Day 2 of 5
⏱ ~60 minutes
AI for HR — Day 2

AI for Recruiting: Job Descriptions, Screening, and Interviews

Recruiting is the HR function with the highest AI leverage. Job descriptions, screening criteria, and interview question banks all follow patterns that AI handles well.

Job Descriptions That Attract the Right Candidates

Most job descriptions are written by copying from the last posting, adding a few new bullets, and calling it done. The result is generic, often biased, and frequently misses the actual requirements of the role. Here is a better approach:

Job Description Prompt
Write a job description for a [job title] role.

Company: [brief description of company and culture]
Team: [who they will work with]
Key responsibilities: [3-5 main things they will do]
Must-have qualifications: [non-negotiable requirements]
Nice-to-have: [preferred but not required]
Compensation: [range if sharing]
Work arrangement: [remote/hybrid/in-person]

Write a job description that:
- Leads with what the person will accomplish, not a list of duties
- Uses plain language, not corporate jargon
- States requirements as requirements, not "preferred"
- Includes the compensation range (candidates filter by this)
- Ends with a clear, simple application instruction

Do not include: "fast-paced environment," "rock star,"
"ninja," or "self-starter." These phrases filter out
qualified applicants who dislike cliches.

Structured Interview Questions

Structured interviews — where every candidate is asked the same questions — produce better hiring decisions and are more defensible legally. AI can generate a full question bank in minutes.

Interview Question Bank Prompt
Generate a structured interview question bank for a
[job title] role.

Key competencies for this role: [list 4-5 competencies,
e.g., "communication," "analytical thinking," "teamwork"]

For each competency, generate:
- 2 behavioral questions ("Tell me about a time when...")
- 1 situational question ("If X happened, how would you...")
- 1 follow-up probe question

Also generate:
- 3 questions to assess cultural fit
- 2 questions about their career goals
- 1 question to give them a chance to ask us

Total: approximately 20 questions. Mark which are
required and which are optional if time is short.
⚠️
Legal reminder: Never ask about age, marital status, children, national origin, religion, disability, or other protected characteristics — in AI-generated questions or any other format. Review all AI output for legally problematic questions before use.

Resume Screening Criteria

Screening Criteria Prompt
Based on this job description, create a resume
screening rubric.

Job description: [paste it]

Create a scoring rubric with:
1. Must-have criteria (automatic disqualify if missing)
2. Strong indicators (6-10 points each)
3. Good-to-have indicators (2-4 points each)

For each criterion, specify: what to look for in a
resume and how to score it objectively. Format as a
table that a recruiter can use consistently across
all applications.
Day 2 Exercise
Rewrite a Real Job Description
  1. Take a job description you have used recently (or find one online).
  2. Run the job description prompt to generate a new version.
  3. Compare the two side-by-side. What does the AI version do better? What did it miss?
  4. Generate an interview question bank for the same role.
  5. Review all questions for potential bias before saving them to your library.

Day 2 Summary

  • Job descriptions should lead with what the person will accomplish, not a duty list.
  • Structured interview question banks produce fairer, more consistent hiring decisions.
  • Always review AI-generated screening criteria and interview questions for bias and legal compliance.
  • Compensation ranges in job postings attract better candidates and save everyone's time.
Challenge

Take your last three job descriptions and run them all through the screening criteria prompt. Do the must-have criteria actually match what you ended up hiring for? If there is a gap, that gap is where your job description is wasting your time with the wrong applicants.

Finished this lesson?