The Cognitive
The Intake Call Kit
One 30-minute call with the hiring manager. Works for any role.
The 12 questions I ask every hiring manager
Record the call (Zoom, Teams and Meet all export a transcript). Each question has the vague answer you'll get and the follow-up that turns it into something you can search for.
What the vague answers mean
Never write these into a brief. Ask the follow-up on the call, while the manager is still there.
| They say | It usually means | Ask this |
|---|---|---|
| "A rockstar" | They can't describe the job yet | "Who's the best person you've worked with in this seat? What did they do in a normal week?" |
| "5+ years" | A guess at seniority | "What can someone with 5 years do that someone with 3 can't?" Search for that, not the number. |
| "Startup experience" | Can work without a playbook, or has worked in chaos | "Is it the company size, or that they built something with no one telling them how?" |
| "Culture fit" | Either something real or a bias | "What did the last person who didn't fit actually do?" Keep the behaviour, drop the label. |
| "Hit the ground running" | No onboarding, or a deadline they haven't told you | "What's on their desk on day one, and what's due by day 30?" |
| "Competitive salary" | No approved range yet | "If I bring someone at [number], is that a yes?" Test with a number until you hit the ceiling. |
| "I'll know when I see them" | The brief will move after the first profiles | "Can I send you 5 profiles in 48 hours for a yes or no with one reason each?" |
From call transcript to a 3-must brief
Upload or paste the transcript into Claude with this prompt. It quotes the manager for every must, so you can show them their own words when the brief starts to grow.
Here's the transcript of my intake call for [role]. Write the search brief in this shape: 1. The job in one line: what they'll own and what's done by day 90. 2. Musts, 3 at most: only what the manager said they would not meet someone without. Quote the manager's line from the call under each one. 3. Nice to have: everything else they asked for. 4. No-gos: companies, backgrounds or habits they ruled out, with their reason. 5. Titles to search: the title they used, plus the titles this person might have today. 6. Companies to search: the ones the manager named, then 5 similar ones. 7. Place: city, days in the office, the furthest commute they'll accept, visa sponsorship yes or no. 8. Pay: the range, and the top for the right person. 9. The pitch: why someone good would leave a job they like for this one, in the manager's words. 10. Open questions: anything vague or contradictory in the call, each with the question I should send back. Use only what is in the transcript. If something is missing, put it under Open questions. Never fill a gap with a guess. Then write a 6-line email to the manager: the 3 musts, the no-gos, the range, and "Reply with changes by [day]. I start searching then."
YouIf I bring someone with everything except one thing, which would you still not meet them without?
DanaThey've sold to finance teams. The CFO is the buyer, so they've sold to CFOs. And they run their own deals start to finish, no hand-off.
YouYou mentioned Salesforce experience.
DanaNice to have. Not a deal-breaker.
YouAnd the 5 years?
DanaReally I want someone who's closed six-figure deals on their own.
YouAnyone you wouldn't hire from?
DanaNot Ramply. We hired two, both were order-takers on an inbound team.
YouIf I find someone at 95 base, is that a yes?
DanaYes. Up to 100 base, 180 on-target for the right one.
Job: Mid-market AE, owns new deals end to end. 4 closed by day 90. Musts 1. Has sold to CFOs or finance teams "The CFO is the buyer, so they've sold to CFOs." 2. Runs deals start to finish, no hand-off 3. Has closed six-figure deals alone "closed six-figure deals on their own" Nice to have: Salesforce, 5 years No-gos: Ramply ("order-takers on an inbound team") Titles: Account Executive, Mid-Market AE, Senior Account Executive, New Business Manager Place: Austin, 3 days in office Pay: up to 100 base, 180 on-target Open questions - Commute: is Round Rock OK? Not asked. - Sponsorship: not discussed.
Mock example · people and companies are made up
Brief in, ranked list out, in the same chat
Connect The Cognitive to Claude once. Then the brief you just wrote becomes a role, a job description, an interview scorecard and a search, without leaving the chat.
- Create a free account: 7 days, 100 credits, no card.
- Claude → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, paste
https://app.thecognitive.io/mcpand sign in. - In the chat with your brief, ask: "Set up this role and find 10 people who match the brief."
What it costs
1 credit per person shown, nothing when nobody matches. Searching deeper charges only for new people. Reopening a search is free. An email address is 4 credits. Claude asks before it spends.Set up Account Executive, Austindone
Role created · job description written · interview scorecard built from the brief
Searched for people who match the brief10 shown · 10 credits
Austin and nearby · 4 titles · 3 musts
10 people. The top 3 meet all three musts:
Example · people and companies are made up
The first message, from the call
The best line in a first message usually comes from the intake call: the reason someone good would move. This prompt uses it.
Write a first message to each Strong person on this list.
Rules:
- 3 sentences, under 60 words.
- Sentence 1: one specific fact from their profile that matches a must in the brief. Never "I saw your profile" or "I came across".
- Sentence 2: the role, the city and the pay range from the brief, and the pitch line from the manager in plain words.
- Sentence 3: ask for 10 minutes this week.
- No adjectives about them ("impressive", "amazing"). No company history.
- If their profile gives you nothing specific that matches a must, don't write a message. Tell me why instead.
Show each message under the person's name. Don't send anything.
Your trial includes the Claude connection. Brief to ranked list in one chat.
Start free trialInterview questions and the scorecard
Get the manager to sign this off before the first interview, not after the third. If they reject someone who scores well, the scorecard is wrong, and you fix it once instead of arguing about each person.
From this brief, write the interview questions and a scorecard.
For each must:
- 2 questions that make the person describe one real example: what it was, what they did themselves, what the result was in numbers.
- What a strong answer contains, and what a weak answer sounds like.
- A 1 to 4 score with one line describing each score.
Then add one question per nice-to-have, scored the same way, with half the weight.
End with a line for the manager: "Sign off by [day], or tell me what to change."
| Must | Question | 1 · weak | 4 · strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sold to CFOsweight 3 | "Walk me through your last deal where the CFO signed. What did they push back on?" | Talks about "finance stakeholders" in general and can't name the objection. | Names the CFO's objection, what they changed in the proposal, and the result. |
| Runs deals end to endweight 3 | "Pick a deal you closed. Who found it, and what did you do between first call and signature?" | The lead came from someone else and a manager ran the negotiation. | Found or qualified it, ran every meeting, negotiated the price themselves. |
| Six-figure deals aloneweight 3 | "What's the largest deal you closed alone, and how long did it take?" | Can only give team numbers or a range. | Exact figure, length of the cycle, and why it closed when it did. |
| Salesforceweight 1.5 | "How did you keep your pipeline in Salesforce, and what did your manager look at every week?" | "I used it." | Describes their own stages and the report the forecast came from. |
Mock example · the AE brief above
Want the first round done for you? The AI interview asks these questions, records the conversation and scores each person on the scorecard. 5 credits a minute, so a 20-minute interview is 100.
Start free trialBring your next intake call. Leave with the list.
- Start the free trial7 days, 100 people included
- Book 30 minutesBring the transcript or your notes
- We run it with you, liveBrief, search, first messages, scorecard
Your next intake call becomes a ranked list the same day.
Start free, connect Claude, paste the brief. 100 credits covers about 100 people found.
Want it run on your own role? Book 30 minutes and we'll do it live together. sparsh@thecognitive.io · Sparsh, founder