Vanessa Raath recently trained a team in Canada who thought they were using AI quite well. They all had the paid version.
They just didn’t know what it could do.
Vanessa helps recruitment teams put AI to work on their desks. She was already known worldwide for talent sourcing training when ChatGPT launched in November 2022. Within six months, she recognized how much sourcing work it could support and began training recruiters on AI. Today, she works with teams around the world from a small town on the South African coast.
In this conversation, Vanessa walks Mark through a repeatable workflow that combines a raw CV, interview notes and a LinkedIn profile into a formatted CV and executive summary in under five minutes. She explains how she gets AI to help write her sourcing prompts, organizes client information, and teaches it to sound like her.
They also discuss what recruiters need to do with the time they save. Vanessa explains why she ignores headhunters she can’t find online, and why a visible presence in your market gives clients and candidates a reason to trust you.
If your team pays for AI but is still dabbling with it, this episode will help you decide what to set up first.
In this episode:
How to identify a recurring recruitment task for AI to help with
Building a reusable skill for candidate CVs and executive summaries
Why Claude gave Vanessa the best results when she tested three tools
Removing sensitive personal information before uploading candidate documents
Using Exa for candidate research and Tavily for competitor intelligence
Getting AI to ask questions before it writes your sourcing prompt
Using skills, projects and examples of your writing to improve the output
Building the personal brand that helps clients and candidates trust you
Episode highlights:
[06:22] Getting up to speed with the right guidance
[08:38] CVs and executive summaries in under five minutes
[12:03] Testing the same workflow in Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude
[25:55] Getting AI to help write your sourcing prompt
[30:56] Dictating email replies with Copilot in Outlook
[34:11] How Vanessa uses skills alongside projects
[48:44] Why she checks the person behind a recruiter’s message
[59:25] Start with an end goal and work towards it with AI
About Vanessa Raath
Vanessa Raath is a South Africa-based recruitment trainer who works with recruitment teams worldwide on AI and talent sourcing. She was already known internationally for sourcing training before expanding into AI following ChatGPT's launch. Her first course focused on helping recruiters build a personal brand.
Connect with Vanessa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaraath/
Website: https://www.vanessaraath.com/
Tried and Tested AI Tools: https://start.me/p/l6bkk7/vanessa-raaths-tried-tested-ai-tools
Podcast Partner
This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow, an AI-native ATS and CRM with built-in data enrichment for recruiting businesses.
Learn more: https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow
Free Resources
Recruitment Business Scorecard: https://recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard
Free 30-minute strategy session with Mark: https://recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/
Connect with Mark
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwhitby/
Twitter: @MarkWhitby
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRecruitmentCoach/
Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach
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