What Is a Recruiter?

A recruiter is a professional who matches qualified individuals with specific open positions at an organization. As a recruiter, you review a candidate’s job experiences, negotiate salaries, and work with the hiring employers to make sure the fit works well for both parties. You also stay on top of job trends, industry outlooks, and what qualities and skills companies are looking for when hiring new employees.

What does a recruiter do?

Recruiters help find job applicants and source candidates to fill in-demand positions in industries such as health care, information technology, and computer science. Some of the fastest-growing occupations over the next decade—which will likely need recruiters to help fill thousands of available positions—include data scientists, information security analysts, software developers, and nurse practitioners [1].

Tasks and responsibilities of a recruiter

As a recruiter, your job duties can vary depending on the company you work for and the individuals that need to be matched. However, some typical recruiter tasks and responsibilities you'll likely undertake include:

• Writing and posting job openings

• Finding and contacting potential job candidates

• Pre-screening job candidates

• Helping candidates write resumes

• Presenting candidates to employers or hiring managers

• Setting up interviews between candidates and employers

• Negotiating salaries, responsibilities, and titles

Types of recruiters

In this career field, you'll typically work as an internal or external recruiter, but several different types of recruiting roles exist within those two categories. Each type of recruiter plays a unique role in the hiring process, offering distinct advantages depending on the specific needs of the employer and the job market. The specific type of recruiter role that's right for you will depend on your interests, skills, and career goals.

Internal recruiters, also known as corporate recruiters or in-house recruiters, are full-time employees working within a company's HR department. In this role, you gain a deep understanding of the company culture, values, and goals, and your focus is on attracting top talent to fill open positions within the organization you work for.

External recruiters, also known as third-party or agency recruiters, are hired by companies on a project or contingency basis or work for a recruitment agency to find qualified candidates. As an external recruiter, you can specialize in one of the following roles:

• Executive recruiter: Find candidates to fill high-level executive positions, such as C-suite and senior management roles.

• Outplacement recruiter: Assist displaced workers who may have been downsized or laid off and who need help polishing their resumes and skills.

• Contingency recruiter: Get paid only if successfully placing a candidate in a job.

• Retained recruiter: Work exclusively with a company for a set period to find candidates for a specific high-level position and typically charge a retainer fee upfront, regardless of whether the role is filled.

• Technical recruiter: Use a strong understanding of technical skills to find qualified candidates for technical jobs in fields like engineering, IT, and software development.

• Specialized recruiter: Focus on filling jobs in a particular industry, such as health care, finance, or legal, using an in-depth knowledge of the specific skills and experience required for those industries.

• Bilingual recruiter: Can speak and understand multiple languages, which is valuable for companies looking to hire internationally or for positions that require fluency in multiple languages.

• Temp agency recruiter: Works for staffing agencies to fill the short-term needs of various companies.

Read more: Get Started on a Recruiter Career Path: Jobs, Skills, Salaries

Recruiter salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor, the average annual base pay for a recruiter in the US is $$64,354, with the possibility of earning an additional $24,923 per year in benefits, commission, or other compensation [2]. In addition, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that HR specialist jobs, including recruiters, are expected to grow faster than average at 8 percent between 2023 and 2033 [3].

How to become a recruiter

When you work as a recruiter, you’ll connect people to jobs that fit their interests and passions and help companies find employees to help achieve their goals. You’ll have the chance to meet people from all walks of life and get an inside look into several different industries. If this sounds like a good fit for you, here's how to get started.

Recruiter qualifications

Sixty-nine percent of recruiters hold a bachelor’s degree, 9 percent hold a master’s degree, and 12 percent hold an associate degree. Popular areas of study include business, psychology, human resources management, and communication [4]. If a degree is not in your plans, you may consider certifications or a Professional Certificate such as the HRCI Human Resource Associate Professional Certificate on Coursera to help launch your career in HR.

Can I be a recruiter without a college degree?

Though a bachelor’s degree can make you stand out against other candidates, it’s not a requirement. Some employers can waive a college degree requirement if you have a few years of work experience in a related field. Look for entry-level recruiter openings or related office roles like administrative assistants to get started.

Skills needed to become a recruiter

You may be naturally curious and inquisitive about a person’s background and love to help people figure out their talents and where they can apply them. Being a recruiter will put those people skills front and center. It’ll also be a good idea to have the following skills as a recruiter:

Interviewing skills are critical because a recruiter needs to conduct phone and in-person interviews with prospective employees for jobs. 

Negotiating skills are important because a recruiter needs to be able to work with both the hiring manager and the potential candidate for a fair salary, job title, and job responsibilities. 

Persuasive skills are necessary for a recruiter to convince a candidate to consider an opening or an offer. A recruiter often has to persuade a hiring manager to interview a potential candidate for a job opening as well.

Human resources knowledge includes a broad scope of valuable skills, such as knowing how to manage, onboard, and incentivize employees and give performance appraisals.

Recruiter career path

Being a recruiter exposes you to numerous careers and industries and can familiarize you with human resources issues. You'll also sharpen your communication and people skills, which can set you up to make career transitions to sales or other human resources positions—both of which are among the most common jobs for former recruiters to transition into, according to LinkedIn [5]. An experienced recruiter who has established contacts might also choose to start an independent recruiting consultancy or business as well.

Glossary of recruiting terms

Many terms are pertinent to recruitment work. Below you will find some frequent terms to help you become familiar with the terminology used throughout a career as a recruiter.

Getting started as a recruiter

Recruiters act as matchmakers between qualified candidates and companies seeking new hires. In this career role, you source candidates, screen applicants, negotiate salaries, and ensure a good fit for both parties. Recruiters need strong communication, interview, and negotiation skills, and a bachelor's degree is generally preferred. The job offers the chance to meet diverse people and gain exposure to various industries.

If you are passionate about helping people find jobs, keeping on top of industry and job trends, and learning how various organizations operate, take the next step into a new career as a recruiter. Learn more about finding and hiring the right people in the HRCI Human Resource Associate Professional Certificate on Coursera. It's a five-course series addressing HR topics such as employee relations, recruitment, training and development, and more. Upon completion, you'll have a sharable certificate for your resume.