Use Outlook with an AI Browser for Candidate Sourcing

If you use Outlook and you regularly need to source candidates, the bottleneck is usually the same: Outlook holds part of the context, but candidate sourcing also needs signals that live outside it - on the public web, in LinkedIn, in news, in other connected apps. Strawberry is built to combine the Outlook context with the rest of the browser, and run the full workflow as a companion you can re-trigger every week.

This page describes specifically how Strawberry handles candidate sourcing when Outlook is one of the inputs. It names the Outlook surfaces involved, the signals the workflow actually needs, an example prompt you can paste, and what a good output looks like.

The job a recruiter, founder hiring, hiring manager is trying to do

The goal of candidate sourcing is to build a shortlist of 10-30 candidates who match the role and have at least one signal of openness. The success metric is concrete: 30% reply rate to first outreach, 5+ first-call conversions per 30 sourced. That definition matters because it shapes what Outlook needs to contribute to the workflow.

What signals candidate sourcing actually needs

For each signal below, here is whether Outlook can contribute directly or whether Strawberry has to find it via the browser:

• Current role and tenure - Outlook does not contain this directly. Strawberry uses the browser plus public sources to fetch it.
• Recent role changes (often visible on LinkedIn) - Outlook does not contain this directly. Strawberry uses the browser plus public sources to fetch it.
• GitHub or content output for technical roles - Outlook does not contain this directly. Strawberry uses the browser plus public sources to fetch it.
• Company stage match (someone leaving a Series B is more likely to talk to a seed-stage co) - Outlook does not contain this directly. Strawberry uses the browser plus public sources to fetch it.
• Geo match for hybrid roles - Outlook does not contain this directly. Strawberry uses the browser plus public sources to fetch it.
• Openness signals (LinkedIn open-to-work, recent comments about job search) - Outlook does not contain this directly. Strawberry uses the browser plus public sources to fetch it.

What Strawberry can do inside Outlook

Strawberry can read threads, draft replies, scan upcoming events, and combine with OneDrive for follow-ups.

Outlook surfaces Strawberry uses for this workflow: inbox, folders, rules, calendar, search.

How Strawberry runs candidate sourcing with Outlook

1. Strawberry opens the Outlook inbox that contains the relevant context.
2. The companion pulls related context from Outlook (folders, history, attached files) where it exists.
3. For the parts Outlook does not store, Strawberry uses the browser - web search, LinkedIn, news, the prospect's website.
4. Strawberry synthesises the output in the shape this workflow needs: A shortlist with one row per candidate.
5. A human reviews before any external action (send, update, post). Then the approved output is saved back to Outlook or your system of record.

Example Strawberry prompt

Paste this in a new Strawberry chat with Outlook connected. Adjust the specifics to your actual ICP, role, or topic.

Read this Outlook inbox and any linked context.
Then run a full candidate sourcing workflow on it. Use the browser to fill any gaps not in Outlook.
Return the output in the shape we use for candidate sourcing: A shortlist with one row per candidate: name, current role, target role fit (1-5), one personalised opening line, contact link.
Do not send anything externally. Save the draft to me to review.

What a good candidate sourcing output looks like

Here is what a finished output for candidate sourcing should look like in practice. The specifics will change for your use case, but the shape should look similar:

• Role: Founding Engineer (Stockholm or remote EU)
• Candidate: Marek Novak - Senior Engineer @ Klarna, 4 years
• Fit: 5/5 (worked on payment systems, contributed to Rust open source, recent talk on type-safe APIs)
• Opening line: noticed his RustConf talk on type-safe API contracts and our backend lead's tweet about Marek's library
• Contact: LinkedIn DM + GitHub email

Why Outlook for this, and where to use a different tool

Outlook is strong for this workflow because Strawberry can read threads, draft replies, scan upcoming events, and combine with OneDrive for follow-ups.

Where Outlook falls short Shared mailbox access requires explicit delegate permission; some on-prem hybrid setups limit Graph API surfaces.

Consider also a CRM for relationship history beyond a single thread.

Common mistakes when running candidate sourcing

• Spray-and-pray DMs that mention nothing specific
• Missing the obvious signals (someone just posted 'thinking about a change')
• No quality bar - putting 200 names on the list to look productive

Connecting Outlook to Strawberry

Microsoft Graph OAuth. Once connected, the companion can read the surfaces above without re-authenticating, and any write action still requires explicit human approval the first time the workflow runs.

Caveats

Do not let any AI agent send emails, update CRM records, or change shared systems without a clear approval step. Strawberry is strongest when the workflow combines browser context with connected-app context and a human review for sensitive actions.