The intake call: what to ask before the first CV / resume goes over

On the intake call, ask the hiring manager which skills are must-haves and how recent each one has to be, who's already in the running, who gives feedback and how fast, and what the CV / resume has to look like when it lands. Then send your notes back the same day, so they can correct what you got wrong before the first CV / resume goes over.

Below is the order we ask things in, why each question earns its place, and a one-page intake sheet you can copy.

Why the job description isn't enough

The req that lands on Monday morning is often copied from the last time the role was open. It can list twelve skills with the same weight, when the hiring manager cares about two of them and has a few more in their head that never made it onto the page.

A recruiter on r/recruiting put it well, about engineering managers: they "usually have a super specific checklist in their head that they forget to say out loud" (r/recruiting, 1 Nov 2026). If we don't get that checklist out on the call, we find it out from the rejections instead.

The questions, in the order we ask them

1. Why is the role open?

A backfill and a brand-new project are different searches. A backfill tells you what the last person did well or badly. A new project tells you the start date matters more than anything. Kennesaw State University's own intake checklist for its hiring managers puts "Reason for opening" near the top (KSU intake meeting checklist).

2. Which skills are must-haves, and how recent?

Go through the req line by line and ask, for each skill, "required or preferred?" Intertek's intake guide for its recruiters and managers asks the same thing: "determine priority level" for each requirement, required or preferred (Intertek intake meeting guide).

Then ask the question most of us skip: how recent does it need to be? An agency recruiter on r/recruiting found a manufacturing client a Nutanix certified engineer who had done the migration before. The client passed "because the bulk of his Nutanix work was a couple years ago" (r/recruiting, 31 Oct 2026). Nobody had written recency on the req. One question on the call would have saved a send.

Write the answer next to each must-have: "Nutanix, required, used in the last 12 months." Then, when you write up the candidate, put the dates they last used it.

3. Who on the team would you clone?

This is the best question we know for the checklist the manager forgets to say. The same r/recruiting reply suggests asking the hiring manager "to name one or two people already on the team they'd clone if they could", then reading their profiles after the call. You pick up the software, certifications and industry background they really care about, in a few minutes.

4. Is anyone already in the running?

Ask it plainly: internal applicants, referrals, people they've already met, anyone another agency has sent. Intertek's guide asks, "Do you have any pre-identified candidates for this position? (Internal applicants, ex-employees, and/or referrals)". KSU asks "Will there be any internal candidates?" For an agency, this protects the fee as much as the search. If a name is already with them, you want to know before you send it, not after the offer.

5. What are the interview steps, and who gives feedback?

Get the number of stages, who sits on each one, and who tells you yes or no. Intertek writes it into its own process: "The hiring manager on the requisition is responsible for providing final candidate feedback." Ask how fast. If the answer is "a few days", agree on a day of the week you'll chase, so the follow-up is expected rather than awkward.

6. Who's away, and when?

Intertek's guide asks about "project start dates, holidays, planned vacations". KSU asks whether there's "time off planned that might impact progress". In November and December this one matters a lot. If the hiring manager is out from 18 December, the interviews have to be booked before then, and the candidate should hear that on the first screen.

7. What should the CV / resume look like when it arrives?

Ask for their template, their page limit, and the details they want on top: rate, availability, notice period, work authorisation, location. Get the template file on the call or straight after it. Most of the reasons clients send a CV / resume back are about format and missing details, not the candidate (why clients send CVs / resumes back). The intake call is the cheapest place to fix all of them.

8. The rate, confirmed

Confirm the rate or budget range before the call ends, and how much room there is. KSU lists "Budget latitude" as its own line. A great candidate above the range is a wasted send if nobody knew the range could move.

After the call: send the notes back the same day

Type up what you heard, keep it short, and email it to the hiring manager before the end of the day. List the must-haves with their recency, the people already in the running, the interview steps and the dates people are away. End with one line asking them to correct anything you got wrong or add anything they forgot.

Another reply in the same r/recruiting thread explains why this works: "Hiring managers love editing a draft way more than repeating themselves on a call, so they will naturally type out the exact details you missed." We'd go further. Don't send a CV / resume until that email has a reply, even a one-line one. It's the only written record of what the client asked for, and you'll want it the first time they reject someone for a skill that was never on the req.

A one-page intake sheet you can copy

Fill one in on every new req. Keep it with the req, and send the top half back to the hiring manager.

Req

• Client, hiring manager, req or posting number:
• Reason for opening (backfill, new project, growth):
• Start date, and how firm it is:

Must-haves (one line each: skill, required or preferred, how recent)

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• Who on the team would they clone? Names or roles to look up after the call:

Already in the running

• Internal applicants, referrals, people they've met, other agencies:

Process

• Interview stages, and who sits on each:
• Who gives feedback, and how fast:
• The day we chase if we haven't heard:
• Who's away, and when:

The send

• Client template (file in hand: yes or no), page limit:
• Details they want on top: rate, availability, notice period, work authorisation, location, anything else:
• Rate or budget range, and how much room:

After the call

• Notes emailed to the hiring manager (date):
• Reply received (date), and what changed:

Questions recruiters ask about intake calls

What should a recruiter ask on an intake call?

Ask the hiring manager which skills are must-haves and how recent each one has to be, who's already in the running, who gives feedback and how fast, and what the CV / resume has to look like when it lands. Then send your notes back the same day, so they can correct what you got wrong before the first CV / resume goes over.

Why isn't the job description enough?

The req is often copied from the last time the role was open. It can list twelve skills with the same weight, when the hiring manager cares about two of them and has a few more in their head that never made it onto the page.

What should I send the hiring manager after the intake call?

Type up what you heard, keep it short, and email it before the end of the day. List the must-haves with their recency, the people already in the running, the interview steps and the dates people are away. End with one line asking them to correct anything you got wrong or add anything they forgot.

What should I ask about the client's CV / resume format?

Ask for their template, their page limit, and the details they want on top: rate, availability, notice period, work authorisation, location. Get the template file on the call or straight after it.

Where Cntrlall fits

The intake call is a conversation, and it should stay one. What comes after is where we help: once the client's template and must-haves are on file, Cntrlall puts each CV / resume into that template and matches it to the req line by line. It never adds experience. Every change comes from the CV / resume, and the recruiter approves it. Get your invite at cntrlall.com