Quick summary
A great candidate brief is 1–2 pages, written in third person, and covers: overview, professional summary, key strengths, career highlights, motivations, compensation, and a recruiter note. Use AI to generate one from your screening notes in 10 seconds.
What is a candidate brief?
A candidate brief — also called a candidate profile or submission document — is a structured document a recruiter sends to a client to introduce a candidate. It sits between the raw CV and the interview stage, giving the hiring manager a curated, human-readable summary of why this person is worth their time.
A well-written brief does three things:
- Saves the client from reading a full CV
- Frames the candidate in the context of the specific role
- Demonstrates the recruiter actually understood the brief and screened properly
Why most candidate briefs are poor
The most common mistake recruiters make is copying and pasting the CV summary. This adds no value — the client has already seen the CV. The brief is your interpretation, your professional judgement, your value-add.
Other common problems:
- Too long. Two pages maximum. Most can be done in one.
- No context for the role. A brief that could apply to any role is not a brief — it is a CV rewrite.
- Generic language. "Excellent communicator with a proven track record" tells the client nothing.
- Missing salary and availability. Clients need these to make a decision — always include them.
The seven sections of a great candidate brief
Candidate overview
Name, current title, company, location, years of experience, and availability. This goes at the top — the client should know who they are looking at before reading a word of copy. Keep it to 4–5 data points, not a paragraph.
Professional summary
Two to three sentences in third person that capture who this person is. Think of it as the opening line of a reference: what would a trusted colleague say about them? Avoid generic adjectives. Be specific: industries, scale of companies, types of challenges they have navigated.
Key strengths
Four to six bullet points that highlight the most relevant competencies for this specific role. Do not copy from the CV. Draw from your screening call — what stood out? What would the client care about most?
Career highlights
A brief reverse-chronological list of their last three to four roles — company, title, and tenure. Not a full CV. Just enough for the client to see the career trajectory at a glance.
Motivations
This is the section that separates good briefs from great ones. Why is this person looking to move? What are they looking for in their next role? Clients want to know the candidate is genuinely interested — not just being thrown at every role. Be honest here. If the motivation is purely financial, say so carefully.
Compensation and availability
Current package (salary plus bonus plus benefits), target package, and notice period. Put these clearly — do not bury them or make the client ask. If these are not right for the role, do not send the brief.
Recruiter notes (internal or external)
An honest assessment. Your view on culture fit, any red flags, your recommendation. This can be internal only — a note you keep for your own records — or a professional opinion you share with the client if the relationship warrants it.
Practical tips for better briefs
Write it immediately after the call
Your notes are freshest in the first 30 minutes after screening. The brief will be more specific and vivid if you write it straight away.
Always tie strengths to the role
Do not just list competencies — connect them to what the client actually needs. "8 years SaaS sales" is less powerful than "8 years SaaS sales — directly relevant to your EMEA expansion mandate."
Use consistent formatting across briefs
If the client receives a brief from you every week, they should be able to scan it in 30 seconds. Consistent structure makes you look professional and saves them time.
Do not oversell
Clients remember when a recruiter talked up a candidate who then underdelivered in interview. Accurate briefs build trust faster than enthusiastic ones.
Include a personal sign-off
End with one sentence from you: your recommendation. It shows confidence and takes a position, which clients respect.
How AI can help you write better briefs faster
Writing a polished brief from a 20-minute screening call used to take 20–40 minutes. With an AI brief generator, it takes 10 seconds.
Tools like RecruiterBrief let you paste your rough notes — shorthand, bullet points, voice-to-text transcripts — and generate a structured, professional brief instantly. The AI handles the language; you handle the judgment (which candidates to put forward, which strengths to highlight for this specific client).
This is not about removing the recruiter from the process. It is about removing the 30-minute writing task so you can spend those 30 minutes on a second screening call or a business development call.
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