Recruiting & Offer Process Guideline

Purpose

To give managers and Talent Acquisition a consistent, step-by-step process for external recruiting — from opening a search through extending an offer — so hiring stays efficient, consistent, and compliant.

Before an external search begins

Once a requisition is approved (see the Headcount & Requisition Approval Guideline), the organization generally gives current employees a first opportunity to be considered for promotion or lateral moves before conducting an external search. If an external search is warranted, Talent Acquisition leads it in partnership with the hiring manager.

Using search firms and agencies

Where a search firm, contingency agency, or contract recruiter is engaged, selection should weigh:

• Understanding of the organization and its hiring needs.
• Confidentiality regarding the organization's operations and open roles.
• Timeliness and quality of service.
• Track record of presenting candidates who succeed and grow within similar organizations.
• Cost (fee structure, guarantee period).
• Demonstrated commitment to presenting a diverse slate of qualified candidates.

Talent Acquisition typically owns the vendor relationship and fee payment, even where a hiring manager or business-unit leader is closely involved in the search.

Roles and responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
Talent Acquisition / Recruiting	Leads the search; sources and screens candidates; manages agency/search-firm relationships; schedules interviews; prepares offer documentation.
Hiring manager	Participates in interviews; makes the final selection decision; signs and extends the offer (or designates who will).
Human Resources	Available to consult on interview process and final candidate selection, particularly for senior roles.

Procedure

1. Screen. Talent Acquisition reviews incoming resumes/applications and, together with the hiring manager, determines which candidates advance.
2. Interview. Talent Acquisition arranges interviews and may conduct an initial conversation to introduce the candidate to the organization and assess overall fit; the hiring manager (and relevant team members) conduct role-specific interviews.
3. Select. The hiring manager, in consultation with Talent Acquisition/HR, makes the final selection decision.
4. Extend the offer. The offer is extended by the hiring manager or a designated Talent Acquisition representative. All offers are contingent on satisfactory completion of any pre-employment steps the organization requires (e.g., background check, verification of employment eligibility, and any legally permissible post-offer screening) — see the organization's background-check and Form I-9 procedures.
5. Confirm in writing. Every offer is confirmed with a written offer letter stating position/title, compensation, start date, and any contingencies.
6. Welcome the new hire. The hiring manager is encouraged to personally reach out after acceptance to begin building the relationship before day one.

Special approval situations

Route the following to Human Resources/leadership before extending an offer:

• Non-standard compensation arrangements (e.g., sign-on bonuses, relocation exceptions, or buyouts of a candidate's forfeited incentive compensation).
• Offers for senior/executive-level positions, which typically require an additional layer of leadership sign-off beyond the hiring manager.

Consistency and compliance reminders

• Keep pre-employment inquiries and any assessments job-related; do not ask about protected characteristics during screening or interviews.
• Any pre-employment test or assessment should be validated for job-relatedness and reviewed with HR/Talent Acquisition before use.
• Maintain applicant-tracking records as required for equal-employment-opportunity reporting obligations that apply to the organization.
• Criminal history in hiring. If the organization considers criminal history as part of screening, follow the EEOC's current Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records (Title VII framework: an arrest alone is not proof of conduct; before any conviction-based exclusion, run a targeted, individualized assessment of the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job). In addition, a majority of the U.S. population now lives in a state or locality with a "ban the box" / fair-chance hiring law restricting when in the process an employer may ask about or run a criminal-history check (commonly not on the application, and often not until after a conditional offer). These laws vary significantly by state/city — confirm the applicable timing rule for every jurisdiction in which a role is posted before adding any criminal-history question or check step to the process.
• Pay transparency and salary history. A growing number of states and localities (as of 2026, close to twenty states plus Washington, D.C., and a substantial number of additional cities/counties) require a good-faith salary/pay range to be disclosed in job postings, and a separate, overlapping set of jurisdictions prohibit asking applicants for their current or prior salary history. Neither concept existed in older hiring-process guidance. Before posting a role or extending an offer, confirm the pay-transparency and salary-history rules of every jurisdiction where the position could be performed (including remote roles, which are often governed by the applicable law of the employee's location) — coordinate with Compensation/Total Rewards and Legal so postings include a compliant range where required and interview questions avoid prohibited salary-history inquiries.