Why Choosing a Goal Matters
During the onboarding process, Recruitier asks you to select your primary recruitment goal.
This is not just a preference setting — it actively shapes your onboarding experience:
- Onboarding checklist — Your goal determines which 3 goal-specific onboarding steps
appear in your checklist, in addition to the 4 universal steps that apply to everyone. A
“Candidate Placement” recruiter sees steps like “Upload your first candidate” and “Find
job matches”, while a “Business Development” user sees “Search for clients” and “Add to
pipeline”.
- AI message generation — Your selected goal influences the tone and approach of
AI-generated outreach messages, tailoring them to your workflow (e.g., pitching a
candidate versus selling recruitment services).
You can change your goal at any time from your profile settings. If your focus shifts
from business development to candidate placement (or vice versa), simply update your goal
and the platform adjusts accordingly. Your completed onboarding steps are preserved.
The Four Goals
Candidate Placement
Choose this if: You have candidates who need jobs and your primary activity is finding
the right positions for them.
What it looks like in practice: You spend most of your time uploading CVs, reviewing
AI-generated job matches, and reaching out to companies about specific candidates. Your
workflow starts with the candidate and works outward to find suitable opportunities.
Onboarding steps for this goal:
| Step | What to Do |
|---|
| Upload your first candidate | Add a CV or LinkedIn URL to create a candidate profile |
| Find job matches | Let the AI find and score jobs for your candidate |
| Start outreach | Send your first outreach message to a hiring company |
When you select Candidate Placement, the platform emphasizes the Candidates section and
AI Job Matching features. You will be guided to upload a CV as your very first action
after profile setup.
Business Development
Choose this if: Your primary focus is finding new clients — companies that need
recruitment services — rather than placing specific candidates.
What it looks like in practice: You spend most of your time in Client Discovery,
searching for companies that are actively hiring, identifying decision makers, and running
outreach campaigns to win new business. You may not have candidates yet; your goal is to
build your client base first.
Onboarding steps for this goal:
| Step | What to Do |
|---|
| Search for potential clients | Run your first client discovery search |
| Add a company to your pipeline | Save a company to your prospect list |
| Start an outreach sequence | Begin a multi-step outreach flow to a decision maker |
When you select Business Development, the platform emphasizes Client Discovery and the
Client Pipeline. You will be guided to run your first client search as your first action.
Speculative Placement
Choose this if: You work both sides of the equation simultaneously — you have
candidates and you proactively approach companies to pitch those candidates, even when the
company has not posted a specific vacancy.
What it looks like in practice: You combine candidate management with client discovery.
You upload CVs, identify companies that could benefit from your candidate’s skills, and
reach out speculatively with a tailored pitch. This is common in competitive markets where
waiting for job postings means missing opportunities.
Onboarding steps for this goal:
| Step | What to Do |
|---|
| Upload your first candidate | Add a CV or LinkedIn URL to create a candidate profile |
| Search for potential clients | Run your first client discovery search |
| Make your first speculative contact | Send your first speculative outreach message |
Speculative Placement combines features from both Candidate Placement and Business
Development. You get access to the full candidate management tools and the full client
discovery suite. The onboarding checklist reflects this dual focus.
Job Marketing
Choose this if: You already have client relationships and open job orders, and your
focus is finding candidates to fill those positions. Instead of starting with a candidate,
you start with a job and search for people who match.
What it looks like in practice: You create job searches based on your client’s
requirements, save promising job listings (which represent the positions you need to fill),
and then reach out to potential candidates. Your workflow starts with the job and works
inward to find suitable people.
Onboarding steps for this goal:
| Step | What to Do |
|---|
| Create your first job search | Set up a job search with keywords and filters |
| Save a job to your pipeline | Add a job listing to your tracked jobs |
| Start candidate outreach | Reach out to a potential candidate about a saved job |
Which Goal Should I Choose?
If you are unsure, consider this decision framework:
| Question | Recommended Goal |
|---|
| I have candidates who need jobs | Candidate Placement |
| I need to find new clients | Business Development |
| I have candidates AND want to approach companies proactively | Speculative Placement |
| I have jobs from clients and need to find candidates | Job Marketing |
If you do a bit of everything, Speculative Placement is often the best starting
point because it exposes you to both the candidate tools and the client discovery tools
during onboarding. You can always change your goal later as your primary focus becomes
clearer.
Changing Your Goal
Your goal is not permanent. To change it:
- Go to Settings in the left sidebar
- Navigate to Account settings
- Select a new goal from the dropdown
- Click Save Changes
When you change your goal, the onboarding checklist updates to reflect the new
goal-specific steps. Universal steps (profile setup, email connection, tour) remain the
same regardless of which goal you select.
Changing your goal does not reset your onboarding progress. Steps you have already
completed remain completed. You simply see different remaining steps based on the new
goal. No data is lost, and all features remain accessible regardless of your goal setting.
Advanced
Onboarding Architecture
Each goal maps to a set of 7 onboarding steps: 4 universal and 3 goal-specific.
Universal steps (all goals):
welcome_seen — Acknowledge the welcome screen (marked automatically)profile_completed — Enter first name, last name, and choose goalemail_connected — Connect Gmail or Outlooktour_completed — Complete the interactive guided tour (earns 10 bonus credits)
Goal-specific steps vary by goal and are designed to guide you through the most
important first actions for your chosen workflow. The step definitions are stored as
part of your account configuration and update immediately when you change your goal.
Retroactive Completion Detection
Recruitier supports retroactive completion detection for onboarding steps. If you
performed an action (such as uploading a candidate or running a search) before the
onboarding tracking system was in place, the system automatically checks for these
completed actions and marks the corresponding onboarding steps as done.
This means you will never be asked to redo something you have already done, even if the
onboarding tracking was added after you took the action.
Goal Influence on the AI
Your selected goal does not change which features are available — all features are
accessible regardless of goal. However, it does influence:
- Onboarding checklist steps — The 3 goal-specific steps change based on your goal
- AI message generation — Outreach messages are tailored to your goal’s approach
- Onboarding widget suggestions — The checklist widget links to the pages most
relevant to your remaining steps
