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Pick a temp agency with your own weighted criteria
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're choosing a temp staffing agency for peak season. Your director set the weights: fill rate 50%, cost 30%, quality 20%. Write exactly 3 numbered lines, one per agency, each showing the weighted math and total, then one unnumbered last line: Pick: [agency]. Plain text, under 80 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the weights. The AI weighs everything equally and picks Brightpath. Try: Add: "Weights: fill rate 50%, cost 30%, quality 20%."
- Not asking to see the work. Your director will want to see how the scores add up. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Brightpath: 4 x 0.5 + 3 x 0.3 + 5 x 0.2 = 3.9"
- Getting a debate instead of a pick. The AI writes pros and cons and hedges. Try: Add: "Then one line: Pick: [agency]. Nothing else."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 14 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in your director's email. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the weights
- Asks to show the math
- Asks for one pick
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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