Hiring timeline template: week by week from approved requisition to start date

A hiring timeline template lays out, week by week, everything between an approved requisition and a new hire's first day: who does what, by when, and what has to be finished before the next step starts. The version below covers a mid-level role in about 7 weeks to an accepted offer, then notice and preboarding. It includes variants for urgent and senior searches and a filled example with real dates.

The hiring plan template works backwards from a start date to find when a search must begin. This page is the forward version: once the requisition is approved, it tells everyone what this week's job is.

The standard timeline at a glance

The weeks overlap on purpose. Screens start before sourcing ends, and manager interviews begin while the recruiter is still screening. A timeline where each stage waits for the previous one to finish for every candidate adds weeks for no gain.

Week by week, with the tasks

Week 0: approval

The requisition is approved with a level, a pay range and a target start date (see the job requisition form template). On the same day, the recruiter books the intake meeting for within three business days and names the offer approver, so neither becomes a wait later.

Week 1: set-up

• Intake meeting: must-haves, deal-breakers, target companies or backgrounds, and the interview stages.
• Scorecard written: the competencies each stage will assess.
• Posting written and published, with the pay range where required.
• Interview panel named with backups; calendar holds placed for weeks 3 to 6.
• Referral request sent to the team.

Weeks 1 to 2: sourcing

• Outreach to targeted profiles, several a day, tracked by response rate.
• Applications reviewed at least every two days so strong applicants are not left waiting.
• Check at the end of week 2: are there enough qualified screens booked? If not, change the channels or the must-haves now, not in week 5.

Weeks 2 to 4: recruiter screens

• Screens against the must-haves, pay expectations, notice period and work authorization questions that are lawful to ask.
• A shortlist sent to the hiring manager each week with notes, not a single batch at the end.

Weeks 3 to 5: hiring manager interviews

• Interviews within a week of the shortlist being sent.
• Written feedback within 24 hours, scored against the scorecard.
• Finalists told the final-round date at the end of their interview.

Weeks 5 to 6: final round and decision

• Final round scheduled in the time blocked in week 1; see the interview schedule template for the day itself.
• All scorecards submitted before the debrief, which happens within two business days of the last final.

Weeks 6 to 7: references and offer

• References with the candidate's consent, focused on what the interviews could not show.
• Offer approved, verbal offer made, written offer sent the same or next day.
• Runner-up candidates kept warm until the offer is signed.

Weeks 7 to 10: notice and preboarding

• Start date confirmed. In the US, two weeks' notice is common for someone already employed, but it varies with seniority and contract.
• Equipment, accounts and first-week schedule prepared; a welcome message a few days before the start.
• Rejected finalists told personally, once the offer is accepted.

The copy-ready template

HIRING TIMELINE — [role, level]   Req ID: [ ]
Hiring manager: [ ]   Recruiter: [ ]   Offer approver: [ ]
Target start date: [ ]   Latest acceptable offer date: [ ]

Wk  Dates        Milestone                      Owner     Planned   Actual   Status
0   [ ]          Requisition approved           [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
1   [ ]          Intake done, posting live      [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
1   [ ]          Panel named, time blocked      [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
2   [ ]          First screens held             [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
3   [ ]          First shortlist to manager     [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
4   [ ]          Manager interviews under way   [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
5   [ ]          Finalists chosen               [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
6   [ ]          Final round complete           [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
6   [ ]          Debrief and decision           [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
7   [ ]          Offer approved and accepted    [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
7+  [ ]          Notice period                  candidate [ ]       [ ]      [ ]
[ ] [ ]          Start date                     [ ]       [ ]       [ ]      [ ]

Off-track rules:
- Fewer than [N] qualified screens by end of week 2 → change sourcing
- No finalist by end of week 5 → review must-haves with manager
- Offer approval over 2 business days → escalate to [name]

Variants: urgent, senior and high volume

These durations are planning examples, not benchmarks. Replace them with your own averages from the last few searches of the same kind. For many openings at once, the timeline works in cohorts rather than per candidate; the weekly review in how to reduce time to fill covers the stage-by-stage measures.

A filled example

The search recovered from a slow week 2 because the off-track rule forced a change on day 10, not day 30. That is the main reason to write the timeline with planned and actual columns.

Where timelines slip, and the fix

Response times between recruiter and hiring manager are where most of these delays live. Agreeing them in writing, as in a recruiting SLA with hiring managers, gives the timeline something to enforce it.