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Recruiting template

Recruitment Plan Template

A recruitment plan sets out how you will fill a role or a set of roles: where you will find candidates, the selection stages, the timeline, who does what and how you will measure progress. Pick the version that fits below, fill in your details and copy it.

Recruitment Plan Template

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Recruitment plan for one role

When to use it: A single approved role, planned by the recruiter and hiring manager at the kick-off meeting.

RECRUITMENT PLAN: [Job title] Team: [Department or team], [Company name] Number of hires: [Number of hires] Hiring manager: [Hiring manager] Recruiter: [Recruiter] Target start: [Target start date] 1. The role Location and working pattern: [Location and working pattern] Salary range: [Salary range] Must-have skills: [Must-have skills] Nice to have: ____ 2. Where we will find candidates [Sourcing channels]. 3. Selection stages Stage | What it checks | Owner | Time to turn round Application review | Must-have skills | [Recruiter] | ____ working days Phone screen | Motivation, logistics, salary expectations | [Recruiter] | ____ working days Skills assessment | [Skills assessment] | [Hiring manager] | ____ working days Interview | Experience and how they work with customers and colleagues | [Interviewers] | ____ working days Decision and offer | Written feedback from every interviewer | [Hiring manager] | ____ working days 4. Timeline Job live: ____ Applications close: ____ Shortlist agreed: ____ Interviews complete: ____ Offer made: ____ Start date: [Target start date] 5. How we will treat candidates - Every applicant hears back, whatever the outcome. - Every candidate at the same stage gets the same questions and the same task. - Candidates are told what each stage involves and how to ask for adjustments. 6. Budget Recruiting budget for this role: [Recruiting budget] 7. Progress check Weekly, [Recruiter] and [Hiring manager] review: applications by channel, candidates at each stage and any stage that is running late.

Annual recruitment plan

When to use it: Planning how a team or company will recruit over a year, across all its approved roles.

RECRUITMENT PLAN: [Company name], [Plan period] Owner: [Recruiter] Next review: [Next review date] 1. What we are recruiting for Role | Team | Hires | Quarter | Hiring manager [Job title] | [Department or team] | [Number of hires] | Q2 | [Hiring manager] ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ 2. Sourcing channels Main channels: [Sourcing channels]. Roles that need direct outreach because few people apply: ____ How we will ask the team for referrals: ____ 3. Our standard selection process - Application review against must-have skills written before the job goes live - Phone screen - A skills assessment or work sample based on the real work - A structured interview, with the same questions for every candidate at that stage - Written feedback from every interviewer before the decision Feedback turnaround after each stage: ____ working days, owned by the hiring manager for that role 4. Approach and employer brand Set out in the recruitment strategy (see the recruitment strategy template). This plan covers who does what, and by when. 5. Tools Applicant tracking system: ____ Assessment tool: ____ Scheduling: ____ 6. Budget Total recruiting budget: [Recruiting budget] Split by job boards, agencies, tools and events: ____ 7. What we will measure - Time to hire for each role - Applications and hires by channel - How many candidates drop out at each stage - Offer acceptance - Feedback from candidates and hiring managers 8. Review Each week, [Recruiter] and each hiring manager check candidates at each stage against the quarter's hires. Review this plan every quarter, starting [Next review date], and move budget towards the channels that produce hires.

Campus recruitment plan

When to use it: Hiring graduates or interns through colleges and universities, such as campus placements in India or graduate schemes in the UK.

CAMPUS RECRUITMENT PLAN: [Company name] Roles: [Job title], [Number of hires] hires Team: [Department or team] Owner: [Recruiter] Hiring manager: [Hiring manager] Joining date: [Target start date] 1. Which institutions [Colleges or universities]. Contact at each placement cell or careers service: ____ 2. Eligibility Degrees and branches: ____ Graduating year: ____ Must-have skills: [Must-have skills] 3. Calendar Step | Date | Owner Register with each placement cell or careers service | ____ | [Recruiter] Pre-placement talk or presentation on campus | ____ | [Hiring manager] Applications open | ____ | [Recruiter] Online assessment for every applicant | ____ | [Recruiter] Interviews (on campus or by video) | ____ | [Interviewers] Offers released | ____ | [Recruiter] Joining | [Target start date] | [Hiring manager] 4. Selection - Online assessment: [Skills assessment] - Interview: how the student approaches problems and what they have built or done outside the syllabus - The same questions and scoring for every student, across every campus 5. Offer and joining Salary range or stipend: [Salary range] Location: [Location and working pattern] Keeping in touch between offer and joining: ____ 6. Budget Travel, events and assessment costs: [Recruiting budget] 7. Weekly tracking Each week until offers are released, [Recruiter] checks applications, assessments completed and interviews held by institution against the calendar. 8. After the drive - Feedback from each placement cell or careers service: ____ - Offers accepted and students who joined, by institution: ____

High-volume recruitment plan

When to use it: Filling many openings for the same role at once, such as hourly, seasonal or contact-centre roles.

HIGH-VOLUME RECRUITMENT PLAN: [Job title] Company: [Company name] Hires needed: [Number of hires] Locations: [Location and working pattern] First start date: [Target start date] Owner: [Recruiter] Hiring manager: [Hiring manager] 1. What every hire must have [Must-have skills]. Shift patterns and availability needed: ____ 2. Where we will find candidates [Sourcing channels]. Local partners, such as job centres, colleges or community groups: ____ 3. A short process Step | What happens | Target time Apply | A short form, mobile-friendly | ____ minutes Screen | Knockout questions on availability, location and right to work | Same day Assessment | [Skills assessment] | Within ____ days of applying Interview | A short structured interview, the same questions for everyone | Within ____ days of the assessment Offer | Made on the day, or the next working day | ____ 4. Capacity Interviewers: [Interviewers] Interview slots needed each week: ____ Group sessions or hiring days planned: ____ 5. Keeping candidates moving - Text and email updates at every step - One named contact for questions - A reminder before every interview, with the address or link 6. Budget Recruiting budget: [Recruiting budget] Pay rate: [Salary range] 7. Daily tracking Applications, assessments completed, interviews held, offers made, offers accepted and starters, checked every day against the hires needed by [Target start date].

Recruitment plan for a startup

When to use it: A small company making its first few hires, where the founders run recruiting themselves with little time or budget.

RECRUITMENT PLAN: [Job title], [Company name] Owner: [Hiring manager] Target start: [Target start date] 1. What this person will do in their first six months ____ 2. Must-have skills [Must-have skills]. 3. Where we will look [Sourcing channels]. People in our own network to ask for introductions: ____ 4. The process (kept short so good candidates do not drop out) Step | Who | How long Intro call | [Hiring manager] | 30 minutes Short or paid task based on the real work: [Skills assessment] | [Hiring manager] | ____ Final conversation with the founders | ____ | ____ References | [Hiring manager] | ____ Offer | [Hiring manager] | ____ 5. How we will sell the role - The problem they will own: ____ - Who they will work with: ____ - What is still uncertain, said plainly: ____ 6. Pay and budget Salary range: [Salary range] Recruiting budget: [Recruiting budget] 7. Check-in Founders review the pipeline every week until the offer is accepted.

How to use this template

  • 1Agree the plan at a kick-off meeting between the recruiter and the hiring manager, before the job goes live.
  • 2Pick the version that fits: one role, a year of hiring, campus or graduate hiring, many hires for the same role, or a startup making its first hires.
  • 3Fill in the fields above, then complete the blank lines in the copied text. The salary and budget fields have no example: add your own figures.
  • 4Write the must-have skills before you see any applications, and judge every candidate against the same list.
  • 5Put a date and an owner on every stage, then check progress each week against the plan.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Starting to source before the hiring manager has agreed the must-have skills, so the shortlist gets rejected.
  • Adding interview rounds without saying what each one checks, which slows the process and repeats questions.
  • Using one channel for every role, even when it does not produce applicants for that kind of job.
  • No owner or deadline for feedback after each stage, so candidates wait and drop out.
  • Never measuring which channels and stages produce hires, so the next plan repeats the same gaps.

Questions

What is a recruitment plan?

A document that sets out how you will fill one role or a set of roles: where you will find candidates, the selection stages, the timeline, who owns each step, the budget and how you will measure progress.

What should a recruitment plan include?

The roles and number of hires, the must-have skills, sourcing channels, each selection stage with what it checks and who runs it, a timeline, the budget, how candidates will be kept informed and the measures you will review.

How do I write a recruiting plan for one role?

Hold a kick-off with the hiring manager, agree the must-have skills and salary range, choose the channels, set the stages and a date for each, then name an owner for every step. The single-role version above follows that order.

Is there a recruitment plan example?

Yes. Every version above is filled in with a sample company and role when the page loads, so you can read it as an example before you clear the fields and add your own.

What is the difference between a recruitment plan and a recruitment strategy?

A recruitment strategy is the general approach to attracting and choosing people, such as which channels and assessments you favour. A recruitment plan applies it to specific roles, with dates, owners and a budget. For the overall approach, use the Recruitment Strategy Template.

What is the difference between a recruitment plan and a hiring plan?

A hiring plan decides which roles to fill, when and with what budget. A recruitment plan sets out how you will find and select the people for those roles.

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