Develop a Recruitment Plan
Understand what to do and when to do it
Recruiting is a time-intensive process.
It can be difficult to set aside the time needed for recruitment. A timeline can help you establish outreach windows, application deadlines, interview times, and clear targets for staff members.
When creating your timeline, consider these tips:
- Move backward from the date your program starts.
- If other staff or project sponsors are involved, make sure to coordinate schedules.
- Read through the rest of this Recruitment and Placement section to understand all the tasks involved and the amount of time you will need to perform them. Important tasks include:
- Writing a position description
- Creating an outreach plan
- Establishing processes for handling applications, interviewing candidates and selecting and placing new members
- Developing a welcome letter and program manual
- Establish processes for conducting required criminal history and background checks
- Allow enough time for successful applicants to give two weeks' notice to their current employer.
- After you have filled all your positions, create a waiting list. Cancellations happen frequently, and a back-up plan is critical.
- Be prepared for unexpected issues and the time it will take to resolve them.
Use the following samples to help create your recruitment timeline:
- Sample recruitment timeline is a six-month calendar of recruitment activities.
- Recruitment process is a tool to identify and assign recruitment roles and responsibilities.
- 10-week recruitment guide is a checklist to help partner sites develop a recruitment plan.
Go on to Step 1 Identify your Recruitment Needs


