The Cognitive
The Complete Claude Recruiting Setup
Set it up in one afternoon. Read a ranked list at 8am tomorrow.
Recruiting/ ├─ controls-engineer-columbus/ │ ├─ CLAUDE.md ← folder instructions │ ├─ brief.md │ ├─ manager-no-gos.md │ ├─ loved.md │ └─ seen.md ├─ account-executive-austin/ └─ registered-nurse-dayton/
Tell Claude how you recruit, once
This goes in Claude's settings, in the personal preferences box. Every chat, project and scheduled task reads it, so you never explain your rules again.
I'm a recruiter. I fill roles for hiring managers. [Agency or in-house: pick one. Main roles I hire: list 3.] How I work: - Every open role has its own folder with brief.md, manager-no-gos.md, loved.md and seen.md. Read all 4 before answering anything about that role. - Rate people Strong, Possible or No. Quote the line from their profile that decides it. No quote, no rating. - Never invent facts about a person. If the profile doesn't say it, write "not on profile". - Pay ranges are real numbers. If I haven't given one, ask me. Don't guess. - Messages to candidates: plain text, 4 lines max: one thing from their profile, the role, the range, a 5-second question. Never "opportunity", "exciting", "I came across", "noticed", or exclamation marks. - Before anything that costs credits or sends a message, tell me the cost or show me the message, and wait for my yes. - Short answers. Lists over paragraphs. Dates as "Tue 14 Oct".
One folder per open role. Four files.
In the Claude desktop app, work in this folder (Cowork) so Claude can read and update the files itself, and the nightly task can use them. Prefer chat? Make a Claude Project per role, upload the same 4 files, and Claude gives you the lines to paste back in.
Mock example · people and companies are made up. Folder: ~/Recruiting/controls-engineer-columbus/
The folders need people in them. Your trial searches the open market from inside Claude.
Start free trialSix skills.
Each is a SKILL.md file. Make a folder with the skill's name, save the text inside as SKILL.md, zip the folder, then in Claude: Settings › Capabilities › Skills › Upload. Claude picks the right one when the job comes up.
Source from inside Claude
The first connection is what makes the rest of the setup work: without a people search, the folders and skills have nobody to rate. You say "find more" in a role folder. Claude sends the brief to The Cognitive and gets back people, each rated against your brief with the line from their profile that decides it. Searching deeper on the same search shows only new people, so you never pay twice for a face.
- Create a free account: 7 days, 100 credits, no card.
- Claude → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector
https://app.thecognitive.io/mcp- Connect and sign in. Test it in a role folder: "Search The Cognitive with brief.md. Show 10."
On a Team plan, an Owner adds it once under Organization settings, then each person connects.
Searched The Cognitive · Controls Engineer10 new · 10 credits
Search deeper on search id srch_7f3k2q Brief unchanged since 14 Oct, so only new people
morning-list.md is ready. Strong first:
Found contact details · 2 work emails2 emails · 8 credits
You approved: 2 × work email, 4 credits each
Done. Two plain-text drafts are in Gmail, each opening with the line from their profile. Nothing sent.
Gmail
Claude reads candidate replies, sorts them with the Reply Sorter and writes each answer as a draft. You read and press send.
Google Calendar
When someone says yes, Claude checks your free time and puts 3 real slots in the draft, so the first reply already books the call.
Google Sheets
The tracker the hiring manager sees. Claude adds each Strong person with the quoted line and the status. On Team and Enterprise, an owner turns it on first.
Your trial includes the people search inside Claude. Set it up in 2 minutes.
Start free trialor set it up with us, 30 minThree tasks that run without you
Claude desktop app › Cowork › Scheduled › New task › Set up manually. Point each task at your Recruiting folder and paste the prompt. Scheduled tasks need a paid Claude plan. They act without asking, so the prompts below only search, rate and draft. Nothing is sent.
The pipeline on one screen NEW
Claude's new Dashboards (beta, paid plans) builds a live dashboard from what your connections can see. One prompt. The Claude Recruiting Dashboard goes deep on this one.
Build a dashboard of my hiring from The Cognitive: for each open role, people found this week, Strong and Possible, people contacted, replies, and interviews booked. Add credits left. Keep it current.
What Claude does. What you do.
CLAUDESearches deeper on each open role, 10 new people max per role. Rates them, quotes the line, writes morning-list.md and adds everyone to seen.md.
YOUAsleep.
CLAUDEHas the list ready, Strong first.
YOU15 minutes. Mark each Strong, Possible or No. Pick 3 to contact. Ask for their emails (4 credits each, you approve).
CLAUDEWrites 3 first messages with the Profile-line Opener, runs them through the Inbox Checker, saves them as Gmail drafts.
YOURead, fix one word, send.
CLAUDESorts the replies: yes, later, no but refers, no, wrong person. Drafts each answer, with 3 free slots from your calendar for the yeses.
YOUSend. Take the calls.
CLAUDEAsks "what made them a No?" for each reject and adds the answer to manager-no-gos.md.
YOUOne line per reject.
Read your first list tomorrow at 8am.
- Copy the profile note and make one role folderThen load the 6 skills
- Connect The Cognitive7 days free, 100 credits covers about 100 people
- Schedule the nightly taskRead the ranked list at 8am
Stuck on a step? Book 30 minutes and we'll set it up with you, live.