How To Conduct Intake Meetings As A Recruiter

A recruitment meeting is the first time a recruiter and an employer's representatives meet to discuss finding and hiring new employees. Kickoff meetings and intake meetings are both names for the same thing. 

There is more to an intake meeting than just reviewing the job description. In an intake meeting, a recruiter will inquire further about the candidate's "must-haves" and "nice to have." Keep reading to learn some tips for conducting intake meetings as a recruiter.

What is the Need to Conduct Intake Meetings?

• During an intake meeting, the hiring manager tells the recruiter what they want in a candidate. It is a chance to talk about what is a must-have and what's a nice-to-have. Also, what kind of personality and attitude will work on the team.

• Intake meetings help ensure people don't have too high desperate hope. They tell the manager what to expect and plan for during the hiring process. It helps the manager and recruiter stay on the same page throughout the process.

Steps to Conduct Intake Meetings as a Recruiter.

1. Background Information

This stage aims to grasp the overall setting. Knowing whether or not this is a backfill position (filling in for someone who previously held this position) or a brand-new position is essential. Consider whether this is a new role that requires establishing a recruitment procedure from scratch or whether it is a reoccurring skill set for which the company already has a standard procedure in place. Find out who this position will report to and how it will fit into the larger structure of the company. Your questions demonstrate that you are actively engaged in problem-solving alongside the manager rather than simply taking orders.

2. A Hire Date

You need to know the company's deadline for filling this position. Time to hire or time to fill? That is another question you need to answer. Time to fill in the total amount of time it takes to fill an open position, beginning with the initial posting of the job opening and ending with the first day of employment for the successful candidate. Time to hire quantifies how long it takes for a candidate to go through your organization's interview and offer stages. Neither of these methods is inherently superior; instead, it is up to your company's management team to determine which metric best measures progress.

3. Recruiting and Interview Process

Your company might or might not already have a set way of hiring people. In either case, this needs to be apparent during the first meeting. One of the primary purposes of the intake meeting is to find and gain clarity. If this is a brand-new job for the company, you may need to take more time to figure out how the interview process will work. Depending on how quickly the organization needs to fill this role. Talk about flexibility and trade-offs that might be helpful for a candidate to meet the deadline.

4. Ask Questions

Successfully vetting a new hire's skills, accomplishments, and requirements, as well as what will make them successful in the role, can be achieved by asking the right questions during the interview process.

Tips to Conduct Intake Meetings as a Recruiter.

1. Keep it Short and Simple

No one enjoys sitting through pointless, drawn-out meetings. Intake meetings that last longer than an hour likely are not productive. The ideal length for a successful recruitment intake meeting is one hour. If you're a good recruiter, you can get all the information you need at that time; you need to ask the right questions and ensure you are in charge of the conversation, so it doesn't stray too far from the role. The key is to be well-prepared for the meeting.

2. Be Prepared in Advance 

Before the meeting, you should do a lot of research. Prepare to go into the meeting with a sourcing plan and maybe even some LinkedIn profiles you found while doing a quick search. That won't be a problem if the hiring manager tells you that your answers are completely wrong. Now you know. Before you meet with the hiring manager, you should ask them a few questions they should be ready to answer at the meeting. You can send them an email or invite them to a meeting. Don't ask too many questions. Think carefully about what you want to know.

3. Help your Hiring Manager with some Helpful Information

The hiring manager will explain what a role requires, what kind of experience a candidate must have, and how quickly the position needs to be filled. You can give the hiring manager information about the job market and the available talent pool. It can help them set reasonable expectations and figure out the best way to work around the missing team member.

It may be challenging to convince the hiring manager that holding an intake meeting is a good idea, and they might not want to take time out of their busy lives to meet. However, they will be glad they did it when they see the recruitment process results.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What do Hiring Managers want to hear?

The hiring manager wants to know that you have considered the position, how you would fit it, and what you could bring to the table.

Q2. Why is an Intake Meeting Important?

Intake meetings allow hiring managers to talk to the recruiter about their needs and wants. It also helps them understand the hiring process, the limits and possibilities, and what they can do with the salary range and job profile.