Job order intake call questions to ask

Published 6 October 2026. Updated 6 October 2026.

An intake call is the cheapest point in a search to find out what the client really wants. A candidate sent over on a wrong assumption costs the client's time, the candidate's trust and your credibility. This guide lists the questions worth asking, grouped by what each answer protects, so the call does not drift into a general chat about the company.

Before the call

Read whatever the client already sent: the email, the old job description, the posting that is live today. Then split your notes into three columns: what is stated, what is vague, and what is missing. The call is for the second and third columns.

Have a place to type answers as you go. If you record answers on paper and re-type them later, details drop out. The aim is one job order record that you can read back to the client at the end of the call.

If a role is a repeat of one you have filled for this client, pull up the earlier order and ask only what has changed.

The role itself

1. Why is the role open? Replacing someone who left and adding a new seat lead to different searches. A replacement has a previous holder whose work you can ask about; a new seat may have a scope the client is still settling.
2. What will this person do in the first 90 days? Concrete outputs beat a list of duties. If the client cannot name any, the scope is not settled.
3. Who does the role report to, and who sits around it? Team size, the manager's title and whether the person manages anyone.
4. What is the headcount? One role or several. If several, ask whether they must start together.
5. What does the person do on a normal day? This is where you learn that a "senior accountant" role is half month-end close and half cleaning up a backlog.

Must-haves and nice-to-haves

Give this section the most time. Clients often write a long wish list and call all of it required.

1. If you could only see three things on a resume, what would they be? Those are the must-haves.
2. Which of the other requirements would you still interview someone without? Those are nice-to-haves. Record them separately so they are never sent to candidates as hard requirements.
3. Is there a certification, licence or clearance that is truly required by law or by the client's customers? Distinguish this from a preference.
4. What years of experience do you really need, and is there flexibility for the right background? Years-of-experience figures are sometimes copied from an old posting.
5. What would make you reject a candidate immediately? Ask this one directly. The answer often exposes a requirement nobody wrote down.

Pay and engagement type

Do not leave this until the end, where it gets rushed.

• What is the pay range, and is it a salary, an hourly rate or a day rate? Record the range with its period (per year, per hour) instead of averaging it into one number.
• Is the role permanent, contract or contract-to-hire? If contract, ask for the expected length and whether it is likely to extend.
• For contract work, what is the bill rate the client expects to pay, and who sets the pay rate? Keep bill rate and pay rate as two separate fields. Quoting one when you mean the other can cost real money.
• Is there a bonus, commission, overtime or other pay on top? Ask whether overtime is expected, since it changes the real cost to the client.
• What benefits are offered? You do not need the plan details, only enough to answer a candidate's first question.

Location and working pattern

• On site, hybrid or remote? If hybrid, how many days and which ones?
• If remote, are there states or countries the person cannot live in? Some employers hire only in the states or countries where they are set up to employ people. Ask the client rather than assuming.
• Is relocation or travel part of the role?
• What are the working hours, and is shift work involved?

Process and timing

A search with no agreed timeline drifts.

1. When do you want first submittals? Get a date. If the client says "soon", offer a date and ask them to confirm or correct it.
2. When do you want the person to start? If the client says "as soon as possible", record it exactly that way and ask later for a notice-period assumption. Do not turn it into a date you made up.
3. How many interview rounds, and with whom? Ask who the decision maker is and who else has a say.
4. How fast can you give feedback? Slow feedback loses candidates. Agree on a response time and write it down.
5. Are you interviewing other candidates or using other firms? This tells you whether the search is exclusive or a race.
6. Is there a background check, drug screen or reference check? These affect the timeline between offer and start.

Terms

Money and obligations belong in the intake record, not in someone's memory.

• Fee or markup: what percentage or rate applies, and on what base. Confirm it against your signed agreement rather than repeating it from memory.
• Guarantee period: how long it runs and what it covers.
• Is this client on your standard terms, or are there special terms for this search?
• Who at the client is the contact for submittals, and who handles invoices? They are often different people.

Check your contract for the exact terms; the call is for catching a change, not for renegotiating from scratch.

The question that gets skipped

Close every call with this: "What have I not asked that I should have?" Clients sometimes hold one fact, such as a team conflict, a hard deadline or a candidate they already have in mind, that no question list reaches.

After the call

Read your notes back to the client in a short email the same day. Send it as a reply listing the key fields: title, location, pay, must-haves, nice-to-haves, timeline and terms, and ask the client to correct anything wrong. A written reply turns a verbal order into one the client has seen. If the call left items open, list them at the bottom with a date for each.

This is also the point to compare the new order with the ones you already have open. If a similar order exists for this client, read how to tell a job order update from a new order before you create a duplicate.

How ReqDrop handles the intake step

ReqDrop works from the client's job-order email, not from a call. Email only for now: a phone and voicemail add-on is an idea, not built or priced, so if most of your orders come in by phone, ReqDrop is not a fit yet.

You upload the client's email, and optionally your own list of required fields as a .csv or .txt with one field name per line. You get back a checked job order as JSON and CSV (title, client, location, pay, headcount, skills and dates), a checklist in which every value is linked to the email line it came from, and a draft reply to the client that asks only about what is missing or unclear. A field the email does not state is left blank and becomes a question, not a guess. A second, stronger AI model reviews every result and lists what is left for you to decide.

ReqDrop does not write into Crelate or JobAdder and does not email your client. You read the draft, paste it into your ATS and send the reply yourself. One job order is 12 credits, with no subscription. Sign up to try it on your next client email.

Questions

How long should a job order intake call take?

Long enough to cover the must-haves, pay, process and terms. A repeat role for a client you know can be short; a new client or an unusual role takes longer. Send the questions ahead so the client can come prepared.

Should I take an intake call if the client already sent an email?

Yes, when the email leaves gaps. Read the email first, list what it does not answer, and spend the call on those items instead of asking the client to repeat themselves.

What if the client cannot answer a question on the call?

Write it down as open, name who at the client can answer it and agree a date. An open question that is recorded gets answered; a skipped one resurfaces when a candidate asks.