The framework

13 stages. 7 phases. One operating system.

Every recruiting firm runs the same fundamental sequence. The lighthouse keeps watch over each one — illuminating the standard, lighting where AI helps, marking where humans decide. Click any stage to see what runs underneath.

Phase 1

Market Positioning — Positioning

01
Niche, Brand & Attraction
Who you serve, where, with what specialty. Publicly declared, internally enforced.

The declared answer to who we serve, in what space, with what specialty. Publicly stated, internally enforced, consistently messaged across every recruiter, salesperson, and piece of marketing.

AI handles

Competitive positioning research, message-market fit scoring, content draft variants across channels.

Humans handle

The actual point of view. The niche bet. The line in the sand. The judgment that AI can't outsource.

02
MPC Marketing
1–2 most-placeable candidates per recruiter per week. Job orders on your terms.

Proactively marketing the best available talent into the market. Job orders created on the firm's terms, not the client's. Tight sizzle, targeted distribution, tracked conversion.

AI handles

Drafts the sizzle, scores candidate marketability, segments distribution lists, tracks conversion analytics.

Humans handle

Identifying who's actually MPC-grade. The conversations that turn a candidate package into a real opportunity.

Phase 2

Job Acquisition — Acquisition

03
Job Intake & Qualification
The single most important call. Understand the role. Qualify the opportunity.

Everything downstream is built on this call. Two purposes: understand the role with depth, and qualify the opportunity before committing to work it.

AI handles

Auto-captures the intake call, extracts structured fields, scores qualification gates, files into the ATS.

Humans handle

Asking the next layer of questions. Reading the hiring manager. Walking away when the role doesn't qualify.

Phase 3

Attraction — Attraction

04
Search & Engagement Strategy
20 minutes of thinking that beats 20 hours of grinding. Built before any candidate is contacted.

A unified plan for how a specific role will be filled — built before any candidate is contacted. Multi-angle, multi-touch, hypothesis-driven.

AI handles

Drafts the strategy doc from the job brief in 5 minutes. Surfaces sourcing angles, target lists, message variants.

Humans handle

Pressure-testing the strategy. Picking which angles to actually pursue. Owning the outcome.

Phase 4

Qualification — Qualification

05
Recruiter Screen
One well-designed call that catches interest and validates closeability. Pre-close on offer number.

Three layers — recruiting, full screen, close. Pre-close on offer number before the call ends.

AI handles

Surfaces the right depth questions in real-time. Captures the call, scores against intake, drafts the summary.

Humans handle

Reading the candidate. Hearing what isn't said. Closing on the offer number before they hang up.

Phase 5

Presentation — Presentation

06
Internal Submittal Gate
A real review before the candidate hits the client's inbox. Four decisions: Send, Engage, Hold, Pass.

A real review before the candidate hits the client's inbox. Four explicit decisions. No ambiguous holds. Decision SLAs honored. Specific feedback to the recruiter on every kill.

AI handles

Pre-scores the candidate against intake criteria, flags risk areas, surfaces comparable past submittals.

Humans handle

The Send/Engage/Hold/Pass decision. The recruiter feedback. The judgment call on edge cases.

07
Package & Submit
Transform the screened candidate into a 30-second-scan package. Three-bullet sizzle.

Three-bullet sizzle calibrated to the hiring manager's stated priorities. End-to-end delivery automation — no manual copy-paste.

AI handles

Generates the three-bullet sizzle. Assembles the package, attaches the resume, writes the email, files the submittal.

Humans handle

Reviewing before send. Knowing which detail this hiring manager actually cares about. Hitting send.

Phase 6

Closing — Closing

08
Interview Prep
A prepped candidate interviews 30–40% better. Same person, different outcome.

The single highest-ROI activity in recruiting. Written and verbal — doc + 30-min call before every round.

AI handles

Auto-assembles the prep doc from candidate profile, job intake, interviewer history, and past debriefs.

Humans handle

The 30-minute prep call. Walking the candidate through the room. Coaching the answers that change outcomes.

09
Interview Debrief
Candidate first, hiring manager second, both within 24 hours. Save plays live in the gap.

Structured questions, structured data. The gap between candidate's perception and hiring manager's perception is where save opportunities live.

AI handles

Captures both debriefs, extracts structured fields, flags perception gaps, surfaces save plays.

Humans handle

Running the debrief calls. Acting on the gaps. The follow-up message that turns a 'maybe' into a 'yes.'

10
Offer & Negotiation
Never extend an offer without verbal pre-close at the number. Recruiter owns the negotiation.

Candidate and hiring manager never negotiate directly. Counter-offer arming is standard, not optional.

AI handles

Pulls comparable comp data, drafts counter-offer scripts, schedules check-ins through start date.

Humans handle

The pre-close call. The negotiation itself. The counter-offer rehearsal with the candidate.

Phase 7

Retention — Retention

11
Resignation & Start
The window between acceptance and start is where placements most often die. Active, not administrative.

Resignation script rehearsed. Counter-offer reinforced morning-of. Weekly substantive contact through start.

AI handles

Cadence reminders, drip messages, paperwork tracking, start-date countdown automations.

Humans handle

The resignation rehearsal. The morning-of counter-offer call. The substantive weekly check-ins.

12
Day-1 & First 30 Days
Where placement protection AND network compounding happen. Day-one touch, week-one substantive.

Day-one touch. Week-one substantive call with both candidate and hiring manager. Week 4: structured referral ask + 'what's next' conversation.

AI handles

Schedules the cadence, prompts the right questions, captures the call, surfaces referral signals.

Humans handle

The actual calls. The referral ask. The hiring-manager conversation that opens the next req.

13
Repeat Business Development
Where the firm's compounding effect lives. Tracked, tiered, cadenced — not left to memory.

Placed candidates become future hiring managers. Hiring managers become repeat clients. Tracked, tiered, cadenced.

AI handles

Tier scoring, cadence automation, signal monitoring (job changes, promotions), context bundling per touch.

Humans handle

The relationship work. The conversations. The judgment on who gets the next call this month.

Three ways to install it

Embedded operator, fractional advisor, or à la carte.

Every engagement starts with the same question: where are you now, and where do you need to be? The answer determines which model fits.

01 · Staffing

We find your people.

Direct hire, contract, or contract-to-hire. AI, IT, executive, or anything else. Same framework we install for clients — used to deliver for ours.

Tell us who you need →
02 · Consulting

We elevate your operation.

Audit the gaps. Install the operating standard. Layer AI on top. Stay long enough to make sure it runs without us.

Talk about scope →
03 · À la carte

Custom AI builds.

Specific AI tools and workflow automations built around the platforms you already use. Fixed-fee builds with subscription hosting.

Talk about builds →

Want us to audit your operation against this framework?

Tell us where you are. We'll tell you which stages are running, which are gaps, and which model fits.

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