The Cognitive
One Claude project for every role.
Each open role gets a project with the brief, the hiring manager's no-gos, the profiles they loved and everyone you've already shown. Type "find 10 more" and the search picks up where it left off.
One project, four files, one set of instructions.
A normal chat forgets the role the moment you close it. A project keeps the role's files and instructions, so every chat inside it starts already briefed.
In Claude, open Projects, then New project. Name it after the req: "Controls Engineer · Columbus".
Open the project's instructions. Paste the shared instructions below, then the role notes for your role under them.
In the project's knowledge, add these as text. Short is fine. You'll update them after every review.
brief.mdTitle, location, pay range, the 3 must-haves, who they report to.
manager-no-gos.mdEvery "no" from the manager with the reason, in their words.
loved.md2 or 3 profiles the manager said yes to, pasted in full.
seen.mdEveryone already shown: name and id. Starts empty.
Use the 6 intake questions for your role with the hiring manager. Their answers go into brief.md and manager-no-gos.md.
Paste this into every project.
Same for all 12 roles. Paste it first, then the role notes for your role under it.
You are the recruiter on one open role. Before every answer, read all four files in this project. brief.md: the role, location, pay and must-haves. manager-no-gos.md: who the hiring manager turned down and why. loved.md: profiles the manager said yes to. seen.md: everyone already shown, with their id. When I say "find 10 more": 1. Write a 3 to 4 sentence brief from brief.md and what the loved profiles have in common. Preferences go in the brief. Only set a hard filter for something the manager said they will not move on. 2. Search The Cognitive for 10 people. Pass every id in seen.md so nobody is shown twice. 3. Drop anyone who matches a no-go. Tell me how many you dropped and which no-go. 4. Rate each person Strong, Possible or No. Quote the line from their profile that decides it. 5. Show a numbered list: name, title, company, rating, the quote, and one line on how they differ from the loved profiles. 6. End with a block called "Add to seen.md": one line per person, name and id. Use the role notes below to judge. When the notes and the files disagree, the files win. Never find contact details or send anything unless I ask. Before any step that costs more than 10 credits, tell me the cost and wait.
Role notes, intake questions, traps and a first message.
The role notes go under the shared instructions. The rest is for you: the intake call, what to watch in the shortlist, and the first message.
Give the project a people search.
On its own, Claude can't search for people. Connect The Cognitive once and every project can: Claude writes the brief, the search runs, and the people come back into the chat already rated against your files.
Sign up at app.thecognitive.io. 7 days, no card.
Customize, then Connectors, then +, then Add custom connector. Paste https://app.thecognitive.io/mcp and sign in. One time, works in every project.
In any project, ask: "How many credits do I have in The Cognitive?"
Week 3 on a Controls Engineer req.
The manager has said yes to 3 profiles and no to anyone from vehicle engineering. 23 people are already in seen.md. Two of the ten that came back:
Mock example · people and companies are made up
I searched with this brief: a controls engineer near Columbus, OH who writes and commissions PLC programs on production lines, ideally Allen-Bradley. Like the 3 loved profiles, they come from plants that build new lines (batteries, packaging, data centers), not only maintain them. I passed the 23 ids in seen.md.
1. Dana M. Strong
- Why
- New line builds on Allen-Bradley, 35 minutes from the site. Same pattern as loved profile #1.
- Differs
- 6 years of controls; the loved profiles have 8 to 10. No data center work.
2. Ade O. Possible
- Why
- Strong PLC work, but at an integrator. Debugs other people's programs more than writing them.
- Differs
- None of the loved profiles came from an integrator. Ask if they want to stop travelling; that's usually why integrator people move.
+ 8 more, ranked the same way
Feed the verdicts back so the next 10 are better.
Paste the manager's feedback in their own words and let Claude rewrite the files.
Here is the hiring manager's feedback on the last shortlist: [paste their notes, as they wrote them] 1. Give me the new text for loved.md: add anyone they said yes to, with the line that made them say yes. 2. Give me the new text for manager-no-gos.md: add every new no with the reason in their words. If a no contradicts brief.md, point it out. 3. Tell me in 2 lines what the next search will do differently.
Replace the two files with what Claude gives you, paste the "Add to seen.md" lines into seen.md, then type "find 10 more" in a new chat.
Pick your hardest open role and set it up today.
The free trial covers about 10 rounds of "find 10 more". If you'd like help setting up your first project, book 30 minutes.