Becoming a job placement recruiter is an exciting career option. There are many levels of recruiting for companies. Recruiters often specialize in the type of candidates and companies they create networks for, as well as what level of candidates they screen. There are also different environments where corporate recruiting occurs, including corporate environments, agencies and independents. Recruiting as a profession generally falls under the Human Resources umbrella, with specific educational requirements, as well as an understanding of a broad range of human resources practices.
Most recruiting positions, either in a company or in an agency specializing in recruiting talent generally require a Bachelor’s degree. Many recruiters have a degree in business or in Human Resources. While it is not generally required, master’s degrees in Human Resources or a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources are available for people who want to specialize in specific areas of Human Resources. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the professional association that many HR professionals join. SHRM also sponsors certifications, including the Professional in Human Resources and the Senior Professional in Human Resources. Like other business fields, Human Resources have specializations and sub-specializations. Talent Acquisition and Recruiting is one group of specializations, like Compensation or Benefits.
Skills and Abilities
For Talent Acquisition and Recruiting, a person should be fully trained in behavioral interviewing, telephone screening and candidate selection skills. For top echelon recruiting, the person should also develop a network of top-level managers before positions become available. The best top echelon recruiting professionals have networks with other top managers and are aware ahead of time what candidates would be a good fit for vacancies. Recruiters need excellent listening skills to fully understand the position and the culture of the company who needs the professional candidates. Finally, the best top echelon recruiters are able to understand the corporate culture of client companies and be able to screen executives that would be an excellent fit for the organization.
Employment of Recruiters
Most recruiters work for a company in the Human Resources department, or for an agency that specializes in recruiting candidates. Select groups of recruiters work on their own as independent recruiters. The type of environment that employs top echelon recruiters is different from the organization that would employ an entry level talent management recruiter.
Corporate Recruiting
Some major companies, especially those with large numbers of employees (over 1,000) may have recruiting specialists in Human Resources to coordinate external recruiting. Many times, the recruiter handles entry-level as well as upper level placements within a company. The corporate recruiter generally has several years of experience in human resources and in recruiting prior to joining the company. Other skills include interviewing, project management, and listening. Internal recruiters may outsource part of the search process, especially if the company is experiencing rapid expansion. In that case, the internal recruiter may turn over most of the entry level recruiting to the external agency and reserve time for the more senior candidates that top echelon recruiters refer. The corporate recruiter position also must have extensive knowledge of the organization, management and strategy for the company.
There are a large number of recruiting agencies who hire recruiters to screen and place people in companies. Agencies, like recruiters also specialize on what industry and level they recruit candidates. Agencies generally have different pay structures compared to Corporate Recruiters. Depending on the position, most recruiters are paid a commission based on the placement of the employee with a company. While all aspects of the process are negotiated in advance, generally the following happens when a candidate is recruited and placed in a company by an agency.
First, the agency receives payment for sending qualified candidates for the company to interview. If a candidate from the agency is extended an offer, then the major portion of the payment is sent to the agency. This could be a flat fee or a percentage of the first year income. Some contracts have a longevity bonus in the agreement that pays the agency an additional fee if the candidate is still employed after certain milestone dates (usually six months).
Independent Recruiters
Independent recruiters generally work on boutique or specialized areas. Some top echelon recruiters for C-level employees handle a select client list. Other top echelon recruiters handle highly technical as well as very specialized positions.
Salaries for Recruiters
Salaries for recruiter vary dramatically based on the experience and caliber of employee they recruit. Salaries for post entry level may average about $50,000 to over $300,000. Most revenue for independent recruiters as well as for agencies is generated through commissions.
Recruiting Specialties
Talent Acquisition and Recruiting is also divided into subspecialties. Field, position and level of recruiting control most of the specialization. A recruiter who specializes in finding microbiologists for food processing probably would not also handle sales representative candidates for telecommunications. If you are a professional looking for a position, it is critical to know what types of companies the recruiter generally provides candidates, as well as what professions the recruiter specializes.
A subset of recruiting is executive recruiting. Executive recruiting is a little different, in that some firms specialize in related industries, as the skills needed to manage and run large-scale companies is somewhat transferable at the top. Executive recruiters are in the top echelon recruiting group. Most executive recruiters are tenured with on average over a decade of experience successfully recruiting candidates. Executive recruiters gain a reputation with industries very quickly, especially if they are known for screening and providing the best candidates. Unfortunately, one bad placement could undermine years of work.
Conclusion
Careers in top-echelon recruiting may be found in corporations, agencies as well as through independent recruiters. To become a top echelon recruiter takes years of experience as well as an excellent record of accomplishment of placing high quality candidates who fit in the organization. Each top echelon recruiting experience is unique, as the recruiter, candidate, and position are different based on the organization.
