How To Write Sourcing Assistant Instructions

It starts from your job description: 

Sourcing Assistant reads the job post you already wrote. You don't need to repeat the role, the duties, or your company details. Your instructions add what the job description doesn't make clear.

It isn't a search bar:

You aren't typing keywords and getting a list back to scroll through. Use plain language — you don't need Boolean strings, quotation marks, or search operators.

It finds candidates for you:

When someone meets your must-haves, Sourcing Assistant sends them your job, or adds them to your Shortlist for you to approve first.

You steer it two ways: 

You can change your instructions at any time, and you can tell Sourcing Assistant why you rejected a candidate. Both shape who it contacts next.

Sourcing Assistant splits your needs into three groups:

Must-have qualifications

• These are deal-breakers. If a candidate lacks any of these on their resume, Sourcing Assistant won't contact them.
• Only use must-haves for skills or qualifications the person needs to do the job.
• Adding too many must-haves will lead to fewer matches. 
• We recommend 3-5 must-haves at most.

Preferred qualifications

• These are nice-to-haves. Sourcing Assistant uses these to prioritize candidates to contact.
• Candidates may still be contacted even if they're missing a preferred item.

Other criteria

This is where you set:

• Location radius: How far away candidates can live
• Use: "Find matches within 25 miles of Chicago, IL"
• Don’t use: "Find matches within 1 hour commute of Chicago, IL"
• Exclusion-phrased criteria: People who meet specific conditions that make them ineligible for outreach.
• Example: "Exclude matches who have held 'Director' or 'Principal' titles"
• Example: "Exclude matches who have worked for ‘Jones and Jones Inc.,’ 'Jones and Jones,' or 'Jones & Jones'"

Only include items from a resume

These work well:

• Job titles
• Years of experience
• Skills and tools
• Certifications or licenses
• Education
• Industries

These don't work:

• Personality traits like "team player" or "passionate" 
• Work style or "culture fit"
• Information not likely to be included on a resume, such as "able to commute" or "has their own vehicle"

Keep it short

• Write 15 words or fewer for each item.

Example:

• Use: "4+ years experience in healthcare"
• Don't use: “Must have plenty of hours logged and experience completed in a relevant healthcare setting”

Be specific

• Say exactly what you need.

Example: 

• Use: "2+ years of sales experience"
• Don’t use: "Experienced salesperson"

One idea per line

• Don't combine more than one need into one bullet point.

Example:

• Use: "3+ years of nursing experience"
• Use: "BLS certification"
• Don’t use: "3+ years of nursing experience with BLS certification"

Skip extra details

• Only write things that matter for your hiring decision.
• Extra details make your pool smaller without helping you find better candidates.

You don't need perfect instructions to start. Sourcing Assistant gets better as you review candidates and tell it what you think.

Your instructions are ready when:

• You have 3–5 must-haves maximum, and each one is a true deal-breaker
• You have 2–3 preferred qualifications
• You've set your location radius under Other criteria
• Each item is one idea, written in 15 words or fewer

If you've done those four things, you're ready. Reviewing your first candidates will teach you more than continuing to edit — and you can change your instructions at any time.

To keep in line with Indeed’s hiring rules, you can't use certain things as filters. Examples are:

• Age, gender, race, religion, disability, citizenship
• Words that hint at these ( "new graduate," "digital native")
• Personality traits ("team player," "go-getter")
• Work schedule needs
• Physical requirements (“lifting,” "standing”)
• Background checks, drug tests, or vaccine requirements
• Employment gaps and job-change patterns ("job hopping," "career breaks")
• Recent Indeed activity ("active on Indeed," "resume updated recently")

What to do instead

• Add screening questions to your job posting.
• Screening questions are different from Sourcing Assistant instructions.

• When you review candidates, you teach the Sourcing Assistant what you want.
• When you reject a candidate, say why. Your reason gets added to your instructions and makes future matches better. Be specific:
• Use: "I need more recent hospital experience"
• Use: "Lives outside our area"
• You can change your instructions whenever you want. When you update your instructions, Sourcing Assistant will refresh future candidate matches. Outreach already sent will not be affected.

Do

• Use must-haves only for true deal-breakers
• Be specific with numbers and details
• Keep each instruction short and simple
• Write 5-10 total instructions

Don't

• Put nice-to-haves in the must-have section
• Use personality words or culture fit
• Write long sentences or paragraphs
• Add every small detail about the job

Question: Is there a maximum number of instructions I can use?

Answer: No, but we recommend including 5-10 total criteria (must-haves and preferred combined). There is a character limit of 2500. Writing more than 10? You're probably adding details that won't help.

Question: Can I use instructions on more than one job?

Answer: Yes. If you're hiring for the same role in different locations or opening more than one similar position, this is a great option. Click Import from another job when setting up Sourcing Assistant for a new role.

Question: Can I exclude specific people from being invited?

Answer: Yes. Add them to your do-not-contact list, and Sourcing Assistant won't reach out to them. You can add people one at a time, or upload a CSV of email addresses for larger lists, like your current employees. Find it in your outreach settings. The list matches on email address, so include every email address you have for each person. If someone uses a different email on Indeed, they may still be contacted.

Question: Can I review matches before inviting candidates?

Answer: Yes. Turn off auto-invite when you set up Sourcing Assistant, and it will use Shortlist instead. Each day, Sourcing Assistant gives you up to 10 matches to review. No one is contacted until you approve them, and matches you remove aren't invited. If you don't review a list, it's replaced the next day with the 10 best current matches.