# Search Delivery and Client Communication: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/search-delivery-communication

Run a search with clear milestones, evidence-rich updates and controlled changes.

## Your deliverable
A search delivery plan, weekly report and escalation protocol.

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

## 1. Milestones and acceptance criteria

Your notes:



## 2. Research, outreach and assessment work

Your notes:



## 3. Candidate and client communication

Your notes:



## 4. Evidence, risks and decisions needed

Your notes:



## 5. Scope changes and re-planning

Your notes:



## 6. Closure and learning

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Plan delivery around useful milestones

Build a four-week fictional search plan with outputs, owners and dependencies.

Your response:


Worked example: A recruiter limits simultaneous intensive mapping phases because each requires substantial analysis. The plan staggers reviews and agrees client feedback slots rather than promising identical fast delivery to every account.

Self-review guidance: Include a review point for market evidence and a capacity check. A milestone should represent a usable result, not simply a large number of messages sent.

### 2. Report evidence and decisions, not activity theatre

Write a weekly report with progress, evidence, risks and two decisions needed.

Your response:


Worked example: An update reports that relevant candidates consistently ask about shift flexibility and that two search lanes show transferable evidence. It asks the client to decide a working-pattern question rather than simply reporting 200 contacts.

Self-review guidance: Include the source period and sample limits. Each decision should have an owner, deadline and consequence of delay. Avoid disguising low-quality activity as progress.

### 3. Handle setbacks and scope changes early

Draft an escalation note for a fictional search that is two weeks behind its original plan.

Your response:


Worked example: A finalist withdraws because travel expectations changed. The team checks earlier communication, updates the brief and reconfirms interest with remaining candidates rather than treating the event as unpredictable bad luck.

Self-review guidance: State verified causes, affected commitments and options. Include what you can control and what requires client action. Propose a revised plan with explicit assumptions.

### 4. Close the search and preserve learning

Create a closure checklist for a successful hire and a cancelled search.

Your response:


Worked example: A client cancels the role after a strategy change. The recruiter closes candidate conversations, records the reason and produces a permitted market summary rather than leaving the search indefinitely active in the pipeline.

Self-review guidance: Include every affected party and system, not only the invoice. Preserve aggregate learning and remove obsolete tasks. A cancelled search should not remain forecast as future revenue without a new basis.

## 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.
- [GOV.UK: Set up a business](https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business): UK starting point. Business structure and obligations depend on the circumstances.

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.