Maps the market for a search: the four to seven pools where people do this work, how crowded each one is, the adjacent backgrounds an obvious search misses, and which two pools to work first. It marks every company or figure it cannot verify, so nothing it guesses reads as fact.
Sourcingcategory
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---
name: market-map-talent-pools
description: Maps the talent market for a search, covering which employers have these people, how crowded each pool is, adjacent backgrounds the obvious search misses, and where to start. Use when a recruiter says "market map", "target companies", "where do these people work", "talent pool", "the search is coming up empty", or takes on a hard-to-fill job order.
license: MIT
metadata:
author: Work Insiders
version: "1.0"
pack: agency-desk-pack
---
# Market map and talent pools
A search that only targets the obvious competitors fishes where every other recruiter is fishing. Your job: show where the people are, which pools are overfished, and which nearby pools hold people who can do the work.
If `references/agency-profile.md` exists, read the agency's markets and specialties so the map stays inside the regions the desk serves. Take any companies the client has ruled out from the job order.
## Input
- The job order: role, must-haves, location, pay.
- Anything the recruiter knows: the client's competitors, past placements, companies the client does or does not want people from.
## Be honest about what you know
You cannot see live headcount or who works where today. Build the map from what the recruiter gives you and from general industry knowledge, and label it that way. Mark every company or figure that needs checking with `CHECK`. Never present a guess as a fact, and never invent headcounts, salaries or names.
## Step 1: what the work really is
In two or three lines, describe the work in plain terms (what they build, run, sell or fix), separate from the title. Titles vary between companies. The work does not.
## Step 2: the pools
List four to seven pools. A pool is a group of employers or backgrounds where people do this work.
| Pool | Example employers | Why people here can do it | Crowding | What this role offers them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Include at least:
- **Direct competitors**, usually the most crowded.
- **Same work, different industry**, for example a controls engineer from food plants for a pharma role.
- **Suppliers, customers or consultancies** serving the client's industry.
- **One step down in company size or brand**, where strong people are recruited less often.
- **Non-obvious backgrounds** where they fit the work: military, public sector, contract or freelance pools, apprenticeship programs.
Crowding is your judgment of how many recruiters and companies chase that pool, from the information you have. Mark it High, Medium or Low.
## Step 3: where to start
Rank the pools by fit and by how reachable the people are. Recommend the two to work first this week and say why. Flag any pool the client has ruled out, or that needs the client's OK first (for example the client's own customers).
## Step 4: titles and keywords
For each pool, list the job titles and keywords people there use, ready to hand to the Boolean and X-ray Sourcing skill.
## Step 5: telling the client
Write three to five lines the recruiter can use to explain the market: how many realistic pools there are, which are crowded, and what that means for pay, timing or requirements. Keep it factual and mark anything unchecked.
## Rules
- Never target the client's own staff or companies the client has put off limits.
- Never suggest finding or filtering people by age, gender, ethnicity or other protected traits, including through stand-ins such as graduation years.
- This skill plans the search. It does not scrape or collect anything, and the recruiter follows each site's terms.
The agency profile it reads (fill this in so it uses your real details)
# Agency profile
Fill this in once. Every skill in the pack reads it, so every output comes out in your agency's voice with your real terms. Delete any line you do not want the AI to use. Leave a line blank rather than guessing.
## Who we are
- Agency name:
- Recruiter name and title (for sign-offs):
- Phone:
- Mailing address (needed for US commercial email):
- Years in business:
- Specialties (roles we fill):
- Markets (cities, regions or "US remote"):
- Industries we know best:
## Terms
- Direct hire fee basis (e.g. % of first-year base):
- Guarantee period and type (free replacement / pro-rata refund / credit; conditions, e.g. fee paid within terms):
- Contract markup or bill rate approach:
- Exclusive or retained options:
- Payment terms (e.g. net 30 from start date):
- Introduction period (how long a candidate we introduce stays ours):
- Contract-to-hire conversion fee:
- Concessions we allow, and their limits:
## Proof points we can share
- Placements, time to fill, or retention figures we are happy to quote:
- Client names we may mention (only with permission):
## How we work
- ATS:
- Do we text candidates? (yes/no):
- Name the client in first candidate messages? (yes/no):
- Blind profiles: always / new clients only / never:
- Include pay expectation in submittals? (yes/no):
- Job post apply instructions:
- EEO statement:
## Cold email
- Sequencer we use (e.g. Instantly, Smartlead, EmailBison, lemlist, Apollo):
- Sending domains (lookalikes only, never our main domain):
- Mailboxes and the sender names on them:
- Countries we email (sets which email and data laws apply):
- Opt-out line we use (e.g. "Reply 'no' and I won't email again."):
- Booking link (sent only after someone replies yes):
- Where our current clients, opt outs and do-not-contact list are kept:
## Words we never use
-
Yes. It is part of the free Work Insiders Agency Desk Pack, MIT licensed, so you can edit and share it.
Does Market Map and Talent Pools work in Gemini?
Yes. Upload it in Gemini Enterprise or drop the folder into Gemini CLI's skills folder. In the regular Gemini app, paste its instructions into a Gem.
Can I trust it with my data?
It has no scripts and sends nothing anywhere. Whatever you paste goes only to your AI assistant, under that assistant's own data terms, so remove candidate details you do not need first. It can still steer how the assistant answers, so read it before you use it.
Written by Work Insiders for agency recruiters. Fill in the agency profile before you use it so it never invents fees or proof points. How we make money.
