Define minimum requirements you can defend
The stated minimum requirements must be the employer's actual minimums for the role and must not be tailored to one candidate. Requirements that exceed the normal expectation for the occupation need a business-necessity justification tied to the work — for example, a specific identity federation platform because the enterprise estate runs on it.
Alternative requirements and combinations of education and experience must be handled carefully and consistently. If a prior employee entered the role with a different profile, that history is part of the record.
Recruitment is a defined sequence
Professional roles require a prescribed set of recruitment steps within specific timing windows, including a state job order, print advertising, and additional recruitment channels. The advertisements must describe the same job, location, and requirements as the filing.
Every applicant must be reviewed against the stated minimums, and rejections must rest on lawful, job-related grounds that are recorded at the time. A recruitment report written months later from memory is a weak document.
Worksite and travel realities
Infrastructure roles that involve travel to client sites need an accurate description of the primary worksite and the expected travel, because the geographic scope drives both the wage determination and where recruitment must occur. Vague roaming descriptions invite questions.
If the engineer's placement pattern changes materially during the process, revisit the filing strategy rather than proceeding on a description that no longer matches reality.
Documentation and audit posture
Retain tear sheets, job order confirmations, internal posting evidence, résumés, interview notes, and the recruitment report for the required retention period. Audits arrive long after institutional memory fades, so store the file where a successor can find it.
Sequence matters too: the wage determination, recruitment window, and filing date have fixed relationships. Build the calendar with immigration counsel at the start; retrofitting a timeline is rarely possible.
Key takeaways
- State genuine minimum requirements and justify anything above the norm.
- Follow the recruitment sequence and timing exactly, with matching ad text.
- Record rejection reasons contemporaneously, not retrospectively.
- Describe worksite and travel accurately — it drives wage and recruitment scope.
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