Recruitment Job Intake Template: Turn Briefs into Evidence

A recruitment job intake template that makes sourcing more precise

A useful recruitment job intake translates a vacancy into outcomes, evidence and decisions. It should explain what the hire needs to achieve, what experience would support that work, which conditions are fixed and how the client will evaluate candidates.

A job description rarely answers all of those questions. It may list responsibilities without explaining which ones matter most in the first six months.

Your intake meeting closes that gap. The output should be clear enough that two recruiters can search independently and still recognise a plausible candidate for the same reasons.

Begin with the work waiting for the hire

Ask the client what will remain difficult if the position stays open. Follow with: “What would this person have changed after six months?”

These questions move the conversation from a preferred profile to a business need.

For example, “We need a senior operations manager” offers limited search direction. “We need someone to introduce a repeatable planning process across three service teams” provides a problem to investigate.

Treat that example as a starting point for questions, not proof that a particular title or employer background is necessary.

Turn adjectives into observable evidence

Terms such as strategic, commercial and hands-on can mean different things to different people. Ask for an example of the behaviour the client wants.

If the client says “commercial,” do they mean negotiating supplier contracts, owning a budget or identifying new revenue? Each interpretation suggests a different search.

For every requirement, complete this sentence: “We would have confidence in this if the candidate could describe…”

The answer becomes a screening prompt. It also gives the client something concrete to evaluate later.

Use this intake brief

• Reason for hiring: What triggered the vacancy, and why now?
• Early outcome: What should improve during the first six months?
• Required evidence: What previous work would demonstrate readiness?
• Acceptable alternatives: Which different backgrounds could provide that evidence?
• Fixed conditions: What scope, location, schedule or compensation constraints apply?
• Open questions: What has the client not decided yet?
• Decision process: Who evaluates, against which criteria, and when?
• Candidate proposition: Why might a suitable person choose this opportunity?

Capture disagreements rather than smoothing them into a polished brief. If two stakeholders want different levels of seniority, that is a decision to resolve before sourcing accelerates.

Calibrate using contrasting profiles

Create three short fictional profiles that vary on one important dimension. For example, compare a specialist moving into leadership, an experienced manager from an adjacent sector and a direct-sector leader with a narrower remit.

Ask the client which profile they would explore and what evidence would change their mind. Avoid asking only which one they “like.”

This exercise tests the brief before real candidates invest time. It can expose an unnecessary preference or reveal a requirement that was never stated.

Do not turn the preferred fictional profile into a rigid mould. Its purpose is to clarify judgment, including where different experience could be equally relevant.

Agree how changes will be handled

Requirements can evolve after early conversations. Record what changed, who agreed it and which active candidates need another look.

A short change log prevents recruiters from quietly working to different versions of the role. It also makes client feedback easier to interpret: was the original search wrong, or did the criteria change?

Keep the current brief accessible wherever the team manages the assignment. Pair it with a regular review of unresolved questions and next decisions.

Connekt lets recruiters organise candidates into projects. Explore Connekt.

Bring a typical intake brief to your Connekt demo and discuss how your team would carry it through the search.

A common intake question

Should you accept a role with unresolved requirements? Sometimes an exploratory search is appropriate. Make the uncertainty explicit, agree what the first round will test and avoid presenting an undecided preference as a confirmed requirement.