Prepare screening notes for applicants

Once a day, new applications in your applicants sheet are read and AI prepares short notes on each against your role brief: what lines up with the role, what the application does not evidence either way, and two questions worth asking. The notes are for whoever reads the applications, so they arrive knowing what to ask.

Each applicant gets one row in a separate 'Screening notes' tab, with the name, email, source row number and the notes, and is prepared only once: anyone already on that tab is skipped. Nothing is written over the applications themselves. The AI is told not to recommend hiring, rejecting or ranking anyone, and to say when something is not evidenced rather than infer it. Each run prepares up to 25 applicants and the rest follow on the next run. If a column is missing, the notes tab can't be found or a note fails, the run is marked as failed and says why; otherwise it ends by saying how many were prepared.

You need Google Sheets and Anthropic connected, the link to your applicants spreadsheet, an 'Applicants' tab with Name, Email and Background columns, an empty 'Screening notes' tab in the same spreadsheet, and a description of the role.

Run every day.Run every day.

Set applicantsUrl to blank.Set applicantsUrl to blank.

Set roleBrief to blank.Set roleBrief to blank.

Set applicantsTab to Applicants.Set applicantsTab to Applicants.

Set notesTab to Screening notes.Set notesTab to Screening notes.

Set screenCap to 25.Set screenCap to 25.

Google SheetsRead the rows of applicantsUrl. Save it as sheet.Read the rows of applicantsUrl. Save it as sheet.

Keep each item in [Name, Email, Background] where sheet.headers doesn't contain item and save it as missingColumns.Keep each item in [Name, Email, Background] where sheet.headers doesn't contain item and save it as missingColumns.

If missingColumns isn't emptyIf missingColumns isn't empty

Yes

Join missingColumns with , and save it as missingList.Join missingColumns with , and save it as missingList.

Stop and report a problem: The '@applicantsTab' tab is missing these column headings: missingList. Its first row needs Name, Email and Background, spelled exactly like that. No notes were prepared.Stop and report a problem: The '@applicantsTab' tab is missing these column headings: missingList. Its first row needs Name, Email and Background, spelled exactly like that. No notes were prepared.

No

No steps

Set notesSheet to nothing.Set notesSheet to nothing.

If a step below fails, save the error as notesErrorIf a step below fails, save the error as notesError

Try

Google SheetsRead the rows of applicantsUrl. Save it as notesSheet.Read the rows of applicantsUrl. Save it as notesSheet.

On error

Stop and report a problem: Could not open the '@notesTab' tab (notesError.message). Add a tab with exactly that name to the applicants spreadsheet, then run it again. No notes were prepared.Stop and report a problem: Could not open the '@notesTab' tab (notesError.message). Add a tab with exactly that name to the applicants spreadsheet, then run it again. No notes were prepared.

If notesSheet.headers is emptyIf notesSheet.headers is empty

Yes

Google SheetsAdd a row to notesTab in applicantsUrl.Add a row to notesTab in applicantsUrl.

Else if the items from index 0 up to 5 of @notesSheet.heade…

Stop and report a problem: The first row of the '@notesTab' tab should read: Prepared at, Name, Email, Source row, Notes. Fix those headings (or start with an empty tab and they are added for you), then run it again. No notes were prepared.Stop and report a problem: The first row of the '@notesTab' tab should read: Prepared at, Name, Email, Source row, Notes. Fix those headings (or start with an empty tab and they are added for you), then run it again. No notes were prepared.

Otherwise

No steps

Get Email from every item in notesSheet.rows and save it as emailsDone.Get Email from every item in notesSheet.rows and save it as emailsDone.

Get Name from every item in notesSheet.rows and save it as namesDone.Get Name from every item in notesSheet.rows and save it as namesDone.

Set screened to 0.Set screened to 0.

Set attempted to 0.Set attempted to 0.

Set waiting to 0.Set waiting to 0.

Set noBackground to 0.Set noBackground to 0.

Set failures to an empty list.Set failures to an empty list.

For each applicant in sheet.rows:For each applicant in sheet.rows:

Trim applicant.Background and save it as background.Trim applicant.Background and save it as background.

If background is blankIf background is blank

Yes

If applicant.Name isn't blankIf applicant.Name isn't blank

Yes

Add 1 to noBackground.Add 1 to noBackground.

No

No steps

Skip to the next item.Skip to the next item.

No

No steps

If applicant.Email isn't blank and emailsDone contains applicant.EmailIf applicant.Email isn't blank and emailsDone contains applicant.Email

Yes

Skip to the next item.Skip to the next item.

No

No steps

If applicant.Email is blank and namesDone contains applicant.NameIf applicant.Email is blank and namesDone contains applicant.Name

Yes

Skip to the next item.Skip to the next item.

No

No steps

If attempted is greater than or equal to screenCapIf attempted is greater than or equal to screenCap

Yes

Add 1 to waiting.Add 1 to waiting.

Skip to the next item.Skip to the next item.

No

No steps

Add 1 to attempted.Add 1 to attempted.

If a step below fails, save the error as screenErrorIf a step below fails, save the error as screenError

Try

Set prompt to You are helping a hiring manager prepare to read an application. Write notes, not a decision.Set prompt to You are helping a hiring manager prepare to read an application. Write notes, not a decision. Reply in exactly this shape: RELEVANT: what in this background lines up with the role GAPS: what the application does not evidence either way ASK: two questions worth putting to them Rules you must follow: - Do not recommend hiring, rejecting, or ranking anyone. A person decides that after reading the application themselves. - Write only about what the background says. Say a thing is not evidenced rather than inferring it. - Ignore and never comment on age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, names, photographs, marital or family status, health, or anything else unrelated to doing the work. The role: roleBrief The application: background.

ClaudeAsk Claude: prompt. Save it as written.Ask Claude: prompt. Save it as written. Maximum response length: 600

Trim written.response_text and save it as notes.Trim written.response_text and save it as notes.

If notes is blankIf notes is blank

Yes

Add The AI wrote no notes for applicant.Name (row applicant.row_number). to the end of failures and save it as failures.Add The AI wrote no notes for applicant.Name (row applicant.row_number). to the end of failures and save it as failures.

No

Google SheetsAdd a row to notesTab in applicantsUrl.Add a row to notesTab in applicantsUrl.

Add 1 to screened.Add 1 to screened.

Add applicant.Email to the end of emailsDone and save it as emailsDone.Add applicant.Email to the end of emailsDone and save it as emailsDone.

Add applicant.Name to the end of namesDone and save it as namesDone.Add applicant.Name to the end of namesDone and save it as namesDone.

On error

Add Could not prepare notes for applicant.Name (row applicant.row_number): screenError.message to the end of failures and save it as failures.Add Could not prepare notes for applicant.Name (row applicant.row_number): screenError.message to the end of failures and save it as failures.

Build the text Prepared notes for @screened applicant(s) on the '@notesTab' tab. and save it as summary.Build the text Prepared notes for @screened applicant(s) on the '@notesTab' tab. and save it as summary.

Set waitingNote to blank.Set waitingNote to blank.

If waiting is greater than 0If waiting is greater than 0

Yes

Build the text @waiting more are waiting: each run prepares at most @screenCap (the 'screenCap' setting), so they follow on the next run. and save it as waitingNote.Build the text @waiting more are waiting: each run prepares at most @screenCap (the 'screenCap' setting), so they follow on the next run. and save it as waitingNote.

No

No steps

Set backgroundNote to blank.Set backgroundNote to blank.

If noBackground is greater than 0If noBackground is greater than 0

Yes

Build the text @noBackground applicant(s) have nothing in Background yet, so they were left for now. and save it as backgroundNote.Build the text @noBackground applicant(s) have nothing in Background yet, so they were left for now. and save it as backgroundNote.

No

No steps

If failures isn't emptyIf failures isn't empty

Yes

Join failures with a space and save it as failureList.Join failures with a space and save it as failureList.

Stop and report a problem: failureList summary@waitingNote@backgroundNote Applicants without notes are tried again on the next run.Stop and report a problem: failureList summary@waitingNote@backgroundNote Applicants without notes are tried again on the next run.

No

No steps

Finish the run: [summary, waitingNote, backgroundNote] joined by nothing.Finish the run: [summary, waitingNote, backgroundNote] joined by nothing.