How To Become A College Recruiter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a college recruiter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

If free stuff like pens and bags fuelled you to attend the annual college presentations in high school, then you have college recruiters to thank for that. College recruiters endorse the tertiary institution they represent to high school students to be encouraged to apply to the college and ultimately pursue a qualification there. Nowadays, your work as a college recruiter may extend to you being a human resource professional who also recruits graduates to fill vacant employment positions.

If you would like to become a college recruiter, brace yourself for many presentations and even more questions. On average, your days are spent giving presentations about the college or company you represent and serving as a â€˜'middle-man'' to answer any questions and provide guidance on the application process. You may even be expected to travel out of state to conduct interviews and give job offers at these colleges.

Seeing as this is a human resources position, a degree in either business, human resources, or in the liberal arts, such as industrial psychology is required. Your communication, public speaking, networking, and advertising skills will need to be exceptional in order for you to thrive in this field.

ScoreCollege RecruiterUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,116

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.61%

Asian 7.72%

Black or African American 10.79%

Hispanic or Latino 19.43%

Unknown 5.13%

White 56.33%

Gender

female 56.17%

male 43.83%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a college recruiter

Explore college recruiter education requirements

Most common college recruiter degrees

Bachelor's

76.5 %

Associate

10.2 %

Master's

9.5 %

Start to develop specific college recruiter skills

Skills	Percentages
Interview Process	12.23%
Open Positions	8.99%
PowerPoint	8.72%
Applicant Tracking Systems	6.30%
Background Checks	4.22%

Complete relevant college recruiter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New college recruiters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a college recruiter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real college recruiter resumes.

Research college recruiter duties and responsibilities

Utilize applicant tracking system (Taleo) to manage job applications, resume data and reports.
Specialize in identifying quality talent within the application development, infrastructure support, business analysis, and project management space.
Serve as an exemplary representative of the university while promoting academic excellence, leadership and university values.

Prepare your college recruiter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your college recruiter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a college recruiter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable college recruiter resume templates

Build a professional college recruiter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your college recruiter resume.