The Cognitive
The MPC Desk Kit
One Most Placeable Candidate in. Five prompts you copy into Claude.
What an MPC is, and what makes one
An MPC, a Most Placeable Candidate, is one person so many companies would want that you market them before any job order exists. You take them to the hiring managers who need them most. Done well, one MPC brings a placement and a new client in the same call. Not every good candidate is an MPC. These are the six signs.
| The sign | Why it sells | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| A rare mix of skills | Managers can't find it on a job board, so they take your call | Search for the mix. If you find hundreds of matches, it isn't rare. |
| Results in numbers | A manager says yes to a number, not to adjectives | "What did you build or win, and what changed because of it?" |
| A real reason to move | Without it, the interview you book turns into a counter-offer | "What would have to be true for you to leave in the next 90 days?" |
| Pay that fits the market | An ask far above the range kills the pitch on the first call | Get their number before you market them, not after. |
| Free to interview now | Managers move fast for an MPC. The candidate has to as well. | "If a manager calls on Tuesday, can you talk on Thursday?" |
| Their yes to be marketed | Your name is on every email you send about them | Get it in writing, with any companies they don't want to hear from. |
Why most MPC desks never start
"The idea is simple. The work isn't. Building a real MPC desk by hand takes 6 to 8 months, and most recruiters stop in month one because job orders are already waiting."Sparsh, founder
Finding the right people
The best MPCs aren't on a job board. You have to look for the mix, not the title.
Mapping the companies
For each candidate, the companies that would pay most for them, and why now.
Finding the manager
The person they'd report to, not HR, at every one of those companies.
Emails that reach them
A personal email for every manager, not a guess.
Outreach in your voice
A short pitch per company that sounds like you wrote it.
Every one of these is reading and searching. That's the part Claude does in minutes. You keep the part that needs you: the call.
The 5 prompts, in order
Run them in one Claude chat, top to bottom. Each one uses what the last one found. Turn on web search in Claude for prompt 2. Prompts 3 and 4 use the live people search in section 04.
Prompts 3 and 4 need the live people search. The 7-day trial includes it.
Start free trialFind the hiring manager without leaving the chat
Connect The Cognitive to Claude once. Then Claude can search for real people at the companies on your map and get their personal email, in the same chat as your prompts.
- Create a free account: 7 days, 100 credits, no card.
- Claude → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, paste
https://app.thecognitive.io/mcpand sign in. - Run prompt 3 in the chat with your map. Claude searches The Cognitive for each company.
What it costs
1 credit per person shown, nothing when nobody matches. Searching deeper charges only for new people. Reopening a search is free. A personal email is 4 credits. A phone number is 12 credits on Pro. Sending from Claude needs Pro; on the trial, Claude writes the drafts and you send them. Nothing is ever sent without your yes.Searched for pricing leaders at 5 companies5 shown · 5 credits
Head of Pricing · Chief Actuary · VP Actuarial · Pricing Director
One manager at each company:
Found 5 personal emails5 found · 20 credits
4 credits each
Mock example · people and companies are made up
One candidate, 5 managers, each with a reason
This is what the end of the afternoon looks like. Every row has a reason to call now and a first line written for that company.
- Pricing actuary, 7 years, P&C auto, fully credentialed
- Moved an auto book from spreadsheets to Python models
- Wants to own a pricing rebuild, not maintain one
- Free to interview next week · range agreed · said yes to being marketed
| Company | Why now | Manager | First line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northbeam Mutualregional auto | Pricing rebuild in Python announced this year | Rachel O. · Head of Pricing | "Your rebuild is the work this person wants next." |
| Harborlinepersonal lines | Two pricing roles posted since September | Daniel K. · Chief Actuary | "Before you fill both seats from job boards, one person to look at." |
| Kestrel Specialtyspecialty | New line of business launched in Q3 | Sofia M. · VP Actuarial | "A new line needs a first rate filing. This person has written them." |
| Plainfield Autodirect auto | New pricing director, 4 months in | Aaron P. · Pricing Director | "Most new leaders hire one person they trust first. Here's a candidate." |
| Cobalt Rereinsurance | Analytics team grew from 6 to 11 | Lena V. · Head of Analytics | "Your team is growing. This person can price and code." |
Mock example · people and companies are made up
Bring one MPC. Leave with five managers to call.
- Start the free trial7 days, 100 people included
- Book 30 minutesBring one candidate you'd market
- We run it with you, liveMap, managers, emails, first messages
Your MPC desk, built this afternoon.
Start free, connect Claude, run the 5 prompts. 100 credits covers about 100 people found.
Want it run on your own candidate? Book 30 minutes and we'll do it live together. sparsh@thecognitive.io · Sparsh, founder