Brief to shortlist, week by week
A typical single-role campaign. Multi-role campaigns run four to ten weeks.
| When | Stage | What you get | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Briefing call | Thirty minutes with the researcher who will do the work | Honesty about why the role is open and what has already been tried |
| Day 1 | Written brief and fixed fee | Target population defined on capability, exclusions, interview window, fee | Sign-off, and the interview window in diaries now |
| Days 2–7 | Research | The verified target longlist, presented before any approach | A reaction to the longlist — this is where briefs usefully change |
| Days 7–21 | Outreach | Weekly written updates naming who engaged, who declined and why | Answers within 48 hours to questions candidates raise |
| From day 10 | Qualified candidates | Written summaries: motivation, notice, expectation, location, restrictions | Interview slots inside the agreed window |
| Day 21–28 | Shortlist and handover | The full dataset: longlist, approach record, decline reasons | Feedback, so we can retune if the shortlist misses |
The single most reliable predictor of a late campaign is an interview window that was not booked at briefing. Passive candidates withdraw from slow processes, and the strongest ones withdraw first because they have alternatives.
The four stages in detail
Written brief and fixed fee
- What happens
- The requirement is translated into observable capability. Must-haves are separated from nice-to-haves, exclusions are listed, the working-language requirement is agreed honestly, and the interview window is booked.
- Why it matters
- Every later disagreement traces back to a brief that was not written down. The fee is fixed against this document.
- Duration
- One working day after the call.
Research and longlist
- What happens
- The employer universe is built, including mid-sized and privately held companies. Named individuals are identified and current employer and level verified by research rather than taken from a profile.
- Why it matters
- This is the stage that cannot be bought as software, and the one that makes the shortlist defensible.
- Duration
- Days 2 to 7.
Compliant outreach
- What happens
- Individual, role-specific approaches in the channel and language that market responds to, inside the local electronic-marketing rules, with identification and a working opt-out.
- Why it matters
- Response rate is the whole game. Volume templates fail and damage your employer brand while failing.
- Duration
- Days 7 to 21, overlapping with research.
Qualification and handover
- What happens
- Motivation, notice, salary expectation, location, work rights and restrictions captured in writing. The full dataset handed over at the end.
- Why it matters
- An unqualified candidate in an interview slot costs your team more than the whole sourcing fee.
- Duration
- Continuous from first responses.
What happens after acceptance
The part most sourcing timelines leave out.
- Notice. Two to four weeks in the US. One to six months in the UK. Three to twelve months to quarter-end in Germany and Austria. Seniority-based and often long in Belgium.
- Counter-offer. Close to certain in a scarce role in a healthy market. We test commitment during qualification rather than discovering it at resignation.
- Regulatory approval. SM&CR approval in UK financial services, DNB or AFM testing in the Netherlands, BaFin in Germany, APRA in Australia, DFSA or FSRA in DIFC and ADGM.
- Right to work and visa. Share codes in the UK, Form I-9 in the US, VEVO in Australia, sponsorship transfer in the UAE.
- Registration and clearance. AHPRA for Australian clinicians, DBS in the UK, security clearance in defence populations.
- Relocation. Housing, schooling and a partner’s career are real constraints, and intercity relocation in Australia or into the Gulf adds months.
How long it takes, market by market
Time to shortlist is broadly consistent. Time to start is not.
| Market | Brief to shortlist | Typical notice | Extra before start |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2–4 weeks | 1–6 months | Garden leave; SM&CR approval and references |
| United States | 2–4 weeks | 2–4 weeks | Equity vesting cliffs and bonus dates |
| United Arab Emirates | 2–4 weeks | 30–90 days | Visa cancellation and reissue; attestation; relocation |
| Germany | 3–5 weeks | 1–6 months to quarter-end | Non-compete compensation; BaFin if regulated |
| Netherlands | 2–4 weeks | 1–3 months | DNB or AFM testing; hours negotiation |
| Belgium | 3–5 weeks | Seniority-based, often long | Work permit by region for cross-border hires |
| Austria | 3–5 weeks | 1–6 months to quarter-end | FMA assessment if regulated |
| Australia | 2–4 weeks | 1 week to 3 months | Intercity relocation; VEVO; AHPRA; clearance |
What actually slows a campaign
In order of how often we see it. Four of the five are yours to fix.
The interview window was not booked
A shortlist arrives in week three and the first conversation happens in week six because three diaries could not align. Passive candidates withdraw, and the strongest withdraw first.
Fix: book the window at briefing.
The brief changed after the longlist
Often a sign the research did its job — but it is a different campaign, and pretending otherwise is how four weeks becomes ten.
Fix: react to the longlist in week one and re-scope in writing.
The salary band was never benchmarked
A campaign that discovers at offer stage that the band is below market has wasted a month. Benchmarking takes days.
Fix: test it first. See compensation intelligence.
Feedback took more than 48 hours
Candidate interest decays fast. A week of silence after a first interview loses people who were genuinely interested.
Fix: agree a 48-hour feedback commitment in the brief.
An untested language or location requirement
A role requiring Dutch and French, or located somewhere with no catchment, will not fill however good the outreach is.
Fix: state the requirement honestly at briefing and let the longlist show you the size of the market it leaves.
The counter-offer was not anticipated
In a scarce role a counter-offer is close to certain, and a campaign that has not tested commitment has done the hard part and skipped the last step.
Fix: we work it into qualification as standard.
How you are kept informed
A written update every week with the pipeline attached: who was approached, who engaged, who declined and the reason each gave, where qualification has reached, and anything we have learned that should change your thinking.
That last category is the point. If four strong candidates decline because the band is below market or the reporting line looks unattractive, you need that in week two, not at the end of a failed quarter. An update that only reports activity is a timesheet; one that reports what the market is telling you is worth the fee on its own.
Process FAQs
How long does talent sourcing take?
First qualified candidates typically within seven to ten days of a signed brief, and a full shortlist within two to four weeks for a single role. A multi-role campaign runs four to ten weeks.
Time to start is a separate figure. It ranges from two weeks in the US to twelve months for a senior German or Austrian hire serving notice to quarter-end, and we quote both.
When do we see the longlist?
Before any outreach, typically at the end of the first week. You see the target population and can challenge the targeting while changing it is still free.
Most agencies cannot show you one, because they never built it — they searched a database and contacted whoever came back.
What slows a sourcing campaign down?
Five things, in order of frequency: an interview process that takes weeks to schedule; a brief that changes after the longlist; a salary band that was never benchmarked; a working-language or location requirement nobody tested; and feedback that takes more than 48 hours.
All five are inside the client’s control, which is why we agree the interview window and the feedback turnaround in the brief rather than afterwards.
How often will we hear from you?
Weekly, in writing, with the pipeline attached. The update names who was approached, who engaged, who declined and the reason each gave, so you can see the market responding in real time.
What happens if responses are poor?
We tell you in week two and we tell you why, with the decline reasons as evidence. Poor response is almost always the message, the brand, the money or the role design — and it is diagnosable from the data rather than guessed at.
We then re-scope in writing rather than quietly running the same campaign for another month.
Can you run a faster campaign?
To a point. We can compress to around ten days to shortlist by narrowing the population or the geography, and we state exactly what has been left out.
What cannot be compressed is how quickly people reply, how long your interview process takes to schedule, or a notice period.
Do you schedule interviews?
Sourcing hands over qualified, interested candidates with written summaries. Scheduling, deeper screening, CV formatting and credentialing are recruitment support, which many clients buy alongside.
What is in the written qualification summary?
Current role and employer, relevant experience against the agreed criteria, motivation for considering a move, notice period and earliest realistic start, salary or package expectation on a stated basis, location and willingness to relocate or commute, work rights where relevant, and any restrictive covenant.