Are you planning a vacation soon? Want to keep recruitment moving forward while you’re away? At Nationwide, we love checklists. (One of us has even admitted to adding something she’s already done to the list for the sheer satisfaction of checking it off.) Here’s a helpful pre-vacation checklist for recruiters, organized by category and tailored for local government.

Pre-Vacation Checklist

📣 Communicate and Delegate:

• Inform your team and relevant hiring managers of your vacation dates.
• Assign a point person for urgent recruitment needs.
• Brief your backup on ongoing recruitments, key contacts, and priorities.
• Set up your out-of-office (OOO) message and schedule it to start on your first day of vacation.

📰 Job Postings:

• Schedule job ads in advance (e.g., on https://myNPSJ.com, GovernmentJobs.com, LinkedIn).
• Set calendar reminders for job posting open and close dates.
• Prepare draft postings for anticipated openings so that your backup can publish them.

📲 Candidate Communication:

• Set up automated email replies for applications received.
• Draft templates for common inquiries (e.g., status updates) and share with your backup.
• Notify candidates of possible delays if they’re in a sensitive stage of the process.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 Interview Process:

• Confirm and schedule interviews before departure, if possible.
• Prepare interview questions and materials in advance.
• Delegate coordination of interviews to a trusted colleague.

✍️ Documentation and Tools:

• Ensure applicant tracking system (ATS) access for your backup.
• Share relevant files and process documents via a shared drive or project management tool.
• Provide passwords or system access as needed (via a secure method).

Keeping recruitment on track during the summer months is crucial, and lists are an invaluable tool. Like brain backups — they help us sort through the chaos, stay on track, and avoid that ‘what did I forget?’ feeling. We hope you use the list above as a starting point and tailor it to your specific needs. And once everything’s checked off, you can relax and enjoy your vacation, without wondering if you forgot something important.

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Need more help? Want advice or a consultation? We’re happy to assist with your recruitment needs. Email us at info@mynpsj.com