By Johannes Sundlo — AI & Future of Work Advisor. I help leaders and HR teams turn AI into adoption that sticks, through keynotes, workshops and change programs.
Good AI output in HR comes down to good prompts. The difference between a generic answer and a genuinely useful one is context, constraints, and an example of what “good” looks like. Here are practical prompt patterns HR teams actually use — copy them, swap in your details, and save the ones that work.
The anatomy of a prompt that works
Stop writing one-line questions. Write the prompt as a short brief: role + task + context + constraints + format. Tell the AI who it’s acting as, what you need, the relevant background (your tone, your policy), what to avoid, and how to lay out the answer.
Prompt patterns for common HR tasks
Draft a job ad
“You are an experienced recruiter writing in a warm, concrete, jargon-free tone. Write a job ad for [role] at [company], a [one-line description]. Must-haves: [list]. Nice-to-haves: [list]. Emphasise [what makes it attractive]. Avoid clichés like ‘rockstar’ and ‘fast-paced’. Output: headline, 3 short paragraphs, a bulleted responsibilities list, and a short ‘what we offer’ section.”
Summarise engagement-survey free-text
“Here are [N] free-text survey comments. Group them into the main themes, with a short name and a 1-sentence summary for each, plus an approximate count. Flag any urgent or sensitive issues separately. Don’t invent themes that aren’t supported by the comments. [paste comments]”
Turn an interview into a structured scorecard
“Here are my rough interview notes for [candidate] applying for [role]. Turn them into a structured scorecard against these criteria: [list]. For each criterion: a rating (1–5), one line of evidence from the notes, and what to probe next time. If the notes don’t cover a criterion, say ‘not assessed’. [paste notes]”
Draft a first-pass policy
“Draft a clear, employee-friendly first version of a [topic] policy for a [country]-based company of [size]. Plain language, short sections, no legalese. Include a short ‘what this means for you’ summary. Mark anything that needs legal review with [REVIEW]. This is a draft for a human to finalise.”
Three rules that keep it safe and good
- Human decides. AI drafts and structures; a person makes the call and owns it.
- Mind the data. Don’t paste sensitive personal data into public tools without an enterprise agreement.
- Save what works. A good prompt is a reusable asset — keep a shared library so the whole team benefits.
Prompts are the entry point. For the bigger picture of getting AI into daily HR work, see AI for HR.
Want your HR team fluent in AI prompting?
A hands-on workshop where your team builds and saves prompts for their real tasks — and leaves using them the same week.
More prompt patterns, by HR task
Same structure as above, role, task, context, constraints, format. Copy, swap the bracketed parts for your own, and refine from there. Treat the first output as a draft, never the final word.
Onboarding: build a 30-day plan
You are an experienced people partner. Create a 30-day onboarding plan for a new [role] joining the [team] team. Context: [team size, key tools, who they work with]. Include week-by-week goals, who they should meet, and one early win. Keep it to a one-page table.
Performance: prepare for a tough review conversation
You are a calm, fair manager coach. Help me prepare for a performance conversation with an employee whose [specific issue]. Give me: an opening that is direct but kind, three factual observations to anchor on, two likely reactions and how to respond, and a constructive close. Avoid clichés and corporate filler.
L&D: turn a topic into a learning outline
You are an instructional designer. Build a learning outline to upskill [audience] on [topic] to [level]. Include learning objectives, a session-by-session breakdown, a practical exercise per session, and how we measure that it worked. Assume [time available].
Job description: audit one for bias and clarity
You are a fair-hiring specialist. Review this job description for biased or exclusionary language, jargon, and unrealistic requirements. Flag each issue, explain why, and suggest a neutral rewrite. Then rate how inclusive the final version is out of 10. JD: [paste].
Offboarding: structure an exit interview
You are an HR analyst. Design a 20-minute exit interview for a [role] leaving voluntarily. Give me 8 questions that surface honest, specific feedback (not yes/no), grouped by theme, plus a note on how to ask the hardest one without putting them on the defensive.
Compensation: explain a decision clearly
You are a comp partner who writes plainly. Help me write a short message to an employee explaining [their pay decision] in a way that is honest, respectful, and does not over-promise. Context: [policy, what I can and cannot say]. Keep it under 150 words and avoid HR jargon.
Engagement: turn survey themes into an action plan
You are a people analytics partner. Here are the top themes from our engagement survey: [paste themes]. Propose a focused action plan: pick the 3 highest-leverage areas, one concrete action each, an owner type, and how we measure progress in 90 days. Be specific, not generic.
Internal comms: draft a sensitive announcement
You are an internal communications lead. Draft an announcement about [change]. It must be clear, calm, and honest about what we know and do not know. Anticipate the top 3 questions employees will have and answer them. Tone: [your culture]. Give me a short version and a longer FAQ version.
Policy: pressure-test a draft
You are a pragmatic HR lawyer’s sparring partner (not legal advice). Read this draft policy and tell me where it is unclear, unenforceable, or likely to be misread by employees. Suggest plain-language fixes. Then list 3 edge cases the policy does not currently handle. Policy: [paste].
One library beats 300 prompts
You will find listicles online promising “200 ChatGPT prompts for HR.” They look impressive and help almost no one, nobody works from a list of 200. A handful of strong, reusable patterns you understand will outperform a giant swipe file every time. Learn the structure, keep the eight or ten that fit your work, and adapt.
If you would rather learn this hands-on with your team, building prompts around your real HR work, that is exactly what my free AI for HR course and workshops are built around. See how we can work together →
