How To Become A Recruiter
Recruiters are especially adept at locating, vetting, and providing potential personnel to clients of various needs. Also known as executive recruiters or human resource specialists, recruiters offer an invaluable service to organizations of all sizes. Most often, recruiters are known for locating executives to work for larger corporations and firms.
Why Become A Recruiter
Their typical work consists of being a point person for a business, learning about the searchers’ desires, locating candidates, screening and interviewing potential matches, and selecting employees who fit their clients’ needs.
Not only do recruiters have to be good judges of character, but they must also possess a number of interpersonal skills that will help them to pair employers with suitable employees:
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Perceptive
- Customer service oriented
- Personable
- Organized
- Understanding of human traits
- Investigative
- Resourceful
Recruiter Work Environment
Recruiters work in any sort of environment necessary to conduct their job. They attend meetings with their clients in offices, boardrooms, or via electronic conversations. They work in an office of their own, at their place of employment or at their homes, to locate and vet potential candidates. They travel to various locations—offices, restaurants, and coffee shops—to conduct interviews.
Their main method of locating potential candidates is through networking, advertising, and researching. Internet sites, such as LinkedIn, provide an invaluable tool for recruiters, as well as trade association directories.
Hours may be non-typical of a regular business day. Length of time spent on work depends on many factors, including a company’s needs, candidate pool, and location.
Recruiter Salary
Recruiters are paid based on a percentage of the hired candidate’s first-year salary, so a recruiter’s salary depends upon the level of client for which he or she works. Other factors must be taken into consideration when assessing the possible salary of a recruiter: location, agreements (contingency vs. retainer), size of company, experience, and educational training. The median annual salary for a recruiter is $87,230, ranging from $73,454 to $102,451.
Recruiter Career Outlook
The career outlook for recruiters is good; as the job market improves, so does the “hunting ground” for recruiters. First, when people become more comfortable in the market, they become more flexible with changing jobs and companies. Second, companies may have more sustainable funds to use to hire higher-level executives. In addition to these aspects, many younger business graduates are entering the workforce. While these individuals may not be executive-ready, they are numerous and competent.
Recruiter Degree
Although headhunting skills require specific talents to be successful, most companies seek recruiters with at least a bachelor’s degree.
Step 1: Obtain a bachelor’s degree. Some companies will not require an undergraduate degree, but the odds of finding a well-paying job without one are slim. Interested candidates should choose a degree depending on the level of their interests. For example, those seeking more prestigious employment should obtain a bachelor’s degree in business, finance, administration, or accounting. It is important to take courses in English language arts, communication, psychology, and sociology. Degrees in human resources management, leadership, communication, and sociology may be beneficial to obtain. It is important to specialize and take courses that will be relevant to the field.
