1. Set up
Try a plugin
The Human Resources plugin ships with /recruiting-pipeline and other recruiting skills as a starting point, already structured to ask the intake questions in order and write to a spec template. If your admin manages plugins and it's not available yet, skip this; nothing below requires it.
Connect your tools
Claude Cowork is more powerful when it works directly with your systems. You control permissions and access. Learn about tool access(opens in new tab).
Navigate to Customize → Connectors in Cowork to set up.
Set your working folder
Drag the files you'll use (your role spec template, the leveling guide, the team charter) into one folder on your machine, then point Cowork at it. Cowork reads from it during the intake and writes the finished spec back to it. If you open roles regularly, create a Cowork project(opens in new tab) from the parent Hiring folder so your templates and instructions stay attached.
2. The prompt
Copy this into Claude Cowork
I'm opening a new role on my team. Walk me through the intake: what this person will own, the must-have versus nice-to-have skills, the level and reporting line, and what good looks like at 90 days. Push back where I'm vague. Then write the role spec in our standard format and list what's still open for the recruiter.
Why this works
Ask to be interviewed before it drafts. "Walk me through the intake" makes the conversation the deliverable, so the spec is built from your answers rather than guessed from a job title.
Give permission to push back. "Push back where I'm vague" gives Cowork permission to do what a good recruiter does: notice when "strong communicator" needs to become a testable signal.
List open questions separately. Asking for "what's still open for the recruiter" keeps undecided comp bands or location flex out of the spec and on a short list for the live sync.
Put your templates in the working folder. Your spec template and leveling guide sit in the working folder, so "our standard format" and the level definition mean the same thing for every manager who runs this.
Get a better draft
Add an example to match. Drop an example you like into the folder and Cowork matches your structure and voice.
Ask it to flag uncertainty. Add "flag anything you're not confident about" so you know where to look first when you review the draft.
3. Make Cowork work for you
A plugin skill is a starting point — customize it with your own practices and expertise. A few minutes of conversation and it runs with your standards from then on.
Make what we've done in this task so far into a skill, or edit the /recruiting-pipeline skill with my feedback.
4. Make it repeatable
Run it whenever a headcount is approved
A new req gets approved, the intake should be waiting for the hiring manager. Type /schedule in the prompt, or open Scheduled in the Cowork sidebar, and the customized skill starts the conversation whenever a new role folder appears under Hiring.
/schedule Weekdays at 9am, check Hiring for any new subfolder, run /recruiting-pipeline in each one, and save the intake transcript and finished role spec there.
Runs /recruiting-pipeline in every new subfolder under Hiring and writes the
intake transcript and finished spec to that role's folder.
5. Share with your teammates
Your customized /recruiting-pipeline now carries your intake questions, your leveling guide, and your spec template. Share it so every hiring manager runs the same intake, and recruiting receives a complete spec before the first call instead of after it.