Extended definition
The requisition is the unit of recruiting work. Every search that TA runs starts with a req.
The req carries the budget approval, the level definition, the target start date, the location, and the hiring manager assignment. Without a req, recruiting effort is unauthorised — work that may produce shortlists no one can hire from.
Reqs are usually approved through a workflow that includes finance (budget), HR (level and band), and senior business leadership (strategic priority). The discipline around req approval — clear criteria, fast turnaround, explicit prioritisation — is one of the largest under-noticed levers on overall TA effectiveness.
Key elements of a requisition
A working req captures eight pieces of information:
- Role title and level — The job title and seniority level (junior, mid, senior, principal, etc.) tied to the company’s job architecture.
- Hiring manager — The person responsible for the role and the hiring decision. Single named owner, not a committee.
- Reports-into structure — Where the role sits — team, function, geography, reporting chain.
- Compensation parameters — Salary band, equity range, bonus eligibility, level-appropriate benefits.
- Target start date — When the role needs to be filled. Drives sourcing urgency and process pace.
- Location and work model — Office, remote, or hybrid; specific city or geographic region; visa or right-to-work requirements.
- Strategic context — Why the role exists — backfill, expansion, new function. Useful for sourcing messaging and intake conversations.
- Approval status and workflow — Who has approved the req, what stage of approval it’s at, and any conditional flags.
Reqs live in the ATS and trigger the rest of the recruiting workflow. Mature companies enforce req discipline — no recruiting activity without an approved req — which prevents off-the-books searches that consume recruiter time without organisational accountability.
Why requisitions matter
Reqs are the contract between TA and the business. Without them, recruiting becomes ad-hoc — recruiters working on roles based on hallway conversations, with no budget approval and no clear ownership.
With them, every recruiting activity is tied to an authorised business need with explicit accountability. Req discipline also produces the data that drives forecasting and capacity planning — total active reqs, time in approval, average days from req open to fill.
Functions without strong req discipline operate blind to their own workload, which makes capacity planning impossible.
Common mistakes and misconceptions about requisitions
- Letting recruiting start before req approval — Off-the-books searches consume recruiter time, produce candidates the company may not be able to hire, and damage the candidate’s experience when offers can’t materialise. Approval before recruiting is the rule that makes the rest of the system work.
- Treating reqs as paperwork — Reqs are the contract that ties recruiting activity to business commitment. Functions that treat them as paperwork end up with recruiters chasing roles that aren’t really priorities and ignoring roles that are.
- Slow req approval workflows — Approval that takes weeks pushes recruiters to start working before approval comes through, which corrodes the discipline. Approval workflows should be measured and optimised — most reqs should approve within 3-5 business days.
- Vague reqs that lack the data needed to recruit — Reqs without compensation parameters, location specifics, or hiring manager assignment force recruiters to chase missing info instead of starting work. Strong reqs are complete at the moment of approval.
- Failing to prioritise — Companies with 50 active reqs and 5 recruiters need explicit prioritisation, not equal effort across all 50. Req prioritisation is a separate discipline; failing to do it produces uniform underperformance across the whole portfolio.
Frequently asked questions
What is a requisition?
A requisition (often shortened to "req") is the formal authorisation to hire for a specific role — typically capturing role, level, location, budget, hiring manager, and target start date. It's the document that turns business need into approved recruiting activity. Every search that TA runs starts with a req.
What does requisition mean in recruiting?
A requisition (or "req") is the formal authorisation to hire for a specific role. It captures the role, level, location, budget, hiring manager, and target start date — and serves as the contract between TA and the business that ties recruiting activity to approved organisational need.
Who approves a requisition?
Typically a workflow involving finance (budget), HR (level and band), and senior business leadership (strategic priority). The exact approval chain varies by company size and role seniority — junior roles may approve through a single line manager; senior or executive roles often require executive committee or board approval.
How long should req approval take?
Most companies aim for 3-5 business days. Slower approval pushes recruiters to start working before authorisation, which corrodes process discipline. Faster approval (same-day) can work but risks under-considered approvals. The right answer is fast enough to maintain TA momentum without bypassing meaningful review.
What information should a requisition include?
Role and level, hiring manager, reports-into structure, compensation parameters, target start date, location and work model, strategic context, and approval status. Reqs missing any of these force recruiters to chase down information rather than start work, slowing the search before it begins.