Open a doc right now. Copy every prompt below into it. Save it somewhere you’ll actually find it.
These five prompts do 80% of the hiring work I used to spend 8 hours a week on. I’ve tested every variation. These are the ones that survived.
1. The Job Post Prompt
Use this every time you open a new role. It takes your bullet points and turns them into a post that filters out bad-fit candidates before they apply.
Write a startup job description for [role]. We’re [X] people, [stage], building [product]. This person owns [outcomes]. They’ll spend most of their time [activities]. NOT a fit: [red flags]. End with a ‘You might not be a fit if…’ section. No corporate speak. Under 400 words.
2. The Screening Email Prompt
Send 3 questions by email before any call. This filters out candidates who can’t write clearly and people who aren’t serious enough to respond thoughtfully.
Write 3 short screening questions for a [role] candidate. They should test: clear thinking under ambiguity, actual hands-on experience (not just management), and communication quality. No questions with obvious right answers. Keep each question under 2 sentences.
3. The Interview Prep Prompt
Run this before every interview. It builds a custom question set based on the role and the candidate’s background.
I’m interviewing a candidate for [role]. Their background: [2-3 sentence summary]. Generate 5 interview questions that probe: (1) a gap or assumption in their background, (2) how they’d handle [specific challenge in this role], (3) their decision-making under resource constraints. Include one question I probably haven’t thought of.
4. The Reference Check Prompt
Most reference checks are useless because people ask soft questions. This generates questions that actually reveal something.
Generate 5 reference check questions for a [role] candidate. Focus on: how they handled failure or conflict, what their actual contribution was vs the team’s, what kind of environment brings out their worst, and what the reference would do differently if managing them again.
5. The Offer Letter Prompt
Slow, confusing offers lose candidates. Use this to draft a clear, warm offer in under 5 minutes.
Write an offer letter for [name] joining as [role] at [company]. Salary: [X]. Start: [date]. Equity: [Y] options, 4-year vest, 1-year cliff, [Z] strike price. Tone: genuinely excited, not corporate. Include a 2-sentence plain-English equity explainer. Give them until [date] to decide. Under 300 words.
Keep all 5 prompts in a single doc titled “Hiring OS.” Every time you open a new role, open the doc first. Your average time-to-hire drops by at least 40% just from having the prompts ready.
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