What is a field recruiter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. James Lampley

A field recruiter sources and attracts top talent for a company. They often work outside of the office, traveling to job fairs, college campuses, and events to meet candidates and promote the brand. Field recruiters use interpersonal skills to build relationships with candidates and assess qualifications through interviews and assessments. They also work with hiring managers to understand their needs and develop strategies. Overall, a field recruiter helps companies find and hire the best talent.

What general advice would you give to a field recruiter?

Dr. James Lampley

Professor, East Tennessee State University

Be willing to go where the jobs are. Many of our graduates are "place-bound". Their family obligations or spouses make it difficult to relocate.

ScoreField RecruiterUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $59,562

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 7.70%

Black or African American 10.91%

Hispanic or Latino 19.41%

Unknown 5.12%

White 56.24%

Gender

female 45.62%

male 54.38%

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

What are the pros and cons of being a field recruiter?

Pros

Flexibility in schedule
Opportunity for high earnings through commission
Opportunities for advancement within the company
Ability to work independently
Exposure to various cultures and backgrounds

Cons

High level of competition among recruiters
Inconsistent income due to commission-based pay structure
High stress level due to the fast-paced nature of the job
Requires a lot of multitasking and organizational skills
Dealing with rejection and disappointment when candidates are not selected for positions

Key steps to become a field recruiter

Explore field recruiter education requirements

Most common field recruiter degrees

Bachelor's

66.0 %

Associate

14.4 %

Master's

11.0 %

Start to develop specific field recruiter skills

Skills	Percentages
Applicant Tracking Systems	13.48%
HR	9.60%
Background Checks	7.58%
PowerPoint	6.17%
Excellent Interpersonal	4.65%

Complete relevant field recruiter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New field 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 field recruiter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real field recruiter resumes.

Research field recruiter duties and responsibilities

Manage these teams and eventually hire someone to take over the Jr. high ministry completely.
Create job postings using Taleo software to fill vacant positions in a timely manner.
Perform full cycle recruiting across multiple industries including medical, wireless, consumer electronics, semiconductor, government, and manufacturing.
Participate in project to evaluate alternate ATS systems

Prepare your field recruiter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your field 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 field 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 field recruiter resume templates

Build a professional field 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 field recruiter resume.

Apply for field recruiter jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a field recruiter job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do field recruiters rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Field recruiter reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

I like Bonus and helping people. Sometimes our company cover expanse for networking and meeting. More we do networking more we can earn.

Cons

too much pressure. to hire 1 executive vacancy we have to make connections with 100s of people. We work with people and people are sometimes really hard even we are doing our best. After weeks of hard work right before the placement, some firms reject them without any answers

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019