Donald Wilkin
Human Resources

I BUILD THE SYSTEMS
AROUND THE HIRE.

From candidate-first job advertising and structured interview workflows to onboarding documentation and employee technology setup, I create the systems, scripts and resources that help hiring teams move from open position to prepared employee with greater clarity and consistency.

01
ATTRACT
02
SCREEN
03
INTERVIEW
04
PREPARE
05
ONBOARD
06
ENABLE
100%
SUCCESSFUL HIRE RATE
Completed Hiring Campaigns • 2026
* Every completed hiring campaign I supported during the period resulted in a successful hire.
10–15 MIN
STRUCTURED FIRST-ROUND
SCREENING FRAMEWORK
END-TO-END
CANDIDATE → ONBOARDING
PROCESS DESIGN
01 - ATTRACT

JOB ADS WRITTEN FOR THE PERSON READING THEM.

I approach job advertising with the same principles I use in customer marketing: understand the audience, clarify the value proposition and make the next step obvious. Rather than beginning with company history or a long responsibility list, I build candidate-first job ads around the opportunity, ownership, expectations, compensation, benefits and what success actually looks like.

Candidate-first job advertisingEmployer brandingSearchable job-title researchJob-board optimizationRole positioningCompensation transparencyBenefits communicationCandidate value propositionJob-ad SEOLinkedIn job campaignsIndeed job campaignsRecruitment campaign budgetingHiring funnel messaging
EXAMPLE EXCERPT

RESTAURANT MANAGER - FRONT OF HOUSE

“You know the difference between managing a shift and leading a restaurant.”

“A great restaurant does not run on checklists alone. It takes a leader who can read the room, coach a team in the moment, recover a guest experience before it becomes a problem and understand what the numbers need to look like at the end of the week.”

THE STRATEGY
Candidate-first opening
searchable conventional role title
clear opportunity
clear ownership
compensation + benefits transparency
realistic expectations
straightforward CTA
“The external ad sells the opportunity. The formal job description documents the position.”
02 - BUILD THE PIPELINE

FROM OPEN ROLE TO WORKABLE HIRING PLAN.

My involvement extends beyond writing copy. I build a usable hiring campaign around the position by determining how the role should be positioned, how candidates search for it, and how they move through the process.

ROLE DEFINITION
JOB POSITIONING
PLATFORM STRATEGY
APPLICANT RESPONSE
FIRST SCREEN
ONSITE INTERVIEW
DECISION
PREBOARDING
How the role should be positioned
How candidates are likely to search for it
Which platforms should carry the campaign
How paid recruiting budgets should be allocated
How quickly promising candidates receive follow-up
Who should own each stage
What information managers need before interviewing
How the candidate moves through the process
03 - SCREEN

A FIRST INTERVIEW SHOULD CREATE CLARITY FOR BOTH SIDES.

JOB-RELATED. CONSISTENT. DEFENSIBLE.

I build interview frameworks with job-related questioning and practical compliance guardrails in mind. Frameworks are written around:

  • role requirements
  • schedule requirements
  • relevant experience
  • compensation alignment
  • leadership behaviors
  • operational competencies
EXAMPLE PROMPT
“Give me the two-minute version of your background and what has you open to another opportunity.”
EXAMPLE PROMPT
“What are one or two things you want in your next position that you do not have today?”
EXAMPLE PROMPT
“Tell me about a difficult guest situation you personally recovered. What did you do?”
EXAMPLE PROMPT
“What questions would you need answered to decide whether the next conversation is worth your time?”
10–15 MINUTE SCREENING FRAMEWORK
01OPEN + SET THE FRAME
02CANDIDATE STORY + MOTIVATION
03OPERATIONAL CALIBRATION
04SELL THE OPPORTUNITY
05LOCATION + SCHEDULE ALIGNMENT
06COMPENSATION ALIGNMENT
07CERTIFICATIONS + TIMING
08CANDIDATE QUESTIONS
09ADVANCE OR CLOSE
INTERVIEW SCORECARD
Leadership / Team Development/5
Guest-Service Instincts/5
Operational / Financial Maturity/5
Communication / Presence/5
Relevant Experience/5
Schedule AlignmentPASS / CONCERN
Compensation AlignmentPASS / CONCERN
ADVANCE?
YESNOMAYBE
“Structured questions and consistent criteria make candidate discussions easier to compare and give hiring managers a clearer framework for the decision.”
04 - PREPARE

GOOD HIRING COMMUNICATION STARTS BEFORE THE INTERVIEW.

I design communication systems that reduce uncertainty and help candidates arrive prepared. The goal is simple: make the candidate feel recruited rather than processed.

SUBJECT
INTERVIEW CONFIRMED
DATE
Confirmed interview date
TIME
Confirmed interview time
INTERVIEWER
Hiring manager
LOCATION
Interview location + arrival details
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
PARKING
Visitor spaces marked out front
WHERE TO GO
Check in at front reception
WHAT TO WEAR
Business casual
WHAT TO BRING
A copy of your resume
WHAT WE'LL DISCUSS
Background, role expectations
HOW TO PREPARE
Review the attached role brief
QUESTIONS ARE ENCOURAGED
PLEASE CONFIRM RECEIPT
CANDIDATE COMMUNICATION TIMELINE
INTERVIEW SCHEDULED
Calendar invitation + detailed preparation email
24 HOURS BEFORE
Friendly confirmation + opportunity to flag changes
2–3 HOURS BEFORE
Short travel/location reminder + contact information
INTERVIEW
Candidate knows where to go, who they are meeting and what to expect
This demonstrates candidate experience and process consistency.
05 - ONBOARD

THE OFFER IS NOT THE END OF THE PROCESS.

Once someone joins the team, my focus shifts from candidate clarity to employee clarity. I create onboarding documentation, quick-start guides and setup instructions that reduce repetitive questions and help employees become comfortable with the systems they use every day.

EMPLOYEE ENABLEMENT
PROCESS DOCUMENTATION
TECHNOLOGY ONBOARDING
ONBOARDING RESOURCE LIBRARY

EMAIL + IMAP

OutlookApple MailiPhone Mailincoming/outgoing serverssignaturesSSL/TLS config

SLACK

channelsthreadstagsnotificationsbasic etiquette

SMARTSHEET

navigationsheetsupdatescollaboration

7SHIFTS

schedulingavailabilitymanager basics

TOAST

manager navigationcommon workflows

RESY

reservation-management basics
* The emphasis is translating unfamiliar business software into clear employee-facing documentation.
ONBOARDING CHEAT SHEET EXAMPLE

OUTLOOK EMAIL SETUP

01
ADD ACCOUNT
02
SELECT IMAP
03
ENTER INCOMING SERVER
04
ENTER SMTP SERVER
05
VERIFY PORT + SECURITY SETTINGS
06
SEND TEST MESSAGE
07
ADD SIGNATURE
“I write documentation for the person using the software, not the person who already understands it.”
NEW HIRE SYSTEMS CHEAT SHEET

Making Onboarding Easier

A two-sided quick-reference guide created to help new JBM Hospitality employees navigate everyday communication, scheduling, POS and email systems.

JBM Hospitality new hire cheat sheet front.JBM Hospitality new hire cheat sheet back.
06 - ENABLE

BETTER PROCESSES MAKE BETTER MANAGERS.

I create reusable manager resources so the hiring process does not depend on someone remembering what to do.

first-round interview scriptsscorecardscandidate follow-up templatesinterview preparation emailsonboarding checklistssoftware setup guidesreference documentationrole handoffsmanager cheat sheetsprocess workflowscommunication templates
JOB AD
PHONE SCREEN
SCORECARD
INTERVIEW PREP
ONBOARDING
SOFTWARE GUIDES
MANAGER REFERENCE

FROM OPEN POSITION
TO PREPARED EMPLOYEE.

01
ATTRACT
Candidate-first job advertising
02
QUALIFY
Structured first-round conversation
03
EVALUATE
Consistent interview criteria
04
COMMUNICATE
Candidate preparation + reminders
05
HIRE
Clear handoff and next steps
06
ONBOARD
Documentation + access + training
07
ENABLE
Reusable guides for employee and manager

READY TO HIRE?

NEED HIRING OPERATIONS THAT RUN LIKE A SYSTEM?

TALK HIRING STRATEGY