[plus the 9 essential skills you need]
If you’ve ever looked for work in a niche area, or an extra tough job market, chances are you’ve wondered what’s going on with all the recruiters out there. Same goes for if you’ve had a job application that was months long, wildly complicated, or involved a super random test (group interview improv, anyone?). In fact, if you’ve ever applied for a job period, you’ve probably had a few questions about what goes on behind the scenes.
Recruitment is a particular specialty within the human resources field. But there are more recruiters out there than you might think. And they’re a pretty happy, well-paid bunch, with plenty of opportunities at their feet. According to available stats:
- There are around 209,000 recruitment professionals in Australia. This includes general recruiters, plus specialists like casting agents and executive placement consultants.
- The average salary is $86,984. Most experienced recruitment managers can make up to $150,000.
- There are thousands of current recruitment consultant vacancies in Australia right now, including entry-level gigs.
If you’ve ever thought seriously about becoming a recruiter (beyond “I reckon I could do that!”), this article is for you. Read on to find out more about what it’s really like to work as a recruiter, and the pathways you can take to get there.
Typical recruiter tasks and responsibilities
As any professional recruitment consultant will tell you, there’s a lot more to this line of work than pressing ‘post’ on a job ad, and watching the applications roll in. The day-to-day can vary depending on whether you’re working for an agency, in an HR department, or as an independent consultant.
Here are some of the typical duties that make up a day in the life of a recruiter.
Initial meetings
When employers reach out to recruiters for help filling a job, one of the first steps is to find out exactly what the hiring manager or organisation is looking for. Recruitment consultants meet with employers to understand their specific hiring needs, including the skills and experience they’re looking for in a candidate. This consultation can get detailed, covering a variety of qualities that make up the perfect person for the job, including being a great fit for the culture.
Preparing job ads
Recruiters often develop great copywriting skills (if they don’t have them already). That’s because they need craft job advertisements that highlight the key responsibilities and qualifications, ensuring they attract suitable candidates. They’re also responsible for communicating the personality and culture of the organisation, and making sure it sounds like a great place to work. At the same time, they’ve got to make sure the application process is as clear as possible.
Screening candidates
Consultants review resumes and applications to identify candidates who closely match the job requirements. Sometimes, they get a bit of help from applicant management software – those apps online forms we’ve all filled out before. What you might not know is that there’s still a human behind all of those tools – setting up the system and reading the applications after they’ve been filtered. And especially for high-end roles or niche industries, many screenings are done 100% by humans.
Interviewing candidates
Recruiters conduct interviews to assess candidates’ qualifications, experience, and overall fit for the role. This often starts with a quick phone screening or remote meeting, in which the recruiter has to get a sense of whether the candidate is suitable, but also how they’ll come across when they’re face to face with the employer. In addition to traditional interviews, recruiters may run group interview sessions.
Negotiating with employers
Many recruiters are paid a fee or bonus based at least partly on the salary and tenure (how long they stay in the job) of the successful candidate. This means it’s in their best interest to negotiate a deal that’s good for the employee (like better pay and conditions), but also sustainable and good value for the employer. Consultants often help negotiate terms like salary, benefits, and other employment conditions to ensure both the employer and candidate are satisfied.
Networking with employers and candidates
Building and maintaining strong relationships with both employers and potential candidates is crucial. This helps in finding the right match more efficiently. Professional recruiters regularly spend time on networking. This can mean online (LinkedIn is the obvious hotspot) but also IRL events like conferences, career expos, and specific industry networking events.
Headhunting
For specialised or high-level positions, consultants might actively search for candidates who aren’t necessarily looking for a job but would be a great fit for a specific role. This is more common in certain industries such as technology, healthcare, legal, and even creative fields. Interesting fact: headhunting is often confused with poaching, which is a sneaky (unethical) strategy where employers try to undermine competitors by stealing their best staff. But when it’s done in a legit way, headhunting can be a rewarding and satisfying approach in which recruiters can specialise.
Professional development
To stay effective in their roles, consultants continuously develop their skills through training and staying updated on industry trends. This can include all sorts of learning and practice opportunities, from getting to know the latest software tools, to brushing up on compliance knowledge.
Must-have skills and experience for recruiters
If you’re thinking of getting into recruitment, but are intimidated about starting from scratch, don’t stress. You may already have strong skills in many of the areas that are most important in this line of work! Must-have general skills and qualities include:
- Customer service
Strong customer service skills are essential because recruiters work closely with both employers and candidates. They need to understand and address the needs of both sides, providing a positive experience throughout the hiring process. This means if you’ve ever successfully worked in a customer service job, including retail or hospitality gigs, you’ve got a head start! - Time management
Recruiters often juggle multiple tasks, such as meeting with clients, screening candidates, and conducting interviews. Effective time management helps them stay organised, meet deadlines, and keep the hiring process moving smoothly. In fact, lack of time is one of the major reasons employers outsource recruiting, so efficiency is always appreciated. - Communication
Excellent communication skills are a must. Recruiters need to clearly convey job requirements, provide feedback to candidates, clarify requirements with employers, and keep everyone informed throughout the hiring process. Some surveys indicate that these regular, timely and honest updates are amongst the things that candidates most appreciate about their side of the recruitment experience. - Relationship building
Building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and candidates is key. Recruiters need to be approachable, trustworthy, and able to establish rapport quickly. If you’re naturally a people person who likes building genuine connections and finds it pretty easy to make friends, you’ll have an easier time with this aspect of the job. - Sales and persuasion
Recruitment often involves selling a candidate on a job or convincing an employer to consider a candidate. There are lots of transferrable techniques and strategies you can bring across from a sales background. Strong persuasion skills can help with ensuring both sides are happy with the outcome. - Attention to detail
In a fast-paced environment like this one, attention to detail is extra important. Recruiters must pay close attention when reviewing resumes, writing job descriptions, and assessing candidates. Missing a small detail could lead to a poor match between a candidate and a job - Problem solving
All kinds of challenges can arise during the recruitment process. This doesn’t just mean finding suitable candidates for hard-to-fill roles. Recruiters need to deal with changing and sometimes unpredictable market conditions, fussy clients, diva/rock-star candidates, ethical issues, and more. They need to be creative and resourceful in overcoming these obstacles. - Tech savvy
Large employers and agencies often use various software tools for applicant tracking, resume screening, and communication. These are called ATSs (applicant tracking systems); the big ones include PageUp, Workday, and JobAdder. Many of these are user-friendly and pretty easy to learn. But being generally comfortable with technology is an important advantage. - Emotional intelligence
Understanding and managing emotions, both their own and others’, helps recruiters handle sensitive situations. Giving feedback and negotiating job offers takes both empathy and professionalism. If you’re experienced in managing conflict and promoting positive working relationships in general, you could be a great recruiter.
The other thing to note is that many recruiters go to uni or begin their career in something totally unrelated to HR. They then go on to specialise in finding great candidates within the industry they studied and/or worked in. Their educational background and work experience (i.e. industry knowledge) helps them understand what employers are looking for. This includes all the technical aspects, but also a real-world understanding of what it takes to be a high performer. So if you’re thinking about a career change, but want to make the most of your industry knowledge, recruitment could be for you!
The steps to becoming a recruiter
Still think recruitment is the right career for you? Here are the steps to follow to land your dream job and get to work as a recruiter:
Step 1: Evaluate your knowledge and skillset
A recruiter needs to have amazing people skills, be very organised, and most importantly, they need to know employment law like the back of their hand. Take a look at what skills you’ve built over your career – are there any gaps? Are you confident on your state’s laws around hiring? If there’s anything you’re not yet confident in, it might be a good idea to check out some HR courses before you start applying for jobs.
Step 2: Get your LinkedIn up to scratch
LinkedIn is a recruiter’s best friend. You’ll be using it not only to scope out new talent, but to attract talent to you. But you need to be seen before that can happen. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is not only up to date, but attractive. If you haven’t already, make sure you have a professional (looking) headshot, start posting interesting articles about your chosen industry, and leave comments on your fellow users posts. You’ll also want to follow your local recruitment agencies and major recruitment and HR pages.
Step 3: Networking!
Your network will be your biggest source of clients. Who have you worked with previously that you could take out for a coffee? Are there any professional events in your area you could attend? These conversations shouldn’t be about getting a job, but about learning everything you can about the industry and leaving a good impression on the people you talk to. Dropping a casual line about how you’re moving into the recruitment industry may be enough to help you land an interview with a peer-approved employer.
Step 4: Job applications
Okay, it’s not all going to be casual chats with old friends and drinks with other industry professionals, you will still have to apply for jobs. But like we said before, there are hundreds of entry level recruitment jobs available, and once you’ve narrowed down the industries you have good contacts and knowledge in, you’ll have a much better chance at selling yourself.
Recruitment training courses
Recruitment is one of those career paths where you don’t have to have a qualification – but the right one can really help you get started. In fact, many successful recruiters don’t have a full-on degree in HR; most have relevant vocational training. This includes Certificate and Diploma courses that can be completed in months – not years.
Monarch Institute delivers some of Australia’s most flexible (yet fully supported) nationally recognised training courses in human resources. Our industry-vetted courses are led by experienced professionals, including recruitment experts with a massive wealth of knowledge to share.
If you’re looking for a well-rounded start to your recruitment career, you’ll find it here. Both the Certificate IV in Human Resource Management and the Diploma of Human Resource Management include practical training in recruitment and onboarding processes, plus essentials like legal knowledge.
Meet some of the awesome trainers who’ll teach you about recruitment here. Not sure which course is right for you? Chat to one of our friendly course consultants today.
