How to conduct intake meeting with a client as a recruiter

What should be discussed and agreed upon?

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During the intake meeting, its participants should discuss many questions regarding the upcoming search and recruitment of candidates. First of all, the following items are supposed to be clarified:

• The ways the communication will be carried out between the recruiting team and the client.
• The detailed requirements for candidates, their positions, qualifications, hard and soft skills, and experience.
• The deadlines for the stages of the recruiting process and its completion.
• The details and structure of the interviews.
• The ways of reporting to the client.

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Signs of a successful intake meeting

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There are several clear signs that the introductory meeting was successful and fruitful:

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1. The recruiters realize the expectations of hiring, which will best meet the client's needs, goals, and objectives.
2. The client representatives clearly understand how the recruitment team will work.
3. Both parties have clearly defined ways of communicating and interacting.

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How to conduct the intake meeting productively?

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It is reasonable to take the following simple steps to have a productive intake meeting:

• Get detailed information about the vacancy you need to fill.

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Determine whether this position replaces another employee who previously held it, or the company has just decided to open a new role. And this is the first time they have been faced with setting detailed requirements for this role. Specify to whom the new worker will report and how this position will fit into the company's structure.

Your questions will demonstrate to the client that you are cooperating thoughtfully and thoroughly with the client’s representatives, doing your best to achieve the best result. Plus, such nuances will help you make the best choice of a candidate.

• Ask the right questions.

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Do not take trouble preparing for the meeting carefully and prepare the questions about the vacancy for the client’s representatives, which will help you draw up the candidate’s profile as accurately and in detail as possible. This tactic will also help you create an excellent job posting.

• Set the target hire date.

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Clearly define the time limits the client can afford concerning this position. And clarify if you will measure your work in terms of the fill time or the hire time.

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The fill time is the time of the entire recruiting process from the moment of the job posting to when the new employee starts work.

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The hire time is the period when the candidate is interviewed and receives the job offer.

• Agree on the recruitment and interview processes.

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Based on how quickly the position must be filled, discuss and determine what compromises may be made in the process of finding and hiring the candidate to meet the time frame.

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Summarizing

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Whether or not you follow the advice given to you in this article, the most important thing is that you come to the intake meeting well-prepared and able to demonstrate your high professionalism and interest in working on the search and recruitment project for this client.

In addition, counting on a compromise from the client, be ready for compromises, too.

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