Recruiter guide
Agree on the role before you start the search.
A hiring brief helps the recruiter and hiring manager agree on what the person will do and what experience they need. Fill it in together before searching, so unanswered questions do not slow the hire or change the shortlist halfway through.
Fill in the hiring brief together
Copy these headings into your notes and work through them with the hiring manager. If you have not agreed on a detail, write “to confirm” and name the person who will check it. Keep unanswered questions in the brief. Do not turn an unsettled detail into a filter that rules out candidates.
- Role and decision-makers
- Job title, team, hiring manager and recruiter. Who approves the shortlist and makes the final hiring decision?
- What the person needs to achieve
- Three outcomes, the problems they will solve and the conditions they will work in.
- Must-have experience
- Experience the person needs to do the work. Separate essentials from preferred tools, job titles or backgrounds.
- Other experience to consider
- Related experience that could show the same skills. What would you need to ask about in an interview?
- Pay and working arrangements
- Pay range, location, working arrangements and schedule. Mark anything that still needs approval.
- What to look for in candidates
- Examples of work that would show each required skill. What will you ask if the profile or resume does not tell you enough?
- Hiring steps
- Who reviews candidates, which interviews are planned, who makes the decision and when the next step should happen.
- Changes and unanswered questions
- Questions still to answer, who will answer them and by when. Record any changes to the agreed requirements.
Example: hiring an engineer to support a customer-facing service
Fictional example: a team needs an engineer to maintain a customer-facing service, investigate incidents and make routine changes safer. These responsibilities tell you more about the role than “software engineer with five years of experience.”
The team might need someone who has diagnosed a service problem. Ask what went wrong, how the candidate investigated it, what they changed and how they checked the result. A job title alone does not tell you whether they have done this work.
Agree on pay and working arrangements before searching. Mark anything still awaiting approval as “to confirm.” Only describe remote work, flexibility or a pay range that the employer has agreed to offer.
Agree on the priorities and next steps
Start with the three outcomes. Which experience does each one require? What related experience would you consider? Then agree on pay, working arrangements and the hiring steps. Give each unanswered question to someone who can resolve it.
If the hiring manager changes a requirement, note what changed and why. Review earlier candidates against the updated brief so everyone is comparing them on the same basis.
Use the brief to create your Jalvexa job
Create the job in Jalvexa and review the Hiring Brief and Hiring Reality questions. Use the agreed responsibilities and requirements to guide your candidate search and fit evaluation. As you build the shortlist, keep track of the relevant experience and the questions you still need to ask.
Jalvexa connects the role you have defined with candidate profiles, fit evaluation and the next hiring step. Recruiter plans start at $139 USD per month. Compare the current features and sourcing allowances before choosing your plan.