orgs where this talent is underpaid For each, tell me specifically how to find and reach these people.

Personalized InMail Generator

outreachemail

Write a cold outreach message for this candidate: Name: [NAME] Current role: [TITLE at COMPANY] Notable: [SOMETHING SPECIFIC - project, patent, talk, open source contribution] Role I'm pitching: [TITLE at CLIENT] Key selling points: [2-3 reasons this role is compelling] Rules: - Under 100 words - Lead with what impressed me about THEM (not the job) - No "exciting opportunity" or "I came across your profile" - End with a low-friction ask (15-min call, not a full interview) - Sound like a human, not a template

Follow-Up Sequence (5-touch)

outreachsequence

Create a 5-touch follow-up sequence for a candidate who hasn't responded to my initial outreach. Context: - Role: [TITLE at COMPANY] - Initial message sent: [DATE] - Candidate background: [BRIEF SUMMARY] Rules for each touch: 1. Touch 2 (Day 3): Different angle, add new info 2. Touch 3 (Day 7): Value-add (market insight, comp data) 3. Touch 4 (Day 14): Social proof (similar placement story) 4. Touch 5 (Day 21): Breakup email with door left open Each message under 75 words. Never repeat the same pitch. Never sound desperate.

Subject Line Generator

outreachconversion

Generate 10 subject lines for a recruiting email to a [ROLE TITLE] at [CURRENT COMPANY]. I'm pitching: [ROLE at CLIENT COMPANY] Rules: - Under 6 words each - No spam trigger words (opportunity, exciting, amazing) - Mix of approaches: curiosity, specificity, mutual connection, value-add - Include 2 that reference something specific about them - Include 2 that are intentionally casual/conversational - Rank them by expected open rate and explain why

JD Deconstructor

jd parsinganalysis

Parse this job description and give me a structured breakdown: [PASTE FULL JD] Output: 1. MUST-HAVE skills (true dealbreakers vs. wish list padding) 2. NICE-TO-HAVE skills (won't reject without these) 3. Hidden requirements (things implied but not stated) 4. Red flags (unrealistic combos, title/comp mismatch) 5. Seniority signals (IC vs. lead vs. manager) 6. Comp estimate based on requirements + market 7. Similar titles this person might use on LinkedIn 8. Top 5 companies where this exact person works today

Intake Call Question Generator

jd parsingintake

I have an intake call with a hiring manager for this role: [PASTE JD] Generate 15 intake questions organized by: - MUST-ASK (clarify ambiguity, validate true requirements) - DIFFERENTIATORS (what separates good from great) - PROCESS (timeline, interview stages, decision-makers) - COMP & SELL (budget flexibility, unique selling points) - RED FLAG DETECTORS (has this been open before? why did the last person leave?) For each question, tell me WHY I'm asking it and what answer to watch for.

Boolean String Builder

booleanlinkedin

Build LinkedIn Boolean search strings for this role: Title: [ROLE TITLE] Key skills: [LIST SKILLS] Location: [CITY/REGION or REMOTE] Experience: [YEARS] Generate: 1. A broad string (cast a wide net, 200+ results) 2. A targeted string (narrow to best-fit, 30-50 results) 3. A Google X-ray string (site:linkedin.com/in/) 4. A GitHub X-ray string (site:github.com) 5. Title variations I should also search For each string, explain the logic so I can modify it.

X-Ray Search Generator

booleanxray

Generate Google X-ray searches for [ROLE TITLE] with [KEY SKILLS]: 1. LinkedIn profiles: site:linkedin.com/in/ 2. GitHub profiles: site:github.com 3. Personal websites/portfolios: -site:linkedin.com -site:github.com 4. Conference talks: site:youtube.com OR site:slideshare.net 5. Research papers: site:arxiv.org OR site:scholar.google.com 6. Stack Overflow: site:stackoverflow.com/users/ 7. Twitter/X bios: site:twitter.com Include filetype searches for resumes: 8. filetype:pdf [skills] resume 9. filetype:docx [skills] resume

Phone Screen Question Bank

screeninginterview

I'm screening candidates for: [ROLE TITLE at COMPANY] Key requirements: [TOP 3-5 SKILLS] Generate a 20-minute phone screen: - 2 questions to verify technical depth (not trivia) - 2 questions to assess seniority/scope - 2 questions to gauge motivation and fit - 1 question to surface red flags - 1 question to assess comp expectations For each question: - Give me the question - What a STRONG answer sounds like - What a WEAK answer sounds like - Follow-up probes if I need to dig deeper

Resume Evaluator

screeningevaluation

Evaluate this resume against this job description: [PASTE RESUME] [PASTE JD] Score on these dimensions (1-5 each): 1. Technical skill match 2. Seniority/scope alignment 3. Industry relevance 4. Career trajectory (trending up?) 5. Red flags (gaps, hopping, title inflation) Then give me: - Overall fit score (Submit / Maybe / Pass) - Top 3 strengths to highlight to the client - Top 3 risks or gaps to probe in screening - Suggested talking points for the candidate call

Comp Benchmarking

market intelcompensation

Benchmark compensation for this role: Title: [ROLE TITLE] Level: [Junior/Mid/Senior/Staff/Principal] Location: [CITY or REMOTE] Industry: [INDUSTRY] Key skills: [TOP SKILLS] Provide: 1. Base salary range (25th, 50th, 75th, 90th percentile) 2. Total comp range (base + bonus + equity) 3. How comp varies by company stage (startup vs. BigTech vs. mid-market) 4. Skills that command a premium in this market 5. Comp trends (up, flat, down) over the last 12 months 6. Sources for this data (levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Blind, etc.)

Talent Scarcity Analysis

market intelstrategy

Analyze talent supply/demand for: [ROLE TITLE with KEY SKILLS] Tell me: 1. Estimated total addressable talent pool (US or global) 2. How many are actively looking vs. passive 3. Top 10 companies hoarding this talent 4. Recent layoffs that freed up this talent 5. Bootcamps/programs producing new supply 6. Adjacent skill profiles that could fill this role 7. Geographic hotspots for this talent 8. Average time-to-fill for this role 9. Is this market getting easier or harder to hire in?

FAQ

Common questions

Which AI should I use these prompts with?

They work in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The prompts avoid model-specific tricks; paste them into whichever assistant you have and replace the bracketed placeholders.

Can AI write my Boolean searches?

Yes, and the Boolean tab here contains prompts for exactly that. For a faster path, the free Boolean generator on this site builds the strings without any AI back-and-forth.

Will recruiters be replaced by these prompts?

No. The prompts remove the typing, not the judgment. Calibrating a search, reading between the lines of a profile, and closing a candidate remain human work.

SourcingNav runs this playbook for you

Paste a job description and it builds the searches, scores every profile it finds, verifies emails, and drafts the outreach, with receipts for every score.

Paste a JD free →

50+ AI prompts for recruiters