There are several ways to find and add candidates to your project in 2.0. This article walks through each sourcing method, including how the recommendation engine works and how to get the most out of it.
1. Recommended Candidates
Recommended candidates appear automatically on every project—no setup required beyond the project basics. As soon as you create a project with a Position title and Hiring Company (both required fields), the system generates an initial set of recommendations based on that information alone.
How to add Recommended Candidates
Open the project you’d like to add candidates to
Click the Source Candidates button within the project
Navigate to the Recommended Candidates tab
Review and add candidates to your project
How relevancy scoring works
The recommendation algorithm evaluates candidates across five inputs:
Input | How It's Used |
Job titles | Matches similar titles and variations on the position (e.g., "CEO" and "Chief Executive Officer"). |
Skill tags | Compares tags on a person's profile against the tags added to the project's Strategy tab. More overlap produces a higher score. |
Headcount & revenue range | Looks at a person's primary employer and compares its headcount and revenue range to the hiring company. Closer matches produce a higher score. |
Target companies | Checks whether a person's experience includes any of the target companies listed on the Strategy tab. Matches on prioritized companies produce a higher score. |
Similar projects | Surfaces candidates from projects marked as similar on the Strategy tab. Appearing on multiple similar projects raises the score, and progressing further in those projects raises it more. |
Scores from each input are normalized and combined into a single relevancy score. The more a person matches across all inputs, the stronger the recommendation.
Improving your recommendations
The Strategy tab is not a prerequisite for recommendations — candidates will surface as soon as the project is created. However, filling out the Strategy tab meaningfully refines the results. At minimum, consider adding:
Skill tags relevant to the role
Target companies you'd want to source from
Similar projects your firm has run in the past
Benchmarks for headcount and revenue
The more of these you provide, the more tailored the recommendations become.
Other ways to source
Beyond recommended candidates, you can bring people into a project through:
2. Global Search — Quickly search for specific candidates across the full People index using the global search. Add candidates directly to a project from the search results.
3. People & Companies Indexes — Browse or filter the indexes and add people to a project individually or in bulk.
4. Chrome Extension — Capture candidates from LinkedIn and add them into a project without disrupting your workflow.
5. Manual add — Add a person directly to a project from their profile using the "Add to project" icon.
6. Drain from Past Projects — This feature allows you to find and add candidates from your previous projects in just a few clicks.
7. Add Candidates from a List — If you’ve already created a list of candidates, you can easily add them to any project.
When to Use Each Sourcing Method
Different sourcing methods are best suited for different stages of a search. Below are a few common scenarios and recommended approaches:
Starting a New Search
If you’re kicking off a new project with defined inputs:
Start with Recommended Candidates to quickly generate an initial pipeline
Then use Source from Past Projects to pull in candidates from similar searches
Building a Pipeline
Start with Source from Past Projects to identify relevant talent from prior work
Use Global Search / People Index with filters (title, company, location, etc.) to expand your pool
Adding Candidates from LinkedIn
If you’re sourcing directly from LinkedIn
Use the Chrome Extension to capture candidates
Add directly to your project without disrupting your workflow
Filling Gaps in an Active Search
If your pipeline is missing key profiles:
Use Global Search to target specific candidates
Revisit the Strategy tab to improve recommendation quality
Layer in Recommended Candidates again as inputs evolve
Revisiting or Expanding Existing Work
If you’ve run similar searches before:
Use Source from Past Projects to quickly re-engage relevant candidates
Combine with Recommended Candidates for net-new suggestions
Tips
The most effective workflows combine multiple methods. Start broad (Recommended or Past Projects), then refine with candidate filters and targeted sourcing in the people index.
Recommendations refresh as you update the Strategy tab, so revisit it as the search evolves.
If recommendations feel off, check whether skill tags and target companies on the Strategy tab reflect the role as it stands today.