How to Use this Guide
This guide takes you through stages of the recruiting and human resources management process for government contracting from solicitation review to human resource allocation.
For each task listed, key elements achieved are outlined and then a prompt is provided so that you can achieve those key elements with Awarded.AI. At the conclusion of the guide, you will find a table listing global assistants focused on recruiting and staffing. These global assistants are provided to all users of Awarded.AI, enabling users to accomplish a series of tasks step-by-step.
1. Requirement Analysis
Capture Required and Preferred Key Personnel Qualifications
Key Stage Elements
Clearly define each key position specified in the RFP (e.g., Program Manager, Technical Lead, Security Officer).
Identify any additional roles deemed critical for successful performance.
Determine the mandatory and preferred qualifications for each position/role.
Prompt: Identifying Key Personnel Requirements
I am an experienced recruiter. I need to identify the following from the attached/copy and pasted solicitation:
-key positions specified
-additional roles deemed critical for contract performance and project success
-mandatory and preferred qualifications for each
Capture the position titles verbatim. Be sure to capture non-technical requirements for each position as well including related to security, location, certifications, etc.
Draft Job Descriptions Based on a Solicitation
Key Elements
Clearly define the job title, summary of responsibilities, and organizational reporting relationships in alignment with solicitation requirements.
Specify education, experience, certifications, clearances, and any additional desired skills or expertise relevant to the solicitation.
Incorporate necessary technical skills, subject matter expertise, and contract-specific compliance or performance standards.
State the duty location, travel expectations, and any additional work conditions such as telework eligibility or security clearance needs.
Prompt: Drafting Job Descriptions Based on a Solicitation
I am an experienced recruiter. I need to create a narrative job description for the role of [INSERT ROLE] based on the attached solicitation. Clearly define the job title, summary of responsibilities, and organizational reporting relationships in alignment with the solicitation requirements. Specify education, experience, certifications, clearances, and any additional desired skills or expertise relevant to the solicitation. Incorporate necessary technical skills, subject matter expertise, and contract-specific compliance or performance standards. State the duty location, travel expectations, and any additional work conditions such as telework eligibility or security clearance needs. Capture requirements and preferred qualifications verbatim. Be as clear and detailed as possible so we can ensure we have applicants who meet and even exceed requirements.
2. Candidate Sourcing
Research
Key Elements
Leverage Deep Research to tackle topics relevant to recruiting and staffing professionals for a sector, industry, market, and more over a specific time period. Potential research topics are sampled in the table below.
Potential Topics | Description |
Labor Categories | Research specific government-mandated labor categories (e.g., per GSA, DoD, or agency-specific contracts). |
Security Clearance | Understand levels of required security clearance (e.g., Public Trust, Secret, Top Secret/SCI) and the process/timelines for obtaining them. |
Salary & Compensation | Investigate prevailing wage rates, locality pay, and industry salary benchmarks as required by the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, or other contract terms. |
Labor Market Trends | Analyze supply/demand for specific skill sets, regions with critical shortages, and competition for talent. |
Compliance Regulations | Keep current on Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Equal Employment Opportunity, McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, Federal Acquisition Regulation, and other regulatory requirements impacting federal staffing. |
Candidate Pipelines | Compile data on active and passive talent pools in critical skill areas (e.g., cyber, engineering, project management). |
Key Performance Metrics | Investigate historical fill rates, time-to-fill, retention rates, and reasons for candidate attrition on previous contracts. |
Past Performance | Review performance of prior placements, especially for incumbent capture or re-compete opportunities. |
Emerging Skills & Certifications | Monitor new gov tech needs, such as cloud, AI/ML, CMMC, Agile, Azure DevOps, and more. |
How to Access: Look for the Flask in the bottom of your left toolbar, circled in yellow in the image below.
Search for Potential Candidates that Meet Staffing Requirements
Key Stage Elements
Conduct initial qualification screening of resumes to identify potential qualified candidates and capture their alignment with mandatory and preferred requirements based on their resumes.
To begin, run the Prompt: Identifying Key Personnel Requirements.
Prompt: Candidate Screening Checklist
I am an experienced recruiter. Create a comprehensive candidate screening checklist specifically tailored for staffing roles required and any additional staffing recommended. The checklist should be comprehensive. Clearly present the requirements for each role in table format so that I can efficiently and systematically identify and select candidates who fully meet or exceed the specialized requirements.
Prompt: Resume Screening
I am an experienced recruiter. I want to search the attached folder for the best potential candidates for role of [Role]. Please identify 3-5 candidates. Present the candidates’ alignment to the required and preferred qualifications in table format. Provide the names of the top [X] for the role based on your analysis. Do not omit any requirements. Include requirements such as security, certifications, and location. If you are unsure whether they fit a requirement indicate this by stating "Unclear" so I can follow up. Capture requirements and experience verbatim.
3. Candidate Screening
Evaluate Resumes
Candidate Fit Analysis
Examine, in detail, whether education, relevant certifications (e.g., SOC 2, CISA, Agile), and necessary security clearances match contract requirements for potential candidtes.
Ensure significant, recent experience with similar projects or technologies and proficiency with tools/platforms specified in the statement of work.
Evaluate communication skills, teamwork/leadership ability, and reliability as demonstrated in career history.
Note candidate’s ability to meet location, work authorization, and timeline expectations for the role, if provided, in their resume.
Prompt: In-depth Analysis of a Candidate’s Experience
I am an experienced recruiter. I want to compare the attached resume against the specific requirements for the role of [Role]. Please present the specific role requirements verbatim, listing them line by line, in Column 1. Then capture the candidate’s experience and qualifications verbatim, in line with the requirements, in Column 2. Be sure to include requirements such as security clearances, geographical location, and certifications.
4. Interviewing and Subsequent Evaluation
Generate Follow-Up Questions for Potential Candidates
Key Elements
Make a plan to clarify outstanding questions regarding education, certifications, and security clearances, especially if dates or specifics are missing or unclear from a resume.
Probe for more information about the candidate’s hands-on involvement in similar projects, specific technologies used, and scope of responsibilities to confirm depth and direct relevance.
Obtain concrete examples of problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and communication to validate soft skills beyond what is listed.
Confirm logistical and contractual readiness, such as earliest start date, willingness to work at specific locations, and status of work authorization or clearance updates.
Prompt: Resume and Biographies
AI, adopt the persona of an advanced Resume Evaluator. Your mission is to meticulously analyze a candidate's resume in the context of a specified job role. Upon being provided with a job description and the candidate's resume, you are to craft precise and tailored questions that probe for inconsistencies or vague areas in the resume. Ensure that the questions are direct, pertinent, and designed to draw out detailed responses that bridge the candidate's past experiences with the job's criteria. Additionally, conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate's qualifications and construct a summarized profile that highlights the congruence between their prior positions, accomplishments, and the job they are applying for. Your approach must be adaptable, capable of catering to diverse job roles and resumes, and should embody a creative flair in both questioning and harmonizing the candidate's career narrative with the job's demands.
Prompt: Create a Role-Specific Interview Guide
To be used with one of the role-specific checklists generated using, run the Prompt: Candidate Screening Checklist
I am an experienced recruiter. Propose potential interview questions, grouped by the key competency areas and requirements from the screening checklist copy and pasted below. Questions should be generated with the intention of clarifying direct, concrete examples of relevant experience, and resume claims as well as further assessing both technical depth and soft skills. For each question include notes on desirable responses.
Here is the screening checklist: [Copy and paste in the role-specific screening checklist]
Guidance on experience for technical and soft skills required/desired
Key Elements:
Effectively identify and assess the technical and soft skills essential for specialized positions, ensuring only qualified candidates are considered.
Better articulate job requirements to both hiring managers and candidates, enhancing clarity and credibility throughout the hiring process.
Understanding required skills more fully to help minimize the likelihood of mis-hires, reducing project risks and ensuring alignment with organizational and contract requirements.
Prompt: Guidance for Candidate Screening and Evaluation
I am an experienced recruiter. Develop guidance that can enable me to screen potential candidates more knowledgeably and accurately. Give guidance on the types of experiences, projects, etc. they might have been involved with that would make them an excellent fit for the following: [Copy and Paste in the Job Description].
Analyze an Interview Transcript
Key Elements
Following an interview, assess whether the candidate provided clear, specific evidence of meeting all required education, certifications, and relevant work experience.
Evaluate depth of knowledge, problem-solving skills, and proficiency with required tools, technologies, or methodologies relevant to the contract.
Analyze how effectively the candidate communicates, collaborates, and demonstrates professionalism, adaptability, and teamwork.
Determine the candidate’s interest in the role, understanding of the contract’s mission, willingness to fulfill logistical requirements, and commitment to project timelines.
Prompt: Interview Transcript Analysis
I am an experienced recruiter. I have recently conducted an interview with a final candidate for the position of [Role]. Using the attached RFP, perform an analysis of the transcript pasted below. Capture:
- any clear, specific evidence of meeting required education, certifications, and relevant work experience that we may want to highlight
-their depth of knowledge and skill using required tools, technologies, and methodologies relevant to the solicitation
-evidence of soft skills, including communication, collaboration, and adaptability
-feedback on the candidate’s interest in the role, understanding of the contract’s mission, willingness to fulfill logistical requirements, and commitment to project timelines.
Here is the transcript: [Copy and Paste in the Interview Transcript]
Present Potential Candidate Qualifications to Your Team
Key Elements
Briefly outline a candidate’s education, certifications, and required security clearances relevant to a potential contract.
Highlight a candidate’s past roles, major projects, and technical skills that align with the contract requirements.
Clearly capture any areas where the candidate’s background does not fully meet the contract’s requirements or where additional development may be needed.
Emphasize any unique strengths or achievements.
Confirm the candidate’s readiness to start, work authorization status, and alignment with contract location and timelines.
Prompt:
Please create [X] slides that capture this candidate’s qualifications that I can present to my team. The slides should be at a high level, in bullet point format, paying special attention to where they exceed qualifications and/or where they do not meet qualifications. Be sure to include any areas that would be important for the team to consider and/or discuss.
Tip: If you would like a consistent format every time, consider creating a Candidate Slide Deck Template Knowledge Category that you can toggle on to guide the AI.
5. Candidate Presentation
Format Resumes Consistently
Key Elements
Efficiently convert resumes to the government-specified format and page limits.
Ensure consistent presentation of chronological work history, relevant projects, and accomplishments.
Prompt: Resume Reduction
As an AI assistant, your task involves reformatting the following text which is a resume. Your goal is to condense this document into a maximum of [X pages or X characters], whichever comes first. The challenge here lies in maintaining the integrity of the formatting, content, chronology, context, and supporting information messaging. It's not about simply deleting or shrinking text. It's about preserving the essence and the message of the resume. At the same time, you are required to optimize the overall readability of the document, ensuring that it maintains a professional tone throughout. Remember, the aim is not just to shorten the length, but to enhance its impact and effectiveness. The resume content is as follows: [Copy and Paste in Text]
Reduce the length of a resume
Present Proposed Candidate’s to a Contracting/Procurement Officer
Key Elements
Clearly present candidate’s relevant education, certifications, security clearances, and any specialized credentials required by the contract for a specified role in a narrative format.
Highlight prior roles, project experience, and specific technical proficiencies that directly align with the contract’s scope of work and position requirements.
Confirm each candidate’s availability, work authorization, and ability to meet all readiness, location, and onboarding requirements as set forth in the contract.
Summarize key soft skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, leadership) as well as any unique strengths or contributions that enhance contract performance.
If applicable, transparently address any areas where a candidate may not fully meet requirements, along with a mitigation or development plan if needed.
Note: If you are an Architect-Engineer (A-E) Firm and you need to prepare SF330, please see the SF330 Assistant in the table below.
6. Talent Pool Management
Onboarding
Welcome new staff while reducing anxiety as they get started.
Provide important details and steps related to the onboarding process.
Introduce key contacts.
Demonstrate professionalism and organization, making a positive first impression.
Prompt: Email Creator
Create me an email template to facilitate a smooth onboarding process.
Create Recruiting and Human Resource Knowledge Categories
Knowledge Categories, found in the Data Hub, enable you to provide the AI information quickly while also enabling your team to communicate up-to-date information consistently. Knowledge Categories can be created for various purposes including for recruiting and human resources-related purposes.
Resume Knowledge Category
Key Elements
Ensure up-to-date resume data can be evaluated against contract requirements for candidate fit and gap analysis quickly and accurately.
Steps:
Go to Datahub->Knowledge Base
Click the + button to create a new Knowledge Category. Name the Category and select the Knowledge Type “Company Information” since these will be resumes for your workforce/potential workforce. Select Private until you have had a chance to test out the Knowledge Category and ensure it is fit for your purposes.
For the Label, enter Template. For the Value, list the information you will want to include for each candidate/team member. Examples include: Location (City, State), Education, Work History, Certifications, Clearances.
Once you have this template, you can copy and paste this information into AI Chat to quickly and easily extract the relevant information from attached/copy and pasted resumes. Tip: Tell the AI that should the information not be found in the resume indicate this by stating “Not specified.” Capture information verbatim and only use information found in the resume.
Begin entering information for candidates/staff. The Label will be the name of the candidate/staff. The Value will be the information from their resume.
Candidate Slide Deck Template
Key Elements:
Present key information to your team for potential staff on a project you are submitting a proposal for.
Steps:
Go to Datahub->Knowledge Base. Click the + button to create a new Knowledge Category. Name the Category and select the Company Information Knowledge Type since it is specific to your company. Select Private until you have had a chance to test out the Knowledge Category and ensure it is fit for your purposes.
Tip: You might consider making a Template Knowledge Category and use it to capture templates for a range of uses. Then, when you need to create a slide to present a candidate you can simply go to the Knowledge Hub, click on Candidate Slide Deck under Configuration and toggle the Category on so that the AI can reference it.
For Label, enter Candidate Slide Deck. For Value outline the information you would like included and any guidance for how you want it presented. Tip: To make this easy, consider attaching slides candidate in AI Chat you have previously used to present a. Ask the AI to tell you what it sees for each slide. Use this for your Value.
Human Resource Allocation Knowledge Category
Key Elements:
Streamline the process of identifying staff available and well-qualified to cover roles and responsibilities on contracts.
Easily update information such as current project coverage, location, security clearance, availability for consulting work, and upcoming availability on a regular basis
Steps:
Go to Datahub->Knowledge Base
Click the + button to create a new Knowledge Category. Name the Category and select the Knowledge Type “Company Information” since this will be information about your workforce/potential workforce. Select Private until you have had a chance to test out the Knowledge Category and ensure it is fit for your purposes.
For the Label, enter Template. For the Value, list the information you will want to include for each individual. Examples include: Education, Experience, Skill Proficiency, Security Clearance, Certifications, Current Residence, Current Project, Current Project Start Date, Current Project End Date, Notes on Availability for the Next 12 Months, Flexible on Consulting Roles, Date Last Update.
Once you have this template, you can copy and paste this information into AI Chat to quickly and easily extract the relevant information from attached/copy and pasted resumes. Tip: Tell the AI that, should the information not be found in the resume, indicate this by stating “Not specified.” Capture information verbatim and only use information found in the resume.
Begin entering information for candidates/staff. The Label will be the name of the candidate/staff. The Value will be the information from their resume and current project work.
Global Assistants for Recruiting and Staffing
Assistant | Requirement Analysis | Candidate Sourcing | Candidate Screening | Interviewing | Candidate Presentation | Other |
Recruiting-Key Personnel Resume Generator | X |
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X | Quickly reorganize/ format to enhance readability and flow for a federal proposal evaluation Highlight and reinforce relevant experience Clearly present education and credentials Highlight additional information relevant to the solicitation |
Recruiting- Resume Gap Analyzer | | X | X |
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| Uses a job description as a starting point |
Recruiting- Resume Conformer | X |
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| X | Uses a job description as a starting point |
Recruiting-Resume LCAT Matcher | X |
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SF330 |
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Stakeholder Interview |
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