> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.callecho.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Search for candidates and build a shortlist > Give Echo Agent a job description and it searches for candidates, checks them against your must-haves and hands you a ranked Excel shortlist. Echo Agent can run a candidate search for you. You give it the role; it searches public professional profiles and the web, checks what it finds against your must-haves, and delivers a ranked shortlist as an Excel workbook. It works in rounds, and your feedback steers each one. > [!NOTE] > > Candidate search needs shortlist access for your account, through a referral, paid plan or administrator. Choosing **Recruiting** changes your work setup and suggestions; it does not grant shortlist access. See [Set up recruiting](https://docs.callecho.ai/tracks/recruiting/set-up.md). ## Start a search 1. Open **Echo Agent** and select **Build a shortlist**. Older versions may say "Search for candidates." The start of the request appears in the box. 2. Add the role. Paste the job description or attach it, and add anything that isn't in it: location, languages, must-haves, nice-to-haves, companies to target or avoid. 3. Press Enter. A request with details like these works well: ```text theme={null} Build a shortlist for this role: Senior Platform Engineer for Halden, Singapore-based or open to relocating. Must-haves: 6+ years backend, Kubernetes in production, on-call ownership. Nice to have: fintech. Exclude current Halden employees. JD attached. ``` Echo can't open LinkedIn job links. Paste the job description or attach it instead. ## How the rounds work **1. Echo writes the brief** Echo turns your request into a brief with each must-have as a screen. If you only send details without asking for a search, it saves the brief and waits for you. **2. Calibrate** You get a first small, varied batch, with notes on where Echo is unsure. Tell it what's right and what's off: "Rows 4 and 9 are too junior. More people from payments companies." **3. Focus** Echo revises the brief from your feedback and delivers a targeted batch, then asks you to confirm before going wide. **4. Expand** After you confirm, Echo widens the search and delivers the full shortlist. If it finds fewer good candidates than you hoped, it says so rather than padding the list. Echo never moves to the next round without your feedback. A full search can take a while; Echo shows what it's doing as it goes, and you can work in another conversation meanwhile. ![An Echo Agent conversation: 'Build a shortlist for this role.' sent with the Halden job description, and Echo's answer with the shortlist workbook's Download file link and short notes: 12 candidates, 4 evidenced matches and 8 screening prospects, where they fit, what is unclear and what was searched.](https://mintcdn.com/callecho/3msX5gJvFFZ4hlDx/images/tracks/recruiting/shortlist-conversation-v1.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=3msX5gJvFFZ4hlDx\&q=85\&s=9d7ff4464d971f9986b703c83917e03f) ## The shortlist workbook Each round arrives as a **Download file** link to an Excel workbook, with a few lines in the conversation about tiers, fit and gaps. ![The first rows of a shortlist workbook for Halden's Senior Platform Engineer role: four invented candidates marked Evidenced match, each Live-verified and passing both must-have screens, with the experience column pointing to their dated role evidence.](https://mintcdn.com/callecho/3msX5gJvFFZ4hlDx/images/tracks/recruiting/shortlist-workbook-v1.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=3msX5gJvFFZ4hlDx\&q=85\&s=756a89b63ea95374e73c543c3fed4ca0) | Column | What it means | | - | - | | **Rank** and **Tier** | Order of fit. **Evidenced match** means every screen is documented; **Screening prospect** means some screens still need checking | | **Name**, **Title**, **Company**, **Location** | Who they are, from their public profile | | **YoE (est)** | A reminder to judge experience from the dated roles in the evidence, rather than a single number | | **Confidence** | **Live-verified** means Echo matched the person's profile. It doesn't mean they're qualified | | **Screen: …** | One column per must-have: Pass, Partial, Unclear or Fail | | **Domain Fit** | How their background relates to the role's domain | | **LinkedIn URL** and **Sources / evidence URLs** | Where the evidence came from | | **Feedback** | Left blank for you | | **My Take / Risk / Verify** | Echo's read on the candidate, the main risk, and what you should check before you reach out. For screening prospects it starts with **Needs screening:** | A second sheet, **Legend**, explains the screens and Echo's method, and reminds you to check each person's current role, openness, pay, notice period and conflicts before outreach. Download links expire after a day. Ask "Send me the shortlist link again" if you need it later. ## Refine with your feedback Write your feedback in the **Feedback** column, then attach the workbook in the same conversation: ```text theme={null} Rows 4 and 9 aren't hands-on. Drop anyone without on-call experience and send another list. ``` Echo reads the cell text, updates its rules, and doesn't repeat people it has already shown you unless you ask it to reconsider them. It can't see cell colors, comments or hidden rows, so write your feedback in the cells. ## Budget and limits Some searches use paid sources, such as fetching full professional profiles. They remain subject to search access, available shortlist allowance and operational spending limits. Echo may run a smaller search or stop when a limit is reached. The unlimited AI pilot does not grant candidate shortlist access or remove those safeguards. The paid-search daily budget resets at midnight UTC. If it is used up, free search tools can remain available. This safety limit is separate from the monthly general AI allowance. General AI usage is accounted for separately from shortlist balances. New Recruiting packs are coming soon alongside the new plans; do not assume you can buy one yet. Your existing account access still applies. See [Plans and AI usage](https://docs.callecho.ai/reference/plans-and-usage.md). Echo is instructed to check profiles only against the job-related criteria in your brief, and not to filter on or infer protected characteristics. Review its reasoning in the workbook. It doesn't contact candidates, and it doesn't open LinkedIn in a browser or guess profile addresses. > [!WARNING] > > A shortlist is a set of leads, not a list of qualified candidates. Check each profile before you reach out. ## Find companies that are hiring Echo can also research business development leads: employers with a clear hiring need in your market. ```text theme={null} Find companies in Ho Chi Minh City that are expanding and hiring engineers fast. Excel please, with who to contact and an opener for each. ``` You get a workbook ranking each company by confidence, with its hiring signals, a likely contact, the gaps to fill before outreach, sources and a draft opener. These searches can use paid profile lookups, so search access and spending limits still apply. Echo drafts the openers and doesn't send anything without your approval. Check every lead before outreach. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.