How Does an Internal Recruiter Find Candidates?
A recruiter’s workflow follows a structured, time-sensitive pattern focused on speed, efficiency, and matching candidates to roles as quickly as possible—especially in organizations where one recruiter might be managing 15 to 40 open positions at once. Understanding this pattern can help job seekers better time their applications and increase visibility.
Typically, when a recruiter receives a job requisition (whether it’s Monday or another day), they post it immediately to job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed. The first 24 to 48 hours are critical: this is when the recruiter waits for an influx of candidates. Many recruiters begin reviewing applications by Tuesday, sorting through the resumes manually—especially if no Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is filtering candidates out first. Some recruiters do build in pre-screening “knockout” questions (e.g., work authorization, required certifications), but the majority of the evaluation is done by hand, not AI. They quickly scan resumes to identify candidates who meet core requirements—often aiming to create an initial slate of 5 strong applicants to forward to the hiring manager. If a posting doesn’t generate enough quality applicants, the recruiter may repost the job later in the week (often Friday) to attract passive candidates over the weekend.
While waiting on applications, recruiters are also sourcing candidates proactively—using tools like LinkedIn to directly message people who match the job’s key criteria. These sourced candidates are often viewed as higher quality because they’ve been handpicked. The hiring manager begins interviewing while the recruiter moves on to other roles. If interviews don’t lead to a hire, the recruiter may revisit the application pool, starting with the most recent candidates and working backward. This means applying early to a job (within the first 24–48 hours) gives you a better chance of being seen and included in the first slate.
For job seekers, this highlights the importance of applying quickly, tailoring your resume to the job description, and ensuring it visually communicates your fit at a glance. Recruiters have limited time, and they’re making business decisions—your resume is your marketing. Strategic timing, clean formatting, and thoughtful targeting can be the difference between being shortlisted or overlooked.
