The Cognitive

The Fill‑Any‑Role Playbook

Six books. From the intake call to the first day. Questions, searches, messages and scripts to copy.

Start free trial Book a 30-min call
01The Hidden Candidate Market 02The Intake Call System 03The Search That Finds the Work 04How to Get Replies 05The Shortlist Managers Say Yes To 06How to Beat the Counteroffer
BOOK 01

The Hidden Candidate Market

Find the people nobody else is calling.

6 pools nobody calls

Different title, same work

Account Manager doing new business. Analyst doing data engineering.

Search the work, then read titles last.

Below page one

Short headlines, no photo, old profiles. Every recruiter stops at page one.

Start your reading at result 50.

Next metro over

Towns 30 to 60 minutes out, listed as their home town, not the city.

Name each town in the search.

Neighbouring industry

Payments engineer at a bank for a fintech role. ICU nurse at a regional hospital.

Keep the work, change the industry.

Boomerangs

People who left your company 1 to 4 years ago in good standing.

Past company = yours. Check with their old manager first.

Silver medallists

Your runner-ups from the last 18 months for similar roles.

Open the ATS before LinkedIn. Message them first.

Ask Claude
I'm hiring a [role] in [city]. Must-haves: [work 1], [work 2].
Find people in these pools, a separate list for each:
1. Different title, same work. 2. Next metro over: name the towns. 3. Neighbouring industry.
For each person, quote the job line that proves the work.
BOOK 02

The Intake Call System

Get the real brief from the hiring manager.

10 questions · and what to ask when the answer is vague

  1. What will they have done after 90 days?"Hit the ground running" → What's the first project with their name on it?
  2. Who's the best person you've had in this seat?"Very driven" → What did they do in their first month?
  3. Which 2 or 3 must-haves would you trade everything else for?Lists 8 → If only one, which?
  4. Send me 2 profiles you'd hire tomorrow."Don't have any" → Anyone on your team?
  5. Who have you already said no to, and why?This gives you the real no-gos.
  6. What's the range, and is there room above it?"Competitive" → What would you pay for your first choice?
  7. Where can they live? How many office days?"Flexible" → Would you hire someone 90 minutes away?
  8. Who interviews, and what does each person test?Two people testing the same thing = one wasted round.
  9. Can you give feedback within 48 hours of each interview?Get the yes now, on the call.
  10. Why would someone leave a good job for this one?This becomes line 2 of every message.

What you send back the same day

Brief, for the manager to confirm
Role: [title], [city], [office days]
Pay: [range], up to [top] for the right person
In 90 days they will: [first project]
Must-haves (work they did):
1.
2.
3.
Not a fit: [the no-gos from question 5]
Like these two: [profile 1], [profile 2]
Interviews: [who] tests [what]. Feedback within 48 hours.
Why they'd move: [answer to question 10]

Reply "confirmed" or change anything above.
Ask Claude, after the call
Here are my intake call notes: [paste].
Fill the brief above from them. Mark anything the manager didn't answer as MISSING, and give me the one question to send for each.
BOOK 03

The Search That Finds the Work

Search by what people did, not their title.

Rewrite every must-have: verb + thing + size

Manager saidSearch for
SaaS sales experienceClosed $40K+ deals at a software company, 2+ years
Strong PythonBuilt data pipelines in Python that ran in production
LeadershipManaged a team of 5+ and hired some of them
Startup experienceWorked at a company under 200 people through a funding round
Great communicatorPresented to customers or executives as part of the job
Healthcare backgroundWorked with patient data, payers or providers, named in a job

The titles the work hides under

Account Executive

Account ManagerSales ExecutiveBusiness Development ManagerClient Partner

Data Engineer

Analytics EngineerBI EngineerSoftware Engineer, DataETL Developer

Customer Success Manager

Account ManagerClient SuccessImplementation ManagerOnboarding Specialist

Rules

  • Under 30 results: drop the weakest must-have before you widen the place.
  • Over 300: add one must-have back.
  • A skills list is not proof. A job line is.
  • Read titles last. Read what they did first.
Ask Claude
Rewrite these must-haves as work a person did in a job (verb + thing + size): [paste].
Then list 5 titles this work hides under, and write one search brief in plain sentences.

Let Claude run the search for you

Start free trial
BOOK 04

How to Get Replies

First messages passive candidates answer.

The 3 lines

  1. One fact from their work.Something they built, closed or ran. No praise.
  2. The role, place and pay range.The range is what gets the reply.
  3. A small ask.20 minutes next week. Nothing bigger.

Subject line

senior data engineer, austinae role, chicago, $180k otequick question about your payroll work

Never write

Saw your profileI noticedexactly what we needexciting opportunityrockstarhope you're well

Examples

Data Engineer

Hi Dev,

You rebuilt a payments ledger on Spark.

We're hiring a Senior Data Engineer to own billing pipelines. Austin, hybrid, $150K to $175K.

Open to 20 minutes next week?

Account Executive

Hi Rosa,

You sold payroll software to CFOs for four years.

We're hiring a mid-market AE in Chicago. $100K base, $200K OTE, hybrid 3 days.

Worth a 20-minute call?

Follow-ups

Day 3 · one new fact

"The team is 4 engineers, and you'd report to the head of data."

Day 7 · another channel

Same 3 lines, on LinkedIn.

Day 14 · close the loop

"I'll stop here. If the timing changes, my door's open."

BOOK 05

The Shortlist Managers Say Yes To

Send people managers want to meet.

One person, one card

Candidate card
[Name] · [current title] · [company type] · [city]
Why: [one sentence: the work, the size, where]

Must-have 1: [proof from a job]
Must-have 2: [proof]
Must-have 3: [proof]

Pay: [current → expected] · Notice: [weeks] · Office: [days OK]
Risk: [one thing] · How I checked: [what they said]

MOCK EXAMPLE

R. M. · Account Executive · payroll software · Evanston
Why: Closed $50K-$140K deals with CFOs for 4 years.
Must-have 1: Closed 31 deals over $40K last year
Must-have 2: Sold to CFOs and VP Finance
Must-have 3: Sourced 60% of own pipeline
Pay: $95K base → $105K · Notice: 2 weeks · Office: 3 days OK
Risk: Never sold to HR · How I checked: says HR sits in every deal

Rules

  • Send 3 first, within 5 working days of intake. Not 15.
  • Ask for a yes or no on each, with one reason.
  • Two no's for the same reason: fix the brief, not the search.
  • Every card has a risk. A card without one looks like a sales pitch.
  • Never send someone you haven't spoken to.
Feedback ask
Three people for [role] below. For each one, reply yes or no and one reason.
Yes means I book them this week.
Ask Claude
Turn my call notes on [name] into the candidate card above: [paste notes].
Use only what's in the notes. Write MISSING where I don't have it.
BOOK 06

How to Beat the Counteroffer

Close the hire before day one.

Ask on the first call

  1. What made you take this call?Write the answer down in their words. You'll need it later.
  2. If you stayed, what would have to change?If the answer is only money, the counteroffer will work on them.
  3. If your company offers more to stay, what will you do?Ask now, not on resignation day.
  4. Who else gets a say? Partner, family?Find out before the offer, not after.

Resignation day

Their resignation, short and final
I've accepted a role at another company and my last day will be [date].
I've decided, and I'm not looking for a counteroffer.
I'll make the handover as smooth as I can.
When the counteroffer comes
On our first call you said you were looking because [their words].
Does the counteroffer change that?

The notice period

Resignation day

Call that evening. Ask what their manager said.

Halfway

Send something from the new team: a welcome note, a lunch invite.

Two days before start

Confirm time, place, who meets them. Call, don't email.

Warning signs

Only reason is moneyHasn't told their partnerWants the offer in writing "to think"Asks for a later start date twiceStops answering for 2 days

Do it inside Claude

Free account

Start a trial at The Cognitive.

Add to Claude

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector. Paste https://app.thecognitive.io/mcp

Use the "Ask Claude" boxes

Claude finds the people, reads their history and drafts the messages. Each person shown costs 1 credit, once.

Find them. Get the yes. Close the hire.

Start free trial Book a 30-min call