TemplatesRead at source, 29 September 2026
Recruiting Plan Template: A Frontline Plan, a Worked Sample and the Intake Form
A recruiting plan template lists, for each open role: how many hires, the need-by date, a time-to-fill target that sets when advertising must start, the applicants needed (hires times your applicants per hire), a budget (applicants times cost per applicant), the channels, a week-by-week timeline and a named owner for each step. Copy the template below, fill it in from a hiring manager intake meeting, and review it weekly against what the campaigns actually deliver.
Recruiting plan vs hiring plan: which one you need
The two names are often used for the same document, but on boostpoint.com they do different jobs. Our hiring plan template works out how many people you need to hire in a year: headcount, turnover, replacement hires and growth, with a builder that downloads a CSV. This recruiting plan starts where that ends. It takes the openings that are already approved and plans how you will fill them: the requisition, the intake meeting with the hiring manager, the applicants and budget per role, the channels, the week-by-week timeline and who owns each step. Use the hiring plan once a year to set the numbers; use a recruiting plan every time a batch of openings goes live.
The recruiting plan template
Copy this into a document or spreadsheet. One block per role; the plan-level lines sit at the top.
RECRUITING PLAN
Plan name and period:
Plan owner (recruiter or HR lead):
Approved by, and date:
Total hires in this plan:
Total advertising budget:
Review cadence: weekly, same day and time
FOR EACH ROLE
Role and location:
Requisition number(s):
Hires needed:
Hiring manager:
Need-by date (first day on the job):
Weeks to fill (advertising start to first day, from your own records):
Start advertising by (need-by date minus weeks to fill):
Applicants per hire (from your own records, or a stated assumption):
Applicants needed (hires x applicants per hire):
Cost per applicant used (source):
Advertising budget (applicants needed x cost per applicant):
Upper-range budget (applicants needed x upper-quartile cost per applicant):
Channels, in order of priority:
Screening questions (genuine requirements only):
First reply to applicants (method and target time):
Interview slots held per week, and who interviews:
Offer approver and target days from interview to offer:
WEEKLY REVIEW
Applicants this week / plan to date:
Share of clickers who finished the application:
Interviews held / no-shows:
Offers made / accepted / started:
Change needed, and owner:
Recruiting plan sample: three frontline roles, with the arithmetic
A senior living community needs 6 caregivers, 4 certified nursing assistants and 2 licensed practical nurses on staff by December 1. The cost inputs are Boostpoint benchmark medians and upper quartiles for the Caregiver / home care, CNA / nursing assistant and LPN / LVN role families. The applicants-per-hire figure of 10 is an assumption for illustration, the same for every role; your own ratio will differ by role and should replace it.
| Role (benchmark family) | Hires | Applicants needed | Median cost per applicant | Budget at median | Upper-quartile cost per applicant | Budget at upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caregiver (Caregiver / home care) | 6 | 6 x 10 = 60 | $3.76 | 60 x $3.76 = $225.60 | $5.83 | 60 x $5.83 = $349.80 |
| CNA (CNA / nursing assistant) | 4 | 4 x 10 = 40 | $7.72 | 40 x $7.72 = $308.80 | $12.06 | 40 x $12.06 = $482.40 |
| LPN (LPN / LVN) | 2 | 2 x 10 = 20 | $12.77 | 20 x $12.77 = $255.40 | $21.46 | 20 x $21.46 = $429.20 |
| Total | 12 | 120 | $789.80 | $1,261.40 |
The totals add the rows: $225.60 + $308.80 + $255.40 = $789.80 at the median, and $349.80 + $482.40 + $429.20 = $1,261.40 at the upper quartile. Plan the budget between the two and set aside the difference as contingency. Two cautions about the figures: they are advertising cost only, and cost per applicant is not cost per hire. To turn the plan into a full cost per hire, including recruiter time and onboarding, use the cost per hire calculator. For how to size the overall number, see recruitment marketing budget.
Timeline for the sample. If your records say these roles take six weeks from the first ad to the first day, then working back 42 days from December 1 puts the advertising start at October 20. Many plans record the need-by date and start recruiting on it; the start-by date is the line that keeps a plan honest. Our time to fill guide covers how to measure it.
Recruitment planning, step by step
- Approve the requisition. No advertising until the opening, pay range and budget are signed off.
- Hold the intake meeting. Twenty minutes with the hiring manager using the intake form below. Most of what goes wrong later (a requirement nobody mentioned, a manager with no interview time) is decided here.
- Set the numbers. Hires, need-by date, weeks to fill, applicants per hire and cost per applicant, then the budget from the arithmetic above.
- Choose channels and write the ad. Pay, schedule and location in the first line. See what makes a good job ad.
- Set up the reply. Decide who replies to applicants, how, and how fast. Hourly applicants are applying elsewhere the same day.
- Book interview capacity in advance. Hold blocks on the hiring manager’s calendar before the first applicant arrives.
- Review weekly and change one thing at a time. If applicants are short, check the share of clickers finishing the application before raising spend.
A recruitment planner can be the template above in a spreadsheet with one tab per role and one row per week; the weekly review lines are the columns.
Channels to put in a frontline recruiting plan
- Social job ads on Facebook and Instagram reach employed frontline workers who are not on job boards. Employment ads run in Meta’s Special Ad Category: no targeting by age, gender or ZIP code, and at least a 15-mile radius.
- Job boards reach people who are actively searching. Budget them by applicants delivered, the same way as any other channel.
- Past applicants in your ATS are people you have already paid to reach; see how to re-engage past applicants.
- Employee referrals, especially for shift work where people know who is reliable.
- Hiring events for volume or a new location, with a date that gives people a reason to act now.
- Schools and training programs for credentialed entry roles such as CNAs and apprentices.
The benchmark matters here because the apply experience explained 70% of the variation in cost per applicant between campaigns in Boostpoint’s 2026 data. A plan that sends social traffic to a long career-site application is budgeting for the expensive end of every range above.
Recruitment requisition and staff requisition form: the fields
A staff requisition (or recruitment requisition) is the approval to fill a position. It comes before the recruiting plan; our job requisition definition covers the approval process. The fields a frontline requisition needs:
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Requisition number | Unique ID that follows the opening into the ATS and the ad |
| Job title and department | The title applicants will search for, not only the internal code |
| Location | Site address; it decides the ad radius |
| Reason for the opening | New position or replacement, and for whom |
| Number of openings | Headcount on this requisition |
| Employment type and schedule | Full-time, part-time or per diem; days, hours and any rotation |
| Pay range | The range approved for the ad |
| Required licenses or certifications | Only what the job genuinely requires |
| Hiring manager and approver | Names and approval date |
| Need-by date | First day on the job |
| Budget code | Where advertising spend is charged |
Recruiting intake form template
Run these questions with the hiring manager before anything is posted. The answers go straight into the plan and the ad.
RECRUITING INTAKE FORM
1. What will this person do on a normal shift?
2. What are the exact days, hours and any rotation or weekends?
3. What is the approved pay, and is there a shift differential or sign-on bonus?
4. Which requirements are genuinely required (license, certification, lifting, driving record) and which are preferences?
5. What part of this job do people quit over? (Say it in the ad.)
6. Why would someone choose this job over the one down the road?
7. Who interviews, and which time blocks are held each week?
8. How fast can you make an offer after an interview, and who approves it?
9. Have we hired for this role before, and how many applicants did one hire take?
10. Who signs off the job ad before it goes live?
Keep screening questions on the application to the genuine requirements from question 4; each extra question costs applicants. Our pre-screening questions guide covers which ones hold up legally.
Frequently asked questions
What should a recruiting plan include?
For each role: hires needed, the need-by date, weeks to fill and the date advertising must start, applicants per hire, applicants needed, cost per applicant, the advertising budget, channels, screening questions, who replies to applicants and how fast, interview capacity, and an owner for each step. Add a weekly review of applicants, interviews, offers and starts.
What is a good recruiting plan sample?
The sample on this page plans 6 caregivers, 4 CNAs and 2 LPNs. At an assumed 10 applicants per hire that is 120 applicants, and at Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark medians for those role families the advertising budget comes to $789.80, or $1,261.40 at the upper quartiles. Replace the applicants-per-hire assumption with your own ratio.
What is the difference between a recruiting plan and a hiring plan?
A hiring plan works out how many people you need to hire over a period, from headcount, turnover and growth; our hiring plan template builds that and downloads a CSV. A recruiting plan takes the approved openings and plans how to fill them: requisitions, intake, applicants and budget per role, channels, timeline and owners.
What is recruitment planning?
The work of turning approved openings into a dated plan: an intake meeting with the hiring manager, targets for hires and time to fill, a budget built from applicants needed and cost per applicant, the channels, a timeline working back from the need-by date, and a weekly review.
What is a recruitment planner?
A working version of the recruiting plan, usually a spreadsheet with one tab per role and one row per week, tracking applicants, the share of clickers finishing the application, interviews, offers and starts against the plan.
What is a staff requisition?
The formal approval to fill a position, also called a recruitment requisition or job requisition. It records the title, location, reason for the opening, number of openings, schedule, pay range, required licenses, hiring manager, approver and need-by date. Recruiting starts once it is approved.
What goes in a recruiting intake form template?
The questions a recruiter asks the hiring manager before posting: what the job involves on a normal shift, the exact schedule, approved pay, which requirements are genuine and which are preferences, what people quit over, the selling points, who interviews and when, how fast an offer can be made, and who approves the ad.
How do you budget a recruiting plan?
Multiply hires by applicants per hire to get applicants needed, then multiply by the cost per applicant for the role. Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark publishes medians and middle-50% ranges by role family; plan between the median and the upper quartile. That is advertising cost only; cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Fill the applicant line in your plan
Boostpoint Attract runs managed Facebook and Instagram job ads, with the creative made for you, and Connect texts every applicant the moment they apply. If your roles come from an ATS job feed, Programmatic 2.0 runs one ad per job and sends each candidate summary to that job in your ATS. Book a demo and bring your plan.
Book a DemoSources: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (role-family medians and middle-50% ranges, apply-experience share of cost variation). Read at source 29 September 2026.