What Is a Job Requisition?
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A job requisition is an internal request and approval record that authorises a company to open, budget, and recruit for a role.
Teams sometimes confuse the requisition with the public job description. The requisition is the operational control point. If it is vague, every downstream hiring step becomes harder to govern.
What to Distinguish
A requisition is an internal approval record. A job description explains responsibilities and requirements; a job advertisement presents the opportunity to candidates. The three should agree, but serve different readers.
A Practical Example
Illustrative example: A manager wants to replace a departing account manager. The requisition confirms whether it is a backfill or growth role, the salary range, location, start date, required skills, approval chain, and hiring team.
What to Measure
Use explicit definitions for your reporting. The following are practical measurement choices, not universal benchmarks or claimed product results.
| Measure | Definition | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Approval time | Approval timestamp minus requisition submission timestamp. | Separate time awaiting clarification from time awaiting an approver. |
| Open requisition age | Reporting date minus the date recruitment was authorised. | Label paused roles and distinguish a multi-hire requisition from one vacant position. |
How to Apply It
Record the business reason, number of openings, budget, location, manager, essential criteria and approval owner. Link the approved version to the job ad and screening rubric; record changes rather than silently changing the brief.
Common Mistakes
- Posting before the role is approved.
- Using the requisition as a copy-paste job ad.
- Changing requirements after candidates are already in process.
- Failing to close or reconcile filled requisitions.
Where Skill Society Fits
SkillSociety works best when the approved role criteria are clear, because AI-assisted screening and human review both need a reliable definition of the job.
Book a demo to discuss your screening workflow, evidence requirements and human review points.
Related Reading
Continue with an evergreen requisition.
Further Reading
- Indeed Recruiting Glossary - broad HR and recruiting terminology, including referral programs, employer concepts, and hiring process terms.
- nCore HR Glossary - ATS workflow terms such as applicant drop-off, application conversion, CV parsing, automation rules, and pre-screening questions.
- SocialTalent Glossary - talent acquisition metrics and funnel terms, including interview ratios, market mapping, passive candidates, and pipeline velocity.
- Workable Recruiting Metrics FAQ - recruiting metric context, including quality, cost, time, source, and offer measures.
