Hiring Brief

Hiring Manager Brief Creator

What This Skill Does

Produces the intake brief that should exist before any search starts — the document that aligns the recruiter and hiring manager on exactly who they're looking for, how they'll find them, and how they'll evaluate. Most bad searches fail at intake: the recruiter sources against a fuzzy target and wastes weeks. This skill forces the target into focus up front.

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Process

1. Gather the role context: title, team, why the role exists, what success looks like in 6

months, who it reports to, comp band, location/work type.

1. Define the ideal candidate profile: must-haves vs. nice-to-haves (kept honest and short), the

shape of the right person (background, slope, the problem they've solved before), and explicit anti-patterns (who looks right but isn't).

1. Draft the sourcing strategy: where this person likely is, search angles, target companies,

outreach approach.

1. Outline the interview plan: the loop, who's on the panel, what each stage assesses (tie to a

rubric), whether a work trial fits.

1. Set the timeline: target dates for shortlist, first interviews, decision.

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How to Write a Good Brief

• Force the target into focus. The value is precision. "Someone who's done growth at an early

marketing-tech company and adapts fast" beats "a strong growth person."

• Name the anti-patterns. Defining who looks right but isn't (e.g., "someone who'll just

replay a prior playbook") saves more time than the must-have list.

• Keep must-haves honest. Every fake requirement narrows the funnel and slows the search.
• Tie evaluation to a rubric so the brief connects straight to scoring.
• Make it a working doc, not a formality — the recruiter should be able to start sourcing

directly off it.

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Output Format

# Hiring Brief: [Role]
**Team · Reports to · Comp band · Location/type · Why now**

## Success in 6 months
[What this person will have accomplished if it's working.]

## Ideal Candidate Profile
**Must-haves (honest, short):** ...
**Nice-to-haves:** ...
**The shape:** [background / slope / problem they've solved before]
**Anti-patterns (looks right, isn't):** ...

## Sourcing Strategy
[Where they are, target companies, search angles, outreach approach.]

## Interview Plan
| Stage | Who | Assesses (rubric dimension) |
|---|---|---|
[Note whether a work trial fits.]

## Timeline
[Shortlist by · First interviews by · Decision by]

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Brief Failure Checklist

A brief FAILS if it:

• ❌ Leaves the target fuzzy ("a strong X") instead of precise
• ❌ Omits anti-patterns, the highest-leverage part of intake
• ❌ Pads must-haves with fake requirements that narrow the funnel
• ❌ Has no sourcing angle the recruiter can act on immediately
• ❌ Defines an interview loop with no link to how candidates get scored
• ❌ Has no timeline, so the search drifts

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: getclera
• Source: getclera/claude-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.