HR & employment 36 questions 5 pages About 12 min to fill in

Recruitment Agency Brief Template

Give every recruiter the same complete brief — the role, the candidate, the package, the process and the rules — before they start sending CVs.

Use this template — free Try the form No account needed to fill it in
Recruitment agency brief
Try it — this is what people see. Nothing you type is sent or saved.
Use this template Every question, option and rule can be changed in the designer.

What is the recruitment agency brief form template?

A thin brief produces the wrong candidates. If an agency doesn't know the must-haves, the salary range or the interview process, they'll send CVs that miss the mark — and if fee terms and submission rules aren't agreed in writing, disputes over who introduced a candidate follow.

This template captures a complete brief in five short pages. The hiring manager describes the vacancy: job title, number of positions, employment type, work arrangement, location, start date and responsibilities, with an optional job description upload. They then describe the candidate — must-haves, nice-to-haves, qualifications, what wouldn't fit, whether visa sponsorship or a background check applies — and the package, including whether the range can be shared.

The process page lists interview stages, interviewers and dates. The last page records exclusivity, the agreed fee percentage, the terms of business reference, how many CVs to send, where to send them and the submission rules the agency must follow. Each brief is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault, ready to send.

Best for
Hiring managers and talent teams working with external recruiters
Filled in by
The hiring manager or talent partner
Time to complete
About 10 minutes
Includes
Job description upload, candidate profile, salary range, interview stages, fee terms and submission rules

Who uses a recruitment agency brief form?

  • Briefing a specialist agency on a hard-to-fill technical role
  • Running a retained search for a senior hire
  • Briefing several agencies on the same role with identical rules
  • A small business using a recruiter for the first time
  • A staffing agency collecting briefs from its own clients
  • Recording fee terms in case of a later dispute over introductions

Questions on this recruitment agency brief form

36 questions over 5 pages · includes file upload, conditional questions, multiple pages.

1 The vacancy

  • Company name*
  • Hiring manager*
  • Hiring manager's email*
  • Hiring manager's phone
  • Job title*
  • Number of positions*
  • Employment type* Permanent · Fixed-term contract · Temporary · Interim or contractor
  • Work arrangement* On-site · Hybrid · Remote
  • Location*
  • Ideal start date
  • Purpose of the role and main responsibilities*
  • Job description

2 The candidate

  • Must-have skills and experience*
  • Nice-to-have
  • Required qualifications, licences or certifications
  • What wouldn't fit
  • Can you consider candidates who need visa sponsorship?*
  • Is a background or security check required?
  • Target companies or sectors (optional)

3 Package

  • Salary range — from*
  • Salary range — to*
  • Bonus and benefits
  • Can the agency share the salary range with candidates?*

4 Process

  • Interview stages*
  • Who will interview
  • Shortlist needed by*
  • First interviews from

5 Terms & submission rules

  • Engagement* Exclusive to this agency · Non-exclusive — other agencies briefed · Retained search
  • Agreed fee (% of first-year salary)*
  • Terms of business reference
  • Maximum CVs per submission round
  • Send candidates to* The hiring manager · Our talent team · Our recruitment portal
  • Talent team email* asked only when it applies
  • Portal link or instructions* asked only when it applies
  • Submission rules* Candidates must agree to be put forward for this specific role · First valid submission wins; duplicates aren't eligible for a fee · Candidates already known to us aren't eligible for a fee · Each CV must include a short screening summary · No direct contact with our staff other than the named contacts
  • Anything else the agency should know?

The recruitment agency brief form, page by page

1 The vacancy

The brief starts with the Company name, Hiring manager and their contact details, Job title, Number of positions, Employment type, Work arrangement, Location, Ideal start date, the purpose and main responsibilities, and an optional Job description upload.

2 The candidate

Must-have skills and experience are required; nice-to-haves, required qualifications and what wouldn't fit are optional. The manager says whether visa sponsorship can be considered and whether a background or security check is required, and can list target companies or sectors.

3 Package

A salary range from and to, bonus and benefits, and whether the agency can share the range with candidates.

4 Process

Interview stages, who will interview, the date the shortlist is needed by and when first interviews start.

5 Terms & submission rules

Engagement is exclusive, non-exclusive or retained. The brief records the agreed fee as a percentage of first-year salary, the terms of business reference and the maximum CVs per round. Send candidates to offers the hiring manager, the talent team (which asks for an email) or a portal (which asks for the link). A tick list of submission rules covers candidate consent, duplicates, candidates already known, screening summaries and no direct contact with other staff.

Make the template yours

  • Change the salary currency to match the country of the role
  • Edit the submission rules to mirror the terms of business you've signed
  • Add a question for day rates if you often brief contractors
  • Add the agency's email to notifications so they receive each brief directly
  • Save completed briefs in a vault folder per vacancy
  • Remove the target companies question if you prefer agencies not to approach competitors

Tips for a better recruitment agency brief form

  • Keep must-haves to the few things a candidate truly can't do without
  • Share the salary range — recruiters can't qualify candidates without it
  • Agree fee and duplicate-candidate rules in writing before any CVs arrive
  • Give the agency real interview dates so they can manage candidates' expectations
  • Tell the agency what wouldn't fit as well as what would
  • Send rejected-candidate feedback promptly; it sharpens the next shortlist

Every response becomes a PDF in your vault

The brief is saved as a PDF in your vault with the job description attached, and the person who filled it in gets an emailed copy to forward to the agency.

The talent team can see every open brief in the Responses table and export a CSV of roles, fees and shortlist dates across agencies.

  1. Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
  2. Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
  3. Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Use the recruitment agency brief template — it’s free

Recruitment agency brief form: frequently asked questions

Is this recruitment agency brief template free?

Yes. It's included in the FileIt Forms app on every plan, including the free plan.

Does the agency fill it in or do we?

You do — usually the hiring manager or talent partner. Agencies can also use it to take briefs from their own clients.

Does this replace our terms of business?

No. It records the fee and rules for this vacancy and references the terms you've signed, which still govern the relationship.

Can we brief several agencies with the same form?

Yes. Mark the engagement as non-exclusive and send the same PDF to each agency.

Can we upload a job description?

Yes. You can attach up to two PDF or Word files.

Can we change the currency?

Yes. Both salary questions have a currency setting in the designer.

Use this template — free