A Search Summary Report is a standardized, client-facing report that summarizes candidate progress for a specific job. It gives your clients a clear view of which candidates are actively being considered and why others have been disqualified, helping to maintain transparency and build trust throughout the recruitment process.
Recruiting agencies typically use this report in executive or retained search workflows where periodic updates to the client are expected. Instead of manually compiling candidate data into a document and formatting it externally, the Search Summary Report allows teams to present this information in a clean, structured format, saving time and ensuring consistency.
What does a Search Summary Report include?
The report typically covers:
Candidates in selected stages (e.g., "Sourced", "Screening", "Interviewing", "Shortlisted")
Disqualified candidates grouped by disqualification reasons (e.g., "Salary expectations", "Cultural misfit")
Customizable fields such as current company, title, location, and candidate notes
Optionally, your agency’s branding (logo and report creation date)
Each section appears in a tabular format, with fields tailored to highlight the most relevant candidate information.
Why is the Search Summary Report valuable?
Recruiters often spend several hours each month manually compiling client updates. The Search Summary Report helps by:
Standardizing the format of client updates
Reducing manual work with pre-filled, customizable data
Improving transparency with clearly grouped candidates and reasons
Enhancing professionalism with consistent branding and structure
For executive search firms or agencies working on retained roles, this report is a critical part of client communication.
Best Practices for Using the Search Summary Report
To get the most out of the Search Summary Report, follow these tips:
✅ Select the right stages
Choose only the most relevant stages to include in the report. Typically, those that represent meaningful progress (e.g., “Phone Screen”, “Interviewed”, “Shortlisted”).
✅ Group disqualified candidates by reason
This gives your client insight into why candidates didn’t progress and helps align expectations for future profiles.
✅ Customize the visible fields
Include only the most relevant candidate fields (up to 5 per stage or reason). For example:
For active candidates: Name, LinkedIn URL, Current Title, Location, Summary
For disqualified candidates: Name, Reason for Disqualification, Current Company, Notes
✅ Use your agency branding
Add your logo and report creation date to give the report a polished, on-brand look.
✅ Preview before sending
Use the built-in preview mode to make last-minute edits and ensure the report looks exactly how you want it before downloading and sharing it with the client.
Example
Let’s say you're working on a Head of Marketing role for Acme Corp. Your current pipeline includes:
Shortlisted
Name | Current Title | Company | Location | Summary |
Alice M. | Director of Growth | Brandly | New York | Strong B2B SaaS background. Ex-Google. |
Ryan T. | VP of Marketing | StartupX | San Francisco | Built and scaled a 20-person marketing team. |
Disqualified – Salary Expectations
Name | Current Title | Company | Location | Notes |
Julia K. | CMO | eComPro | Boston | Expected $300k base; out of budget range. |
Disqualified – Cultural Misfit
Name | Current Title | Company | Location | Notes |
Amir H. | Marketing Lead | SaaSCo | Remote | Too transactional; not aligned with collaborative team culture. |
This structure helps your client quickly review candidate progress and understand trade-offs without needing a meeting or back-and-forth emails.
What’s Next?
You can fully customize the Search Summary Report within Recruiterflow and download it as a PDF ready to share with your client.
To learn how to generate the report, see: How to Generate a Search Summary Report