A job requisition (often called a "req" or "job req") is the starting point of every formal hiring process. Before a recruiter posts a job or a candidate submits an application, someone in the organisation has identified a staffing need, quantified the business justification, and obtained the necessary approvals to fill the position. The job requisition is the document that records and authorises all of this.
The components of a job requisition typically include: the requesting department and hiring manager, the job title and level, whether the position is new headcount or a backfill, the salary range or grade, the target start date, the business justification for the hire, the primary responsibilities and required qualifications, and the approval signatures from finance, HR, and senior management as required by company policy.
In organisations without a formal requisition process, recruiting activity often begins before budget is confirmed or headcount is authorised — leading to cancelled searches mid-process, wasted recruiter effort, and negative candidate experiences when offers are rescinded due to budget changes. A requisition process prevents these failures by establishing that a role is funded and approved before it enters the recruiting pipeline.
Digital requisition workflows, managed through an ATS or HRIS, route the requisition automatically to each required approver, track approval status in real time, and trigger job posting only after all approvals are confirmed. This eliminates the email chains and manual tracking that characterise paper-based approval processes.
Key Points: Job Requisition
- Business case: Documents the headcount need, budget allocation, and strategic rationale for the role.
- Approval chain: Routes through finance, HR, and executive approvers before recruiting begins, preventing unauthorised hiring.
- Role specification: Captures the job title, level, salary range, and core requirements that will shape the job description.
- New vs. backfill: Distinguishes between new headcount (requiring additional budget approval) and replacement positions (backfilling existing approved headcount).
- Audit trail: Creates a documented record linking every hire back to an approved business need and budget allocation.
How Job Requisition Works in Treegarden
Job Requisition in Treegarden
Treegarden includes a built-in job requisition and approval workflow. Hiring managers submit requisitions through a structured form; the platform routes the request to the configured approvers in sequence. Approvers receive email notifications with direct links to review and approve or reject the requisition. Once all approvals are collected, the recruiter is notified and can begin building the job posting — the approved req data pre-populates the job creation form, eliminating duplicate data entry. The full approval history is preserved on the job record for audit purposes.
Related HR Glossary Terms
Frequently Asked Questions About Job Requisition
A job requisition is an internal document used to authorise the hire. It contains the business justification, budget information, approval chain, and basic role parameters. A job description is an external-facing document used to attract candidates. It describes the responsibilities, qualifications, compensation range, and company information that a candidate would need to evaluate whether to apply. The job description is typically created after the requisition has been approved, and its content is informed by the role parameters established in the requisition. In an ATS, the approved requisition data typically pre-populates the job description template, saving recruiters from entering the same information twice.
Approval requirements vary by company size, structure, and governance preferences. In a small company, a single manager or founder approval may be sufficient. In mid-market companies, typical approval chains include the hiring manager's direct supervisor (confirming the need), the finance department (confirming budget), and HR (confirming compliance with headcount plans and compensation bands). Senior or executive hires may require C-suite or board approval. The approval chain should be proportionate to the cost and strategic significance of the hire — requiring five levels of approval for an entry-level role creates unnecessary process friction without adding meaningful governance value.
Yes, and rejection is a feature of the process rather than a failure. Requisitions are most commonly rejected when the business justification is insufficient, the timing conflicts with a budget freeze, the proposed salary exceeds the approved compensation band, or the headcount has already been allocated elsewhere in the planning cycle. A rejected requisition should include clear feedback from the approver explaining the basis for rejection, so the hiring manager can either address the concern and resubmit or escalate for reconsideration. Digital approval workflows make rejection communication much cleaner than paper or email processes — the rejection reason is captured in the system and visible to all parties.
Job requisitions are the operational output of workforce planning. In an organisation with a mature workforce planning process, the annual headcount plan identifies the roles the organisation expects to need over the planning period, and approved requisitions are created in advance as those needs crystallise. The requisition process then validates that each individual hire is consistent with the approved plan before spending begins. Without this connection, requisitions can be approved for roles that conflict with the overall headcount strategy — creating budget surprises, organisational structure problems, or redundant positions that undermine planning work done earlier in the year.