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The AI Agent Hiring Run Playbook

How an AI recruiting team runs one role from your strategy to a signed offer. The 8 steps, the ranking weights, the questions and the checks, exactly as a Hiring Run uses them.

8 STEPS · 6 MINUTE READ · USE IT FOR ANY ROLE

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1 Strategy2 Criteria3 Boundaries4 Two streams5 One ranked pool6 First call7 Spotlight8 Align + final three
1

Start with your strategy

You

Not a job description. Tell your AI recruiting lead what you would tell a colleague: who you need, what really matters, and where you can bend.

  • Role and levelSenior Account Executive, EMEA
  • Must-havesThe few things with no exceptions
  • Where you're flexibleLocation, industry, years
  • Success in 6 monthsWhat a great hire has done by then
Tip: a 30-second voice note says more than a page of requirements. Say it like you'd brief a recruiter you trust.
2

Agree the ranking criteria and weights

You approve

Every candidate gets scored the same way, and you decide how much each criterion counts. Weights add up to 100%. Example for a Senior Account Executive:

CriterionWhat it measuresWeight
RoleHow closely their job titles match the role33%
LocationWhether they live or work near the role22%
SkillsHow many key skills appear in their profile22%
SeniorityWhether their level fits this role11%
IndustryWhether they have worked in your industry6%
Current companyHow well their employer fits your target6%
Rule: must-haves are filters, not weights. If someone fails a must-have, no score saves them.
3

Set the boundaries

You set

This is what lets an AI team work on its own without surprises. Write down what it may never do without you.

  • Salary rangeThe real range, not the advertised one
  • Deal-breakersThe answers that end a conversation
  • Never sent without approvalFor example, offers or messages to your network
  • Never paid without approvalSponsored job posts, paid boards
4

Run two streams at the same time

The run

Most hires stall because one stream waits for the other. Run outbound and inbound together from day one.

Outbound

Search the whole market for people who are not looking. Reach them by email, LinkedIn and WhatsApp. Follow up on day 0, day 3 and day 7, then stop.

Inbound

Publish the role on the job boards and social channels that fit it. Answer every applicant, even with a no.

5

Merge into one ranked pool

The run

Both streams land in one talent pool, without duplicates, ranked against the criteria from step 2. Every score comes with the reason behind it, so nobody has to trust a black box.

6

Make the first call count

The run

The first conversation sells the role as much as it qualifies the person. Prepare four answers before anyone calls.

  • Why this role, not theirsThe one-line difference
  • What would make them moveGrowth, money, scope, flexibility
  • The questions they'll askCompensation, team, remote work
  • TimingNotice period and a realistic start date
7

Interview for evidence, not just a CV

The run

Interested candidates move into a structured AI interview. For every must-have, decide what proof you'll accept, and ask one follow-up question that only real experience can answer.

  • Previous projectsWhat they led, and their part in it
  • GitHub or portfolioReal work, not a description of it
  • Professional referencesTwo people who saw them do the job
  • The follow-up"Walk me through it. What almost went wrong?"
8

Align expectations, then meet your final three

You decide

Before anyone reaches your calendar, align the four things that break late-stage hires. Then you meet three finalists, each with the evidence behind them.

  • CompensationInside the range
  • AvailabilityThe start date works
  • Work modelLocation and hybrid agreed
  • Role scopeThe same picture of the job
Your part: the final interviews and the decision. Everything before that is what a Hiring Run does for you.

Want this run for you?

MetaDay's AI recruiting lead, Ryan, runs every step of this playbook with his team. You set the strategy and make the final call.