Set Up a Claude Project as a Standing Recruiting Assistant

1. Log into claude.ai and click Projects in the left sidebar
2. Click New project
3. In the setup fields, name it something you'll recognize months from now, like "TA Recruiting Assistant," and add a short description of what it's for

What you should see: A new, empty project workspace with sections for instructions and files.

This is the part that saves you from re-explaining yourself every session.

1. Open the instructions panel on the project page
2. Write out your standing context: your company's tone (formal, casual, mission-driven), your JD structure (sections and order), and how you want output formatted
3. Save

Example instructions to paste in and adapt:

You're helping me draft job descriptions, screening questions, and outreach
messages for [Company Name], a [industry] company. Our tone is professional
but approachable, never corporate-jargon-heavy. Job descriptions follow this
structure: Role Summary, Key Responsibilities, Required Qualifications,
Preferred Qualifications, What We Offer. Keep responsibilities to 5-7 bullet
points and qualifications to 4-6 each. When I paste intake notes, turn them
into this format without me having to ask each time.

What you should see: Claude confirming the instructions are saved and will apply to every conversation in this project.

1. In the Files section, click the upload icon
2. Add your JD template, any style guide you have, and comp-band reference material you're cleared to store here
3. Keep individual files under 30 MB; the free and paid tiers both support common formats like PDF, DOCX, and CSV

What you should see: Your uploaded files listed in the project, available to every conversation started inside it. Troubleshooting: If a document won't upload, check the file size and format. Very large PDFs sometimes need to be split or converted to text first.

Comp bands and internal templates are business-confidential even if they don't contain candidate PII.

1. Check with your TA lead or IT/security team about whether project knowledge bases are an approved place to store this kind of internal document
2. If your company hasn't cleared it yet, start the project with just your public-facing JD format and tone guidelines, and add comp-band data once you have a clear answer
3. Never upload candidate resumes, interview notes, or other personal data into this project without separately confirming that's allowed under your company's data policy

What you should see: A project that's useful from day one even if you're waiting on approval to add the more sensitive documents.

1. Start a new chat inside the project (not a regular Claude chat outside it)
2. Paste in intake notes from a real requisition
3. Ask for a job description, and notice it already follows your format without you specifying it again

What you should see: Output that matches your company's tone and structure on the first try, because the project instructions did the work.

1. Whenever your JD template or comp structure changes, update the files in the project instead of starting a new one
2. Add new reference material as your role evolves, like a bank of past screening questions that worked well

What you should see: A project that gets more useful over time instead of going stale.