Free template
Candidate briefing checklist
Early-stage companies are usually unknown to the person you want. This checklist covers what to tell candidates at each point: the honest version of the company, the process, the money, and what happens next. It is the same information whoever is speaking to them.
Who fills it in
Whoever speaks to candidates first — founder, hiring manager or recruiter.
How long it takes
Thirty minutes to write once per role, then reused verbatim.
Reviewed
15 August 2026 by Joseph Edney, Managing Director, Humand Talent Solutions.
When to use it
Use it when
- You are about to approach people directly, or brief someone who will.
- Candidates keep asking the same question late in the process.
- Two people in the company describe the company differently to candidates.
What good looks like
- The company story is specific and checkable: what you build, who for, what stage you are at.
- The salary range is shared early and matches what you can actually approve.
- The full process is described up front, including how long it takes and how many stages.
- Every candidate hears the same things, whether they came through a founder, an employee or a recruiter.
Common mistakes
- Overselling the stage. Candidates who join on a false picture leave, and leavers cost more than a slower search.
- Withholding the salary range until the end, which wastes both sides' time.
- Describing the role differently to different candidates as the search drifts.
- Going quiet between stages. Silence is read as rejection by exactly the people you want.
The template
Anything you type stays in this browser tab. It is not saved, sent to us or added to the link, so it is safe to put real salary numbers and colleagues’ names in. Closing the tab clears it — copy or print before you go.
The honest company story
A sentence a candidate outside your sector would understand.
Say only what is true and shareable.
Saying these early filters out the wrong people and earns trust with the right ones.
Before the first conversation
During and after the process
The thinking behind it
- When not to hireThe cases where a permanent hire is the wrong answer, the alternatives worth testing first, and the signals that a role is genuinely ready.
- A founder's checklist for choosing a technical recruitment partnerWhat to test before instructing a recruiter for a technical role: briefing depth, market honesty, process, candidate experience and commercial terms.