Recruiter

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A recruiter is someone who finds prospective (qualified) candidates for a job opening. Their goal is to help the:

Employer find a suitable employee that meets the necessary qualifications, and the
Prospective Employee find a suitable job for their career goals

Each applicant is screened by the recruiter before being introduced to the hiring company to see if they meet the minimum requirements for the advertised job. Additionally, they review the applicant’s credentials and evaluate their “soft skills”, like communication-skills, interview-skills, etc.

Furthermore, a recruiter can be the job seeker’s advocate and advisor in the job market. They often have knowledge of opportunities that may not yet be advertised publicly and can help guide the applicant throughout the job searching process. ¹

What does a Recruiter do?

Primarily, the job of a recruiter is to help individuals find a job. They might be actively looking for specific candidates on behalf of a company and/or working with an individual to find promising job opportunities.

In addition to that core responsibility a recruiter often also does the following tasks:

Refine candidate’s resume/career-related paperwork
Interview preparation
Advise and/or carry out contract/salary negotiations
General career advisory services (using their knowledge of the industry and current job market)

What types of Recruiters are there?

Corporate Recruiter

This type of recruiter is hired by a company. This can be an internal recruiter who works exclusively for the company and tries to find and hire qualified candidates, or it can be an external/third-party recruiter that is hired and subcontracted for a limited period of time. Typically, an internal recruiter is paid a salary by the company, while an external recruiter gets a combination of a salary and a bonus when they successfully hire a candidate for the role(s).

Contingency Recruiter

A contingency recruiter tends to always be a third-party/external recruiter. They likely do not get hired exclusively by a company, but rather are working on behalf of an individual job-seeker. This recruiter is compensated by the hiring company only when their client is successfully hired. The compensation tends to be a percentage of the salary their client makes after being hired (the company pays this lump sum, not the recruiter’s individual client). ²

Example of a Non-Internal Recruiter Job-Placement Process

Let’s say I work for a Recruiting Company, and I specialize in the Technology Industry. Meaning, my job market knowledge tends to be mostly Tech-related jobs (and thus, I mostly place job-seekers in tech-related roles).

If I have a client, named Michael, who is looking for a Software Engineering Job, I can try to place him at a company that best suits his goals. Let’s say, after my help, Michael ends up getting a job at a tech company in which I represented his application on his behalf. Since I placed Michael in this job, I am entitled to a commission for my services. The size of this commission varies but on average tends to be about 20% of the new-hire’s salary.

If Michael signed and will receive a salary of $100,000, I would get a $20,000 commission for my work (paid by the hiring company). Meaning, the company has to pay a total $120,000 in order to hire Michael ($20,000 to me, $100,000 to Michael).

What skills are necessary to be a successful Recruiter?

Below are some general skills that can make any type of recruiter successful:

Attention to detail.
Marketing/Sales skills
Communication skills
Relationship building skills
Ability to Multitask
Time management
Patience
Ability to listen
Confidence
Team Player
Hard-Working
Reliable
Knowledgable of the relevant industry/job-market
Business-acumen

What are some challenges of being in Recruitment?

Results-oriented work – when things aren’t going well could be difficult
Long Hours – Since it is heavily commission based, you are often incentivized to work really hard in order to make as much as possible
Lack of structure – don’t work a typical 9-5.
A lot of sales work (selling yourself/your client) to companies and prospective clients, not always easy
Really competitive industry – a lot of recruiters looking to place similar candidates, not to mention it isn’t easy to place every candidate because some are more qualified than others ³

What are some benefits of being in Recruitment?

High potential pay – for top performers
Results- oriented work
Flexible Work hours – work as much as you want, for the most part (but more work usually means more pay)
Learn valuable sales and marketing skills
A lot of demand for recruitment talent (all growing companies need to recruit)
Can work in pretty much any industry, early on⁴

Typical Salary?

This varies a lot, but total compensation is usually heavily dependent on performance and the recruiter’s commissions. On average, Entry-Level recruiters make between $30k-$45k as a base salary. With commissions this can end up being a total compensation over $50k.

As you get promoted and more senior/experienced, this can increase a lot. Some top recruiters consistently make over $200k a year.

Should I become a Recruiter?

If you enjoy working with people, and being heavily involved in the job-market, you should consider a career in Recruiting. It is very exciting and rewarding to help companies and individuals meet their hiring goals, and often times placing an individual at their job is a life-changing event. Additionally, many people find the results-oriented, commission-based compensation structure of external-recruiting to be very attractive since if you perform well, the pay can be a lot of money.

Relevant Forum Discussions

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Human Resources

Business Development

Public Relations (PR)

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