There are only a few persons whose jobs spread across almost all fields and will always be in demand. Skilled recruiters are one of them. Great recruiters are considered assets in all fields and industries. This is because they help bridge the gap between companies and candidates, by searching, identifying, screening and selecting the best-qualified candidates to fill vacant positions. If you're interested in venturing into this lucrative career path, then you've come to the right place. Today's article will explain in detail what a recruiter does, how to become a recruiter and the recruitment skills every great recruiter should have.
As a recruiter, your job is to make sure others have jobs. Recruiters are responsible for filling job openings in organisations. Their sole duty is to help candidates find a job they love and help companies find qualified employees. Being a recruiter requires you to have an easy-going personality and have an in-depth knowledge of the industry and also be trustworthy. You'll be meeting lots of people, candidates and employers alike, so it's important they can trust you throughout the job search and recruitment process. As a recruiter, you'll be responsible for the following tasks:
Before you embark on a career as a recruiter, there are certain things you must do. We've arranged these requirements into four steps:
1. Get a bachelors degree
The least qualification you need to get started as a recruiter is a bachelors degree in human resources, psychology, business administration, or marketing. Even though your degree certificate is not under any of these fields mentioned, you can still excel as a recruiter. Just enrol in extra classes where you can study people and their behaviours. Your non- HR background might even be beneficial if you want to specialize in areas of talent acquisition such as IT or technical recruitment. There has been a huge demand for IT and tech positions lately, and this means companies would pay you more to get them the best candidate if you specialize in this field.
2. Learn what kind of recruiting you like
There are many types of recruiters depending on what they specialise in. But they are mainly categorised into two. External recruiters and internal recruiters.
External recruiters work independently or under a recruiting agency. This means they work on their own and not for a specific company. Companies and organisations that need help sourcing new staff, hire external recruiters to handle their whole recruitment process.
An internal recruiter on the other hand is also known as an in-house recruiter. They work within the company, usually as HR managers and do not have the luxury of taking on multiple clients since they have been hired by a company and bound by legal agreement. Knowing the kind of recruiting you'd like to do will help you specialize in a particular niche and employers prefer recruiters with more specialised experience.
3. Gain relevant experience
Employers will hire an experienced recruiter over a qualified one on paper, so irrespective of your degree you'll need to show them that you have what it takes.
Applying for hr jobs, and job shadowing professional recruiters is a great way to gain experience, see what the industry entails and connect with people.
4. Build your network
To consistently source for jobs and fill positions you need to have a large social network. You can build your network through social media platforms, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Interacting regularly with followers, posting and sharing career-related content, and attending career fairs and networking events are great ways to connect with like-minded people. This way you can leverage your connections to reach out to big companies. A recruitment company can recommend you to potential employers and also recommend qualified candidates
for your job openings.
5. Continue your education
Even after you've gotten your degree, you can continue learning about the industry. Attend professional workshops and seminars to stay informed on the latest recruitment trends and hiring practices. You can also get an extra certificate and join professional organizations to help advance your career.
To be a successful recruiter, you'll need to possess some key skills. Let's take a look at this list of essential recruitment skills.
1. Attention to detail
Working as a recruiter will require you to constantly meet a lot of people. You&'ll be in constant communication with employers and job candidates at the same time and you'll also be dealing with a lot of information, both digital and paperwork. You must have the ability to pay attention to detail.
Having this skill means you'll be extremely careful so as not to mismanage company information or overlook vital background checks on candidates which can affect your job performance negatively. No company will like to hire a careless recruiter, they need to be sure that their company secrets are safe with you and that they can trust you to do proper research on candidates you've selected.
2. Strong communication skills
Being able to communicate effectively is an essential skill for a recruiter. Your job as a recruiter requires you to act as a middle man between the company and candidates throughout the hiring process. You'll be responsible for writing social media posts, corresponding with employers and candidates on, phone calls, via email and in person. This means you'll need to master the art of clear and concise communication through different channels.
3. Marketing skills
Once you've been hired or contracted to recruit for a company, you should automatically see yourself as a marketer for that company. You'll need marketing skills to sell your company to potential candidates, find the best channels, and write convincing job ads. The better you are at promoting the company and the job posting, the easier it becomes for you to land the best candidates.
4. Relationship building and networking skills
Recruitment is all about meeting and connecting with many qualified people with the hopes that one that these connections will lead to a great hire. To be a successful recruiter, you must have good networking skills to help you build valuable connections in your industry which you can leverage in meeting potential candidates or for advice on the latest hiring practices.
5. Multitasking and time management skills
The recruitment process is a long and tedious one. There's a whole lot to do from creating ads, screening, interviewing, running background checks on candidates, making job offers and many more activities in between. You'll need time management skills and the ability to multitask if you want to keep up with the workload and meet up deadlines.
6. Patience
Since you're dealing with both companies and candidates, you have to make sure that you're considering the personal interest of both sides. Especially when it comes to organising job interviews, it will require a lot of patience on the recruiter's end to come up with terms that are favourable to both employer and selected candidates.
7. Good listening skills
Good listening skills are another important recruitment skill every recruiter must have. You should learn to listen attentively and hear your employer, candidates and coworkers when they talk, as this will give you a better understanding of what they want and how you can use this information to plan out recruitment and negotiation strategies.
8. Confidence
Confidence is a must-have skill for every recruiter especially when you're recruiting for roles you have little or no experience. You need to be confident in your skills to find the right person for the job.
9. Body language skills
Communication does not end with written and spoken words. You can tell a lot about a person's actual thoughts and intentions by reading their body language especially when they are shy, timid or unable to communicate their feelings properly during one on one interviews. Body language skills also apply to you as a recruiter, your ability to display positive body language during such an interview can help you control the direction of the conversation and can be used as a valuable negotiation tactic.
10. Teamwork skills
Whether you're working as a freelance recruiter, under an agency or within the company, you'll need to work with teams to find the best employees. It is not a one-man job, and it will typically require you to head a team or other recruiters or department heads in the company.
11. IT skills
IT skills are not just for people in the IT industry. As a recruiter, a basic understanding of IT skills like knowing how to use certain recruitment software, like the applicant tracking system, email automation, and digital marketing, makes the recruitment process faster.
12. Reliability
Being reliable as a recruiter is a key skill to have. It means you can get the work done and keep everyone happy. You are the primary point of contact between the employer and candidates and each one relies on you to advocate for them in their best interest. The company relies on you to find the best candidate at minimum cost and the candidate wants to secure that dream job with a fat paycheck. You are regarded as being reliable when you're able to meet both the needs of the candidate and the company at the same time.
13. Being target driven
Companies want to hire recruiters who can achieve their targets and goals within the stipulated amount of time. Your job as a recruiter means that you have to work under a lot of pressure from these companies, so you'll need to be target driven. That means no wasting of company funds and delivering the best candidates before the deadline.
14. Negotiation skills
Negotiation is a big part of any business and recruitment is not an exception. The ability to give candidates what they need even when you don't have what they want or don't have the resources for it is crucial to a successful hire. For instance, if the candidate wants a higher salary than you're willing to give, you can offer alternatives like transport allowances to sweeten the deal and keep the job offer attractive.
Becoming a successful recruiter is not something that happens overnight. It'll take a degree, some passion and experience in the industry and the right network to get started.
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