Recruiting Is Writing — Let AI Do the Drafts
Strip away the meetings and most of HR and recruiting is writing: job descriptions that attract the right people, screening criteria, interview questions, rejection emails that do not burn bridges, offer letters, onboarding plans. It is skilled, repetitive writing — exactly the kind AI handles well as a first-draft engine.
The prompts below are organised by where they fit in the hiring funnel, from writing the job ad to the new hire’s first month. Every one is copy-paste ready: replace the bracketed parts with your details. Two rules before you start: never paste identifiable candidate data (names, CVs, contact details) into a public AI tool, and always review AI output before it reaches a human being — especially anything involving assessment or rejection. There is a fuller responsible-use section at the end.
Job Descriptions That Attract (1–7)
- “Write a job description for a [Senior Backend Engineer] at a [50-person fintech startup in Berlin]. Include: one-paragraph company intro, role mission, 5–7 responsibilities, must-have vs nice-to-have skills, salary range [€75–90k], benefits, and location/remote policy. Tone: direct and human, no corporate jargon.”
- “Rewrite this job description to remove biased or exclusionary language. Flag any words that may discourage women, older candidates, or non-native speakers from applying, and suggest neutral alternatives: [paste description].”
- “Turn this internal role brief into a candidate-facing job ad under 400 words. Keep the technical requirements accurate but make it sound like somewhere people want to work: [paste brief].”
- “Write 5 variations of the opening paragraph of this job ad, each emphasising a different selling point: growth, flexibility, mission, team, compensation. Job: [title and key details].”
- “Create a ‘day in the life’ section for this role based on these responsibilities, written in second person (‘You will…’): [paste responsibilities]. Keep it realistic, not glamorous.”
- “Draft an internal job posting for the same role, aimed at current employees. Emphasise career growth and internal mobility: [role details].”
- “Write a short, punchy LinkedIn post announcing this opening, under 150 words, with a clear call to action. Include 3 relevant hashtags: [role and one-line pitch].”
CV Screening Without the Sunday-Night Dread (8–13)
- “Based on this job description, create a screening scorecard with 6–8 criteria, each with a 1–5 scale and a one-line description of what ‘5’ looks like: [paste job description]. Do not include age, gender, or university prestige as criteria.”
- “List 10 knockout questions (deal-breakers) for initial CV screening for [role]. Each should be answerable yes/no from a CV or cover letter: [job description].”
- “I will describe a candidate’s experience in anonymised bullet points. Score it against this scorecard and explain each score in one line. Flag anything ambiguous rather than guessing: [scorecard + anonymised bullets].”
- “Write a polite CV-screening rejection template that: thanks the candidate, mentions one genuine positive, gives a brief honest reason, and leaves the door open for future roles. Tone: warm, under 120 words.”
- “Draft 5 screening questions for a 20-minute phone screen for [role], mixing motivation, logistics (notice period, salary expectations, location), and one technical sanity check.”
- “Create a candidate comparison summary template: a table with rows for each finalist and columns for skills match, experience depth, motivation, culture add, and risks. Include a notes column.”
Interview Questions and Kits (14–22)
- “Write 8 competency-based interview questions for [role], each mapped to one of these competencies: [list 3–4]. Include what a strong answer sounds like in one line per question.”
- “Create a structured interview kit for a [Product Manager] loop: 4 interview rounds (hiring manager, technical, cross-functional, values), with 4 questions each, scoring guidance, and red flags to watch for.”
- “Write 5 situational judgement questions for [customer-facing role], e.g. handling an angry client. Include the scenario, the question, and what distinguishes a great answer from an average one.”
- “Draft a take-home assignment for [role] that takes a strong candidate 2–3 hours, tests real job skills, and respects their time. Include the brief, deliverables, and evaluation criteria.”
- “Write 6 questions that assess culture add (not culture fit) for our team, whose values are [list values]. Avoid clichés like ‘what’s your biggest weakness’.”
- “Create an interviewer briefing one-pager: purpose of this round, 3 questions to ask, 2 topics to avoid (already covered / off-limits), and how to score. Role: [role], round: [round].”
- “Write 5 questions a candidate can ask us that reveal whether this is a healthy workplace — for our careers page FAQ, framed honestly.”
- “Draft a post-interview debrief template: candidate name, role, interviewers, scores per competency, strengths, concerns, hire/no-hire recommendation with reasoning.”
- “I will paste anonymised interview notes. Summarise them into: 3 key strengths, 2 concerns, and an overall recommendation, each with a one-line justification tied to the notes: [paste notes].”
Candidate Communication That Builds Your Brand (23–29)
- “Write a post-interview rejection email that is honest but kind: reference something specific from the process, avoid corporate filler, keep it under 150 words, and invite them to stay in touch.”
- “Write a ‘silver medallist’ email for a strong candidate we are not hiring now but want in our talent pool. Make it feel genuine, not like a mailing list signup.”
- “Draft a job offer congratulations email covering: role, start date, salary, key benefits, and next steps. Warm tone, under 200 words: [details].”
- “Write a request for references email to send to a candidate: explain what we need, who to ask, and reassure them about confidentiality.”
- “Draft a LinkedIn InMail to a passive candidate for [role]: under 100 words, personalised to [one detail about them], clear about why I am reaching out, low-pressure call to action.”
- “Write a candidate nurture sequence: 3 short emails over 6 weeks for strong candidates we want to keep warm, each with a real reason to stay in touch (company news, role update, event).”
- “Draft an internal hiring update for the team: role, stage of process, number of candidates at each stage, and what we need from colleagues (referrals, interview cover).”
Offers, Onboarding, and Beyond (30–40)
- “Draft an offer letter outline for [role] covering: title, compensation breakdown, start date, probation terms, benefits, and acceptance deadline. Note: have legal review before sending.”
- “Write a pre-boarding email sequence for the week before day one: welcome, what to bring, first-day agenda, team intro, and one thing to read.”
- “Create a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan for [role]: goals, key meetings, learning resources, and success metrics for each phase.”
- “Write a hiring manager checklist for a new starter’s first week: equipment, access, introductions, first tasks, and feedback touchpoints.”
- “Draft an employee referral programme announcement: how it works, the bonus, what makes a good referral, and how to submit one.”
- “Write 10 onboarding buddy guidelines: what a buddy does, how often to check in, and what success looks like in the first month.”
- “Create an exit interview question set: 8 questions covering reasons for leaving, manager feedback, culture, and what would have kept them. Include guidance on keeping it non-defensive.”
- “Draft a job offer negotiation response template for when a candidate counters on salary: acknowledge, explain constraints honestly, explore non-salary levers.”
- “Write a performance improvement plan outline: objective concerns with examples, clear expectations, support offered, timeline, and review dates. Factual tone throughout.”
- “Create a HR FAQ for managers on using AI in hiring: what is allowed, what needs human review, data privacy rules, and bias risks — in plain language.”
- “Summarise this HR policy document into a one-page employee-friendly version, keeping all obligations accurate but removing legalese: [paste policy].”
Responsible Use: The Part You Cannot Skip
AI makes hiring work faster, but hiring decisions change lives — so this is the section to actually read.
Never paste identifiable candidate data into public AI tools. Names, CVs, email addresses, and interview recordings are personal data. Under the GDPR, processing them through a US-hosted chatbot without a proper legal basis and safeguards can be a compliance violation — and beyond the law, it is a breach of candidate trust. Anonymise before you prompt: “Candidate A, 6 years in B2B sales” instead of a name and CV. Our GDPR and AI tools guide explains the rules in detail.
Watch for bias, then watch again. AI models learned from historical hiring data, and historical hiring was biased. A prompt that asks for “culture fit” can quietly filter for sameness. Prefer structured criteria, strip demographic signals from anything you feed the model, and treat AI as a drafting assistant — never the decision-maker. The final call on a human being’s career should always involve human judgement.
Keep a human in the loop on anything consequential. Drafting a job ad with AI: fine. Letting AI auto-reject candidates: not fine, and in some EU jurisdictions, regulated. Screening scorecards, interview kits, and summaries are decision support — the decision stays with you.
Used this way — fast drafts, careful humans — these 40 prompts can genuinely give you hours back every week. And if you are hiring for a startup rather than an established team, our 40 AI prompts for startup founders covers the founder side of the same journey.