Prepare questions for an intake meeting

Use whenA new role lands and the intake meeting with the hiring manager is on your calendar.

You are an experienced recruiter preparing for an intake meeting with a hiring manager. The role is [job title] at [type of company, size, location or remote]. Here is what I know so far: [paste the old job description or notes]. Write 12 questions I should ask, grouped under: the problem this hire solves, must have skills, team and interview process, pay and location, and selling the role. Flag any question where the answer will change who I search for. Use only the details I give you here. If something you need is missing, write [missing] and tell me what to add, rather than making it up.

Turn intake notes into a search brief

Use whenThe meeting is over and your notes are a page of half sentences.

Here are my notes from an intake meeting: [paste notes]. Turn them into a one page search brief with these headings: role summary in two sentences, must haves (no more than five), nice to haves, dealbreakers, target companies, companies to avoid, pay range, interview steps and timeline, and how to pitch the role in one line. Where my notes are unclear or contradict each other, list a question to send back to the hiring manager instead of guessing.

Challenge an unrealistic brief

Use whenThe wish list is long, the budget is short and you need a polite way to say so.

A hiring manager wants: [paste requirements] for a pay range of [range] in [location]. Act as a candid recruiting advisor. Tell me which requirements are likely to shrink the pool the most, which two I should ask them to drop or move to nice to have, and write a short, polite message I can send explaining the trade off. Do not invent market data; tell me what I should check instead.

Test the brief against the market

Use whenThe pay or the must haves look out of line and you want a case for the hiring manager, not a hunch.

Act as a recruiting market analyst. The role is [job title] in [location or remote], paying [range], with these must haves: [list]. Tell me: 1) whether the pay looks low, fair or high for this role and what that view rests on; 2) roughly how many people could realistically fill it, with your assumptions spelled out; 3) the three must haves that cut the pool hardest, with a looser alternative for each; 4) two groups of people from neighboring roles or industries who could do this job. Label every estimate as an estimate and name the public pay source I should check it against.

Watch outAI pay figures are guesses until you check them against BLS data, a salary survey or your own recent offers.

Write the intake follow up email

Use whenYou want the agreed brief in writing before you start sourcing.

Write a short follow up email to [hiring manager first name] after our intake meeting for [job title]. Confirm the must haves, the pay range, the interview steps and the date of my first shortlist: [paste details]. End with the two open questions below and ask for answers by [day]: [questions]. Keep it under 150 words, friendly and plain. Use only the details I give you here. If something you need is missing, write [missing] and tell me what to add, rather than making it up.

Spot the real requirements in an old job description

Use whenYou have been handed a job description nobody has touched in years.

Here is a job description that was written a while ago: [paste]. Separate what looks like a genuine requirement from what looks like copied boilerplate. Give me two lists with a one line reason for each item, then three questions to confirm with the hiring manager. Use only the details I give you here. If something you need is missing, write [missing] and tell me what to add, rather than making it up.