Recruiter

Source candidates, screen resumes, and manage hiring pipelines with effective recruiting practices.

Security Scan

This is an instruction-only recruiting best-practices guide that requests no credentials, does not install software, and is internally consistent with its stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

The name and description (sourcing, screening, pipeline management) match the SKILL.md content. The skill requests no binaries, env vars, or config paths that would be unrelated to recruiting.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md contains only procedural guidance and best practices (sourcing, screening, interviews, legal notes). It does not instruct the agent to read local files, access environment variables, run commands, or send data to external endpoints.

Install Mechanism

No install spec and no code files — the skill is instruction-only, so nothing is written to disk or downloaded during install.

Credentials

The skill declares no required credentials or environment variables. There are no disproportionate secrets or unrelated service tokens requested.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request elevated persistence. It is user-invocable and can be invoked autonomously (platform default), which is expected for an advisory skill.

Assessment

This skill is a content-only recruiting playbook and is coherent with its stated purpose. It does not request credentials or install code, so from a permissions/footprint perspective it is low-risk. Consider these practical points before enabling: (1) The guidance is general — consult legal counsel for jurisdiction-specific hiring and background-check rules. (2) Be careful how you feed real candidate data to the agent: ensure applicant PII is handled according to your privacy policy and laws (e.g., GDPR). (3) If you allow autonomous invocation, monitor actions that send messages or emails on behalf of your organization and require explicit approval before the agent contacts candidates or external services.

Recruiting Assistance Rules

Role Understanding

• Internal recruiter vs agency recruiter have different incentives — agencies paid on placement, internal on fit
• Recruiting is sales with humans — both selling the role to candidates and candidates to hiring managers
• Time-to-hire matters but quality matters more — bad hires cost 2-3x salary to fix

Job Descriptions

• Requirements vs nice-to-haves must be clearly separated — overloaded requirements scare good candidates
• "Years of experience" is a poor proxy — focus on demonstrated skills and outcomes
• Salary range transparency attracts better candidates — hiding it wastes everyone's time
• Avoid gendered language and unnecessary requirements — "rockstar" and "must lift 50lbs" narrow pools
• Include what the role actually does daily — not just responsibilities, but reality

Sourcing Candidates

• LinkedIn is obvious but saturated — good candidates get 50+ messages weekly
• Personalized outreach beats templates — reference specific work, projects, or posts
• Referrals have higher success rates — incentivize and track them
• Passive candidates need compelling reasons — they're not looking, give them a reason to listen
• Diverse sourcing requires intentional effort — same channels produce same candidate profiles

Resume Screening

• Look for impact, not just responsibilities — "managed team" vs "grew team from 3 to 12"
• Job hopping context matters — industry, company health, growth trajectory
• Gaps aren't automatic disqualifiers — ask, don't assume
• Side projects and open source show initiative — especially for technical roles
• Education requirements exclude capable candidates — evaluate when truly necessary

Interview Process

• Define evaluation criteria before interviews — consistency enables comparison
• Structured interviews reduce bias — same questions, same order, scoring rubric
• Take-home tests respect candidate time limits — 2-4 hours max, paid if longer
• Interview loops shouldn't exceed 4-5 rounds — respect for candidates' time signals culture
• Interviewers need training — untrained interviewers make poor decisions and create legal risk

Candidate Experience

• Respond to all applicants — ghosting damages employer brand
• Communicate timeline upfront — "you'll hear back in X days" then actually do it
• Feedback after rejection helps when possible — legal concerns are often overstated
• Keep candidates warm during slow processes — silence feels like rejection
• Rejected candidates may return or refer — treat everyone as future relationship

Compensation

• Know market rates for the role — underpaying attracts desperate, not best
• Total compensation includes equity, benefits, flexibility — don't just compare base
• Negotiation isn't adversarial — find mutually acceptable terms
• Internal equity matters — new hires shouldn't out-earn existing employees unfairly
• Be prepared to walk away — desperation leads to bad deals

Pipeline Management

• Track candidates through stages — lost candidates are wasted sourcing effort
• Speed matters — good candidates have options, slow processes lose them
• Bottlenecks are usually hiring manager availability — surface and solve
• Rejection reasons inform future sourcing — pattern recognition improves targeting
• Keep pipelines warm for future roles — relationship building pays off

Legal Considerations

• Consistent process protects against discrimination claims — document everything
• Questions about age, family, religion, disability are off-limits — focus on job requirements
• Background checks require consent and compliance — laws vary by jurisdiction
• Offer letters should be reviewed by legal — verbal offers can create issues
• Non-competes and NDAs in offers need explanation — candidates should understand

Red Flags in Candidates

• Badmouthing previous employers — pattern will continue
• Vague answers about accomplishments — may not have been responsible
• Inability to explain gaps or moves — evasion suggests problems
• Different story in different interviews — consistency matters
• Unwillingness to provide references — hiding something

Common Mistakes

• Hiring for culture fit that's actually bias — "fit" can exclude diversity
• Rushing to fill headcount — empty seat better than wrong person
• Ignoring hiring manager feedback patterns — some reject everyone, some accept everyone
• Not selling the role actively — interviewing is two-way evaluation
• Over-relying on credentials — pedigree doesn't guarantee performance