Pre‑Recruiting.

Differentiation

Pre-Recruiting and its neighbours

Pre-Recruiting replaces no existing discipline. It comes before them and decides whether they hit the right target.

Neighbouring disciplines

What lies before and what lies after Pre-Recruiting

The four disciplines below all start at a later point than Pre-Recruiting. They need the role definition that is created in the phase before them.

DisciplineStarts atRelation to Pre-Recruiting
Recruitingthe search and selectionfollows Pre-Recruiting
Active Sourcingthe active outreachneeds the role definition as its basis
Executive Searchfilling leadership rolesbecomes more precise through Pre-Recruiting
Requirements managementthe criteria listone step within Pre-Recruiting, not the whole

Requirements management is the special case in this list. It is not a neighbour but a part of Pre-Recruiting. A criteria list describes what a person should be able to do. Pre-Recruiting first asks what the role must deliver, and derives the criteria from that.

Pre-Recruiting and its neighbouring disciplines on one axis A horizontal hiring axis with the station search and posting. To the left of the search sits Pre-Recruiting, which defines the role before the search. Requirements management is shown as an indented field within Pre-Recruiting, one step inside it, not the whole. To the right of the search follow the neighbouring disciplines Recruiting, Active Sourcing, Executive Search, Qualification, Hiring decision and Onboarding, which build on the clarified role. BEFORE THE SEARCH FOLLOWS THE CLARIFICATION Search / posting Pre-Recruiting defines the role before the search Requirements management one step within, not the whole Recruiting follows Pre-Recruiting Active Sourcing needs the role definition Executive Search made sharper by Pre-Recruiting Qualification builds on the role definition Hiring decision measures against the defined criteria Onboarding follows the defined role
Pre-Recruiting and its neighbouring disciplines on one axis

Common mix-ups

Three terms that sound alike and mean something else

The prefix "pre" is misleading. These three terms either come after the offer or aim at the person instead of the role.

TermDoesDifference
Pre-Hire Assessmenttests candidatesPre-Recruiting clarifies the role, not the person
Pre-Selectionfilters applicationsassumes the role is already defined
Pre-Boardingsupports before day onecomes after the offer, not before the search

Pre-Hire Assessment

A pre-hire assessment measures suitability: tests, structured interviews, work samples. It evaluates people. Pre-Recruiting happens before that and evaluates nothing. It sets what will later be evaluated against in the first place.

Pre-Selection

Pre-selection pre-sorts incoming applications. That is only possible once a role is posted and applications exist. Pre-Recruiting comes before the posting and makes sure the pre-selection works against the right criteria.

Pre-Boarding

Pre-boarding supports the future hire between signature and the first day of work. It sits at the end of the process, not the beginning. It has nothing to do with the phase before the search.

Where the four “Pre-” terms sit in the hiring process A horizontal timeline of the hiring process from left to right with four stations: define the role, search and posting, selection, offer and first day. The stretch before the search is highlighted as a zone “before the search, the role”, the stretch after as “after the search, the person”. Pre-Recruiting is the only term in the left zone and defines the role. Pre-Selection filters applications shortly after the search, Pre-Hire Assessment tests candidates during selection, Pre-Boarding supports before day one. BEFORE THE SEARCH · THE ROLE AFTER THE SEARCH · THE PERSON Define the role Search / posting Selection Offer and first day Pre-Recruiting defines the role Pre-Selection filters applications, presumes the role Pre-Hire Assessment tests candidates Pre-Boarding supports before day one
Where the four ‘Pre-’ terms sit in the process

Org level

Pre-Recruiting and Job Architecture

Job Architecture is the organisation-wide and market-wide map of all roles: job families, levels, activity bundles. It describes how roles are structured and how they change. Pre-Recruiting works one level below. It designs the individual role before it is searched for and slotted into that architecture: its outcome, its decision rights, what it will be measured against in two years.

The relationship is familiar from software engineering. Requirements engineering clarifies what a component must do before the architecture places it. Pre-Recruiting is the requirements engineering of the role: the earlier discipline that supplies the architecture with its material.

Both need each other. The map says where a role sits. It does not say what this one role must deliver now so the hire holds. That question is answered by Pre-Recruiting, at the individual role, with the real people involved.

Boundary

Where Pre-Recruiting ends

Pre-Recruiting ends when the role stands: its purpose, its bottleneck, its success criteria, the picture of the right person. From there, search, selection and onboarding take over. Pre-Recruiting searches for no one, selects no one and hires no one. It only decides what all of that is aimed at.