Set the scene, fast

• Tell me about the role or roles you need to fill now, including title, level, and the number of hires. Options: Frontend engineer, Backend engineer, Full-stack engineer, Data engineer, Infrastructure / SRE, Security / Infosec, Other
• How many concurrent engineering hires do you typically run? Options: 1, 2-3, 4-6, 7 or more
• When did this role become critical and what event or timeline created that urgency?
• Describe the product area or repository the hire will own and the highest-priority deliverable for the first 90 days.
• Which success criteria—impact, velocity, uptime, or revenue—must this hire influence in quarter one? Options: Product velocity (feature throughput), System stability / uptime, Customer-facing metrics, Revenue or monetization milestones, Other
• Would you pause the search if interview availability cannot be committed within three weeks? Options: Yes, pause the search, No, continue with adjustments, Only for senior roles, Unsure

Where the hiring problem actually hurts

• Name the single hiring failure that would make you end this partnership immediately.
• Who inside your organization experiences the fallout first when a hire does not ramp or exits within six months? Options: Hiring manager, Product manager, Engineering leadership (VP/CTO), Team peers, Customer success
• Walk me through the last senior engineering hire that failed to meet expectations, what broke, and what was missed during screening.
• Which early-career metrics do you apply to judge a hire at 30 and 90 days, and what are your minimum thresholds? Options: Ramp to code contribution, Completion of onboarding project, Peer-reviewed code quality, Closed tickets / PRs merged, Other
• To what extent have previous recruiting partners delivered candidates who pass both your technical and culture screens? Options: Consistently above expectations, Often meet expectations, Sporadic success, Rarely meet expectations
• If you could point to one irreversible risk in this hiring process, what is it and who owns mitigating it?

Who signs, who stalls, who moves fast

• Who has final authority to approve an offer, and how long does their approval usually take? Options: Hiring manager, VP of Engineering, CTO, Finance / HR required, Comp committee
• List the stakeholders who must be consulted before interviews start and those who can join later in the loop.
• How quickly can the hiring panel commit to interview slots within a two-week window? Options: Within 3 business days, Within 1 week, Within 2 weeks, Longer than 2 weeks
• What approvals or compensation band sign-offs are required before an offer can be extended? Options: Pre-approved band, Finance sign-off, Headcount approval, Comp committee approval, Other
• Are there known hiring freeze windows, blackout periods, or fiscal constraints that could delay offers? Options: Yes, seasonal freeze, Yes, budget-dependent, No known constraints, Unsure
• If you had the right candidate tomorrow but final approval lagged two weeks, would you proceed or pause the hire? Options: Proceed and escalate approval, Pause until approval, Make an interim contractor hire, Depends on role seniority

Timeline, cost of delay, and acceleration levers

• By when does this hire need to be fully productive to avoid roadmap delays or lost milestones? Options: Within 30 days, Within 60 days, Within 90 days, More than 90 days
• Specify the 30/60/90-day milestones a new hire must reach to be considered on track.
• How much would a three-month delay on this hire cost in terms of roadmap velocity or revenue impact? Options: <1% velocity impact, 1-5% velocity impact, 5-15% velocity or revenue impact, >15% or critical
• When decisions slow, how do candidate acceptance rates and market competitiveness shift for roles like this? Options: Minimal change, Moderate drop in acceptances, Significant drop, need higher comp, Candidates accept other offers quickly
• Do you prefer initiating a replacement search or offering an expedited counteroffer if a top candidate accepts elsewhere mid-process? Options: Start replacement search, Attempt counteroffer, Both in parallel, Depends on candidate level
• Assuming you receive three interview-ready candidates in two weeks, what contractual or process change would let you accelerate a decision?

Sourcing, screening, and technical fit — where it breaks

• Identify the blind spots in your current sourcing network most likely to produce paper-qualified but technically weak candidates.
• How many passive candidate communities, such as open-source contributors, meetup leaders, or conference speakers, would you expect the seller to reach in the first two weeks? Options: 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, More than 10
• Tell me about the technical screening steps you consider mandatory, including coding exercises, take-homes, pair programming, or system design sessions.
• Give an example of a repository artifact, pull request, or interview deliverable that would prove a candidate can execute in your codebase.
• Please confirm whether candidates will be given read-only repo access, a staging environment, only code snippets, or no technical access for realistic screens. Options: Read-only repo access, Staging environment access, Only code snippets or take-home tasks, No technical access allowed
• Would you pause the engagement if read-only access or a technical contact for screening is not provided within two weeks? Options: Yes, pause engagement, No, but screens will be limited, Depends on role seniority, Unsure

Competitive landscape and the other options you are weighing

• List the external agencies, internal teams, or contractor pools you are actively evaluating right now. Options: Internal recruiting team, External retained search, Contingent agencies / job boards, Contract staffing vendors, Freelancer marketplaces, Other
• Explain whether your incumbent supplier has met your 90-day retention bar and the reasons you might still keep using them.
• Do any internal proposals exist to solve this without an outside partner, and who is advocating for that option? Options: Yes, active internal plan, Yes, proposed but not approved, No internal proposal, Unsure
• What would need to be true about your current approach for you to keep it instead of switching to an external search partner?
• Why would you still prefer an outside firm even if internal teams matched speed and submittal-to-interview conversion?

Operational readiness, integrations, and gating constraints

• Point to the single operational constraint that would block the engagement from starting on your timeline.
• Identify the systems the seller must integrate with, for example your ATS, single sign-on, or candidate tracking, and who owns those integrations.
• Are there legal, compliance, or background-check rules specific to your region or industry the seller must follow? Options: Standard national background checks, Enhanced security clearances required, Contractor payroll restrictions, No special requirements, Other
• Estimate the internal people hours the seller should expect per week for interviews, calibration, and offer approvals. Options: <5 hours/week, 5-10 hours/week, 10-20 hours/week, >20 hours/week
• Name the day-to-day point of contact and confirm whether they have the bandwidth to coordinate candidate logistics.
• Would a compliance or payroll restriction that prevents contract-to-hire placements rule out the engagement entirely? Options: Yes, it rules it out, No, we would adjust model, Only for certain roles, Unsure

Acceptance criteria, guarantees, and next steps

• Assuming the first three submittals meet your bar, what contractual or process step would allow you to sign within seven days?
• Specify the retention, replacement, or guarantee terms that are non-negotiable for you. Options: 90-day replacement guarantee, Pro-rated refund, Extended guarantee (6-12 months), No replacement guarantee required, Other
• How will you evaluate the seller's performance in the first 90 days, and which metrics trigger an escalation? Options: Submittal-to-interview ratio, Time to first interview, Time to fill, 90-day retention, Hiring manager satisfaction, Other
• Confirm whether you require exclusivity and, if yes, state the desired duration and scope. Options: No exclusivity, Short exclusivity (2-4 weeks), Medium exclusivity (1-3 months), Long exclusivity (>3 months)
• Would a 95% 90-day retention guarantee change your procurement route or approval path? Options: Yes, would accelerate approvals, No change, Depends on other terms, Unsure
• By when can you provide the calibrated scorecard and compensation band so searches can start without delay? Options: Within 48 hours, Within 1 week, Within 2 weeks, Longer than 2 weeks

• Sourcing Strategy and Fit Walkthrough

• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You confirm the stated current state and the quantified cost to roadmap and team capacity.
• Deliver three anonymized, role-mapped candidate profiles sourced from the discussed channels within 7 business days.
• You confirm the proposed sourcing channels reach the required technical community for this role.
• Show targeted sourcing channels and recent proof
• Provide the role's top three measurable success criteria and availability windows for the technical interview panel.
• Review example candidate profiles mapped to success criteria
• Run initial technical screens on the three sample candidates and deliver screening summaries within 10 business days.
• You confirm the technical-screen workflow will reduce paper-qualified candidates and improve submittal-to-interview conversion.
• Demonstrate the technical screening workflow with evidence
• You agree to a sample run with clear submittal targets, timing, and acceptance criteria to prove value.
• Schedule a 30-minute decision review within five business days of receiving sample submittals.
• Walk through team-fit and motivation evaluation
• Validate this maps to what you described
• Agree the next evidence to run a sample and decision criteria

• Sourcing Strategy & Fit Walkthrough
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief: Sourcing Strategy & Fit

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Passive Candidate Sourcing (developer communities & OSS)
• Engineer-Led Technical Screening Calls
• Deliver First Three Qualified Submittals
• Candidate Technical Dossiers (GitHub, design notes)
• Interview Loop Management and Interviewer Briefs
• Offer Strategy and Counteroffer Negotiation
• Reference and Employment Verification
• Guaranteed Replacement within 90 Days
• Senior Hire Rapid-Fill Campaign (23-day target)
• Multi-Hire Team Ramp Shortlists (bulk hires)
• Candidate Closing and Acceptance Coaching
• Onboarding Handoff with Ramp Recommendations

Passive Candidate Sourcing (developer communities & OSS)

• For the open role, list the primary code repositories or open-source projects candidates should be active in (e.g., specific GitHub orgs, npm packages, Rust crates).
• Specify the core tech stack tags you want sourced in community profiles (e.g., React, Kubernetes, Go, Terraform).
• Which developer communities should we prioritize when sourcing (e.g., conference lists, Slack communities, language-specific forums, SIGs)?
• How many initial passive outreach messages should we send before pausing outreach to a specific candidate pool? Options: 1 attempt, 2 attempts, 3 attempts, 4+ attempts
• When do you consider a sourced candidate 'engaged' for this search (e.g., replies to initial technical question, schedules a screen within 7 days)? Options: Replies to technical question, Agrees to schedule a call within 7 days, Submits code sample, Other
• Identify any sourcing exclusions for the role such as contractors, relocating candidates, or specific employers you prefer to avoid.

Engineer-Led Technical Screening Calls

• Describe the technical-screen format you prefer for initial engineer-led calls (live coding, system design, take-home review, architecture discussion). Options: Live coding (pairing), System design discussion, Take-home assessment review, Architecture portfolio review, Hybrid
• Which repository or code sample should candidates prepare for the screen (e.g., a public GitHub repo, a specific repo path, a recent PR)?
• Specify the minimum screening outcomes required to advance a candidate (for example: passes algorithmic challenge, shows production debugging example, explains design tradeoffs).
• Who on your team will be available to join technical screens for calibration during the first two weeks of the engagement? Options: Hiring manager, Principal engineer, Tech lead, No internal participation
• Confirm the maximum duration for an initial technical screening call. Options: 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes
• Provide the scoring checklist items your engineers will use on screens (e.g., code correctness, system-thinking, test coverage, communication).

Deliver First Three Qualified Submittals

• State the expected time-to-first-submittal SLA for this role. Options: 3 business days, 1 week, 2 weeks, Custom timeline
• How many candidate submittals do you require in each batch after the initial three? Options: 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, No further batches
• What acceptance criteria will confirm the first three submittals are qualified (name the measurable pass conditions such as '>=70% on scorecard', 'system design problem solved', 'referenced production contributions on GitHub').
• Which artifacts must accompany each submittal packet (choose all required documents to include with every candidate submission). Options: Resume/CV, Link to GitHub or repo, Technical screen notes, Suggested interview questions, Compensation expectations
• List the notice period or earliest start-date constraints the recruiting team should filter by when preparing submittals (e.g., immediate, 2 weeks, 30 days). Options: Immediate, 2 weeks, 30 days, 60+ days
• Specify any mandatory red flags that should disqualify a candidate from first-three consideration (for example: no public code for a role requiring OSS contributions, lack of experience with core service ownership).

Candidate Technical Dossiers (GitHub, design notes)

• Provide the dossier components you require for each candidate (for example: annotated GitHub links, highlighted PRs, architecture diagrams, design write-ups). Options: Annotated GitHub links, Highlighted pull requests, Design whitepaper or RFC, Performance benchmarks, Other
• Which GitHub signals are critical in the dossier for this role (e.g., number of meaningful pull requests, maintainer status, opened issues closed)?
• Specify the format and maximum size for dossiers to be shared with interviewers (file types or link lists preferred). Options: Link list to repos/PRs only, PDF with annotated excerpts, Shared folder with artifacts, Other
• Indicate whether we should redact any proprietary details in candidate dossiers before sharing (for example: internal company names in commit messages). Options: Yes, redact proprietary details, No redaction required
• Describe any examples of prior candidate dossiers you found especially useful for calibrating expectations (attach or describe the dossier feature you liked).
• State whether dossiers should include a short interviewer-facing summary with suggested probing questions and areas of caution. Options: Include interviewer summary and probes, Include only technical artifacts

Interview Loop Management and Interviewer Briefs

• Identify the interview roles and minimum availability windows we should schedule for (for example: hiring manager 2 hrs/week, tech lead 4 hrs/week, principal for decision).
• Provide the canonical interview scorecard fields we should use for pass/fail and calibration (for example: problem solving, system design, cultural fit, hiring bar).
• Which calendar systems and time zones will we use to coordinate loop availability? Options: Google Calendar, Office 365, Other
• Outline required interviewer brief contents to be delivered before each loop (for example: role context, candidate dossier, technical focus areas, anti-bias reminders).
• Estimate the target turnaround time for interviewer feedback to be returned after each interview Options: Within 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, No SLA
• Confirm whether panel interviews require a fixed template (same questions for every candidate) or a flexible guide per interviewer. Options: Fixed template, Flexible guide, Hybrid

Offer Strategy and Counteroffer Negotiation

• Specify the compensation band (base + equity range) that should be used for offer generation for this role.
• Indicate the maximum target total compensation we may offer without additional approval.
• State the preferred signing bonus or relocation policy to include in offers, if any. Options: Standard signing bonus, Relocation assistance, No signing bonus/relocation, Custom case-by-case
• Which internal approvers must sign off on an offer package before it is extended (for example: hiring manager, VP of engineering, HR compensation lead)?
• Describe your escalation process if a candidate receives a counteroffer from their current employer (for example: accelerated approval, retention package match guidelines).
• Choose the negotiation authority you want the recruiter to exercise on compensation before returning to you. Options: No authority; escalate every offer change, Limited authority up to X% of band, Full authority within defined band

Reference and Employment Verification

• Provide the minimum number and type of references required before an offer is accepted (for example: 2 technical references, 1 manager). Options: 1 professional reference, 2 professional references, 2 technical + 1 manager
• Which background-screening checks are mandatory for this role (for example: employment verification, education verification, criminal background, security clearance checks)? Options: Employment verification, Education verification, Criminal background check, Security clearance
• Identify any geographic or regulatory constraints for verification (for example: candidates from EU require GDPR-compliant vendor; India checks may differ).
• State the expected SLA for completing reference and employment verification after offer acceptance. Options: 3 business days, 7 business days, 14 business days
• Describe evidence you require from references to confirm technical depth (for example: code review examples, architecture ownership examples).
• Choose whether we should use your preferred background-check vendor or our standard vendor. Options: Use your vendor, Use our vendor, Open to either

Guaranteed Replacement within 90 Days

• Indicate whether the standard 90-day replacement guarantee will be accepted as-is or requires modification. Options: Accept standard 90-day guarantee, Require modified terms, Request exception discussion
• What evidence will validate a replacement claim within 90 days (for example: termination letter, documented performance review, resignation date)?
• Specify exclusions to the replacement guarantee you require documented (for example: layoffs, role change, misrepresentation by candidate).
• Choose the remedy you prefer for a valid 90-day replacement claim. Options: Free replacement search, Pro-rated refund, Credit toward future search
• State whether retention tracking checkpoints should be automated at 30 and 90 days with written feedback from the hiring manager. Options: Automate 30 and 90-day checkpoints, Manual check-ins only, No formal checkpoints
• Detail any performance metrics that must be measured during the guarantee period to assess fit (for example: code review throughput, sprint velocity contribution, production incident count).

Senior Hire Rapid-Fill Campaign (23-day target)

• Provide the firm deadline or critical milestone driving the 23-day rapid-fill target (for example: release date, program kickoff, founder start date).
• Specify the maximum number of concurrent candidate interviews you will authorize per week during a rapid campaign. Options: 1-2 candidates/week, 3-4 candidates/week, 5+ candidates/week
• List accelerated screening artifacts you will accept in a rapid campaign (for example: abbreviated design exercise, recorded coding walk-through).
• Identify the decision maker(s) who can sign an offer within the rapid-fill window to meet the 23-day target.
• Estimate the maximum negotiation rounds you will permit before an offer is closed in a rapid campaign. Options: One round, Two rounds, Unlimited within band
• State any expedited approvals we can rely on to meet the 23-day target (for example: pre-approved band increase, pre-signed offer template).

Multi-Hire Team Ramp Shortlists (bulk hires)

• Specify the total headcount target and timeline for the bulk hire ramp (for example: 5 engineers in 90 days).
• Choose the preferred delivery cadence for shortlists during a ramp (for example: weekly batches, biweekly batches, milestone deliveries). Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Milestone deliveries
• Indicate whether you want role tiers defined in the shortlist (for example: senior, staff, principal) and the number required per tier.
• Provide the acceptance threshold for bulk shortlists (for example: >=60% pass rate to interview across a batch).
• List infrastructure constraints for bulk hiring (onboarding capacity, laptop provisioning, manager bandwidth) that must be considered out of scope for recruiting.
• Describe any preferred pooling strategy for shortlists (for example: diversity-forward pools, location-based pools, domain-expertise pools).

• Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW) — Search Engagement
• Fee Schedule & Payment Terms
• Engagement Model & Exclusivity Agreement
• Candidate Guarantee & Retention Addendum
• Background-Check & Offer Authorization
• Search Kickoff Authorization
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA) — conditional

• New-hire Go-live Health Check (week 1-4)
• 30-day Performance Review (first measurement)
• 90-day Acceptance Gate
• Ongoing Retention & Hiring Success Review (quarterly)

• Close resolved warranty or replacement requests and archive the case notes for audit.
• Create a remediation plan for each underperforming hire with target completion dates.
• Update interview scorecards or sourcing profile when calibration changes are agreed.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Produce a clear accept / conditional accept / reject outcome against the targets recorded in Search Scope & Deliverables.
• Agree and document any remediation or replacement actions with timelines.
• Ensure the buying owner has a documented acceptance decision on record.
• Publish the 90-day acceptance summary showing pass/fail per criterion and the documented acceptance decision.
• If replacement is required, initiate the replacement workflow and provide expected candidate delivery timelines.
• List remediation tasks with deadlines to be completed within the agreed warranty or remediation window.
• Rolling retention and performance trends
• Confirm whether rolling 90-day retention and average time-to-productivity are meeting agreed targets.
• Resolve or advance any open warranty or replacement actions and document next steps.
• Agree specific operational adjustments to improve future retention and productivity metrics.
• Produce a quarterly retention and productivity dashboard with trend analysis and variance to targets.
• Execute agreed onboarding or scorecard changes and report back at the next review.
• Reconfirm role success criteria and owners
• Confirm the new hire has required access and completed core onboarding tasks.
• Document all early blockers with remediation actions and target dates.
• Schedule the 30-day performance review and agree required data inputs.
• Provide an onboarding completion summary including outstanding access issues.
• List and assign remediation actions for each blocker with target completion dates.
• Confirm date and required artifacts for the 30-day review.
• Present 30-day retention and success-criteria progress
• Determine whether 30-day retention and success-criteria progress are on track or require remediation.
• Document root causes for each gap and agree timebound corrective actions.
• If systemic issues are found, agree specific interview or sourcing calibrations to implement.
• Produce a 30-day performance report showing retention rate and percent of success criteria met, with supporting evidence.
• Present 90-day outcome data versus targets
• Open issues and warranty/replacement tracking
• Validate new-hire onboarding and access
• Root-cause diagnosis for gaps
• Pass, conditional, or fail determination per criterion
• Early signals and observations
• Sourcing and screening effectiveness
• Feedback collection from manager and new hire
• Agree operational improvements for next quarter
• Remediation, replacement, or warranty actions
• Blockers, risks, and immediate remediation
• Agree corrective actions and timeline
• Calibration note for sourcing/screening
• Record acceptance decision
• Short sync and close
• Agree next checkpoint