> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hellosky.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Running a Beacon search

> Brief Beacon like a researcher and watch it work the market.

## Write the brief

1. Click **Beacon** in the left navigation, then **New agent**.

2. Describe the role in the prompt box, or attach a job description PDF with the paperclip. The more detail, the better. A strong brief includes:

   * **The role**: "CFO candidates", "VP Engineering", and so on.
   * **Company context**: ownership and stage, for example "for a PE-backed enterprise SaaS company".
   * **Location**: "headquartered in Austin, Texas".
   * **Hard requirements**: "must have M\&A experience and have scaled a finance organization through \$100M+ revenue".
   * **Preferences**: "prior IPO or exit experience preferred".

3. Pick the folder the run should save into (shown next to the prompt box), then send.

You can also start from one of the example briefs below the prompt box, or dictate with the microphone button.

## Watch it work

Beacon names the run, confirms how it read your brief, and starts researching. The right panel streams every step: the search strategy, each search sweep with hit counts, profile evaluations with reasoning, SmartRank scoring, and freshness checks.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/skyminyr/9Zwx1DmXdwqO-Frl/images/beacon/beacon-running.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=9Zwx1DmXdwqO-Frl&q=85&s=8787b90cb20701103e40500a30cb36b0" alt="A Beacon run starting: the agent restates the brief and begins researching" width="1440" height="900" data-path="images/beacon/beacon-running.png" />
</Frame>

The header tracks progress: how many candidates have been **Evaluated**, how many **Shortlisted**, and which phase the run is in. **Strategy** and **Filters** show the search interpretation, and **Chat view** switches to a conversation-style layout.

## Steer it

Beacon is interactive. Use the **Ask a follow-up** box at any time to redirect it: widen the geography, add a disqualifier, ask it to go deeper on a specific company, or ask why a candidate ranked where they did. The stop button halts a run you want to rework.

<Tip>
  Give Beacon the real brief, not keywords. "Must have taken a company public" changes how candidates are scored; "IPO" as a bare keyword does not carry the same weight.
</Tip>