Template

Hiring intake meeting template

Before a job is advertised, the recruiter and the hiring manager agree what the person will actually do, what they must already be able to do, how they will be assessed, and the timeline.

45 minutesFor The recruiter and the hiring manager, sometimes with an interviewer from the teamAgenda room

Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

Why this role, why now5 min
- What happens if this seat stays empty for three months?
What they will do in the first year10 min
- What will they have achieved after six and twelve months?
Must-haves and nice-to-haves12 min
- Which skills are truly needed on day one, and which can be learned?
Where to find them6 min
- Where do people like this work today?
How we will assess them8 min
- Which interview checks which must-have, and who runs it?
Pay and timeline4 min
- What is the pay range, and when do we need them?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Why now. Support replies take nine hours; customers are complaining.

First year. Under four hours, and a help centre that answers the top 20 questions.

Must-haves. Has led a small team; writes clearly. Nice. Our industry.

Assessment. Writing exercise; interview on managing a busy queue; meet the team.

Pay and timing. $70–80k; start by March.

Running it well

Describe results, not a list of qualifications. “Cut first-reply time to under four hours” finds better people than “five years of support experience”.
Keep the must-have list short. Each extra must-have shrinks the pool, and often the diversity of it.
Agree the interview plan here, so every candidate is assessed the same way.

Ways to change it

Repeat hireFifteen minutes: what changed since last time.

Senior hireAdd the person this role will report to and a peer.

When to skip it. Never for a new role; for an identical repeat hire, a short check-in is enough.

Questions

What is a hiring intake meeting?

A meeting between a recruiter and a hiring manager before recruiting starts, to agree the role, the must-have skills, where to search, how candidates will be assessed, pay and timing.

What questions should a recruiter ask a hiring manager?

Why the role is needed now, what success looks like in the first year, which skills are essential, where to find candidates, and how they will be assessed.

Why does an intake meeting matter?

It prevents searching for the wrong profile and gives every candidate the same, fair assessment.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Phone screenA short first call with a candidate: check the basics fit both ways — the role, the pay, the timing, the must-have skills — before anybody spends hours on interviews.Panel interviewSeveral interviewers meet one candidate together, each covering a different part of the job, so the candidate tells their story once and the panel sees the same answers.Technical interviewCheck that a candidate can do the technical work of the role by working on a realistic problem together — and hear how they think, not just whether they get the answer.Reference callA call with someone who worked with your final candidate, to check what you heard in interviews and learn how best to support them if you hire them.Offer callTell the chosen candidate they have the job, walk through the offer clearly, answer their questions, and agree when they will decide — on a call, before the paperwork.Recruiting pipeline reviewRecruiters and hiring managers go through every open role: how many candidates are at each stage, where they get stuck, and what to change to fill the role in time.Campus recruiting debriefAfter a university hiring season or event: which schools and events found good candidates, how students experienced the process, who to make offers to, and what to change next year.Internship kickoffThe first proper meeting with a new intern: what they will work on, what they will learn, who helps them, and what a great summer looks like — so they can contribute from week one.

All 162 templates →

Try Meetful

Meetings that take their own notes

Free video meetings in the browser: every line of the transcript under the name of who said it, and the summary and action items when you hang up. Nothing to install — guests just open the link.

Try Meetful free See what it does