A recruiting lead follow-up guide for public agencies

From inquiry to appointment

1. Check for an existing conversation. Look up the person in your approved recruiting system before creating a record. Someone who filled out an event card may already have a call booked. Add the event to the existing record and check their contact preferences.
2. Assign the first response. Record the source, role or office of interest, preferred contact method, recruiter and response deadline. If the assigned recruiter is away, give the task to someone covering that office.
3. Answer the question they actually asked. If someone asks when dispatcher testing opens, send the approved date or tell them when you expect an update. Offer one next step and record what you promised.
4. Update the record when they reply. Once an appointment is booked, record the time, time zone and who will make the call. Cancel any reminders that still ask the person to book.

A handoff the next recruiter can use

Suppose a Guard prospect at a school event asks for a call after class. “Interested, follow up” leaves the receiving recruiter guessing. This example gives them enough to make the call.

Source and request

Tuesday school visit. Asked for a phone appointment after 3 p.m.

Owner and stage

Assigned to the local office recruiter. Appointment confirmed.

Last contact

Prospect confirmed Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific by email.

Next action

Local office recruiter calls Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific and records the outcome.

When transferring the inquiry, have the receiving recruiter acknowledge it. Until then, the current owner is responsible for the promised call.

After a missed appointment

Record the missed appointment and check for a cancellation or an opt-out before contacting the person again. If they still want follow-up, offer a specific time you can hold. Adapt this example to your agency’s approved channel and wording.

Hi Jordan, this is Alex from the recruiting office. We missed each other this afternoon. I can call Friday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific. Does that work, or would another time suit you?

If they reschedule, replace the old appointment and its reminders. If they decline further contact, mark the opt-out and stop outreach. If they don’t reply, leave the outcome as “no response” and follow your office’s agreed contact schedule.

What to check at the end of the week

• List new inquiries with no owner and assign them before the next shift.
• Review overdue actions and missed appointments. Give each open record a next step or record why it closed.
• For appointments scheduled that week, count how many were held, missed, canceled or rescheduled. A testing reminder and an actual test attendance are different events. Count attendance from the roster.

See how the workflow fits National Guard recruiting and public safety hiring windows.

Use the applicant drop-off guide to reconcile test attendance and academy starts for one hiring cycle.