Submitting Your First Candidate

Last updated: April 17, 2026

This article walks through how to go from a brand-new recruiter account to your first submitted candidate on Paraform.

Overview

Paraform is a recruiting marketplace that connects recruiters with startups that are hiring. Startups have a talent acquisition problem, and we believe recruiters are the answer. Unlike fully automated screening tools, Paraform's marketplace model is built around personal, human recruiting at scale.

1. Choose a role to recruit for

After you create a recruiter account, open the Browse page to see every open role with an active reward.

  • Smart filters at the top narrow the list to things like Qualified (roles that match your background) and New (recently posted).

  • Detailed filters under the search bar let you narrow by location, workplace, salary, role type, tech stack, and more.

Click into any role to read the full brief.

2. Apply to recruit for the role

Once you've selected a role, apply and get approved before you can source or submit candidates. We approve recruiters per role to keep quality high and avoid over-crowding any single role.

To apply:

  1. Click Apply to Recruit.

  2. Briefly share why you'd be a good fit.

  3. Decide whether to anonymize your candidates (see below).

  4. Click Request approval.

What does anonymizing my candidates mean? By default, recruiters can see each other's candidate backgrounds on a role. Enabling anonymization hides your candidates from other recruiters on that role. As a tradeoff, other recruiters' candidates will also be hidden from you. You can toggle this per role, or set it as your default in Settings.

Who reviews my request? Requests go to a shared queue monitored by Paraform's Talent Partners and Recruiter Success team. Most are reviewed within 24 hours.

Do I have to actively source if I'm approved? Yes. Applying to recruit is a commitment to source, screen, and submit multiple candidates. For a one-off submission, use Single Submit instead.

3. Understand the role

Once approved, you'll get access to the role dashboard. Each role includes everything you need to source well:

  • Detailed hiring manager notes

  • Ideal candidate and company profiles

  • Role requirements and outreach tips

  • A candidate pipeline view (anonymized where appropriate) and common rejection reasons, so you can calibrate quickly

  • Direct messaging with the hiring manager

Hiring managers complete a structured intake brief, similar to a traditional recruiter intake call, so most of what you'd ask in a kickoff is already documented on the page.

4. Source candidates

You can source from your existing network or from new candidates you find on LinkedIn, LinkedIn Recruiter, or another tool. Paraform gives you a personal Candidate CRM to save profiles, take notes, and manage candidates.

To add candidates:

  • Click Add Candidate in the top right to save a single profile

  • Use Bulk Import to add many at once

  • Install the Chrome extension to save LinkedIn profiles in one click

Sourcing ≠ submitting.Sourcing saves a candidate to your private CRM. The candidate is not notified. Submitting sends the candidate's resume to the hiring manager. The candidate is notified and must confirm consent.

You must have consent from the candidate before submitting. Submitting without consent violates our ground rules and can result in account suspension.

5. Submit candidates

  1. Open your candidate's profile in the Candidate CRM.

  2. Select the role from the left sidebar.

  3. Click Submit in the top right.

  4. Fill out the submission form with thorough answers to the hiring manager's screening questions.

  5. Confirm details and submit.

See Using the Calibration Feature to check your candidate against the role's ideal profile before submitting.

6. What's next?

  • You and the candidate will both receive a confirmation email. The candidate must confirm consent before the hiring manager reviews.

  • The hiring manager handles scheduling and logistics directly with the candidate.

  • Stay in close touch with your candidate to prep them for interviews and understand their priorities.

  • If your candidate reaches final round or offer stage, we'll loop in the embedded Talent Partner so you can consult on offer details and close the candidate.

Happy recruiting.