# Recruitment Process and Service Design: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/recruitment-service-design

Map candidate and client journeys, repair handoffs and build a service that handles exceptions.

## Your deliverable
A service blueprint with service promises, controls and recovery routes.

Use fictional information. Keep your completed work in your own secure notes. Exercises and capstone work are self-directed, not independently assessed.

## 1. Users and desired outcomes

Your notes:



## 2. Frontstage journey and backstage work

Your notes:



## 3. Inputs, outputs and handoff acceptance

Your notes:



## 4. Service promises and measures

Your notes:



## 5. Failure scenarios and recovery

Your notes:



## 6. Pilot scope and review

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Map the experience and the work

Map five touchpoints for application to first interview, with visible and backstage work.

Your response:


Worked example: A fictional applicant uploads a CV, repeats its content in a form and waits without a timeframe. The internal team sees a complete record; the applicant experiences duplicated effort and silence. The blueprint identifies both data collection and communication changes.

Self-review guidance: Include confirmation, review, questions, scheduling and preparation. At each point state what the candidate knows, who acts and what can fail. Do not omit waiting periods because nobody is actively working.

### 2. Specify handoffs and service promises

Specify a shortlist handoff and a realistic communication promise for a fictional team.

Your response:


Worked example: Recruiters send shortlists on Friday, but managers cannot review until Wednesday. The new handoff requires evidence against agreed criteria and an agreed review slot. Acknowledgement confirms receipt, not acceptance of every candidate.

Self-review guidance: Define required evidence, review owner, acknowledgement, feedback deadline and escalation. Explain how candidates will be updated if the deadline slips. Avoid claiming a universal response-time benchmark.

### 3. Design for exceptions before scale

Create three failure cases for your blueprint, including one ambiguous system result.

Your response:


Worked example: A scheduling integration times out after creating an interview. Retrying blindly could create a second event. The recovery checks the event identifier before retrying and puts uncertain cases into a coordinator queue.

Self-review guidance: Specify detection, pause, owner, communication and reconciliation for each. For the ambiguous event, confirm state before repeating the action. A useful fallback preserves commitments and avoids inventing success.

### 4. Test the service with people

Run a tabletop walkthrough with two roles and record three observations and fixes.

Your response:


Worked example: A walkthrough reveals that an interview location change updates the ATS but not the candidate email. The fix connects the change event to a confirmation task and verifies the person received the new instructions.

Self-review guidance: Report what happened, why it matters and how the proposed fix will be verified. Include one communication check and one recovery check. A polished diagram alone is not evidence the service works.

## Portfolio review
Check that your work is internally consistent, distinguishes facts from assumptions, names decision owners and explains its limitations. Revise gaps before using the method in real work.

## Further reading
- [CIPD: Recruitment](https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/recruitment-factsheet/): Professional context for the recruitment lifecycle.

Original educational scenarios. References provide further reading and do not imply endorsement. Check current official rules and appropriate professional advice for real legal, financial or regulated decisions.