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What is a professional recruiter and how to become one
A Professional Recruiter finds qualified candidates for job openings and works to meet the needs of the employers and the employee throughout the hiring process. The recruiter also has the requirements of meeting with the hiring manager, attracting and sourcing candidates, serving as the employer's ambassador, soliciting employee referrals, and servicing as the main point of contact for all parties concerned.
As a Professional Recruiter, you will also need to conduct reference searches, check out the background reports, manage the job offer, and have high customer service. For the right person, a Professional Recruiter is a great career. You need to be ambitious, assertive, enthusiastic, and confident. You need to possess high negotiation skills and be self-motivated. You may work for a recruiting agency, a broker, or you may be assigned to work in trade shows, job fairs, and other meetings to find potential candidates.
A bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, or psychology is wise. Communications, psychology, and sociology are also great subjects for recruiters. If you have expertise in a specialized industry, you can make over $100,000 a year. The average salary of a Professional Recruiter is about $50,00 a year.
What general advice would you give to a professional recruiter?
Dr. James Lampley
Professor, East Tennessee State University
Avg. Salary $54,615
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 8%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.75%
Asian 6.91%
Black or African American 10.79%
Hispanic or Latino 17.64%
Unknown 5.37%
White 58.54%
Genderfemale 56.81%
male 43.19%
Age - 40American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 40Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
Professional recruiter career paths
Key steps to become a professional recruiter
Explore professional recruiter education requirements
Start to develop specific professional recruiter skills
Skills Percentages Applicant Tracking Systems 34.17% Human Resources 6.18% Background Checks 5.89% Reference Checks 4.05% Recruitment Process 3.46% Complete relevant professional recruiter training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New professional 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 professional recruiter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real professional recruiter resumes.Research professional recruiter duties and responsibilities
- Manage all phases of the iCIMS - iRecruiter applicant tracking system process and source/recruit qualify internal and external management candidates.
- Manage records of sales activities and follow-up on requirements by utilizing office specific HRIS technology.
- Utilize internal database, LinkedIn (or other social media), job boards and other networks to identify qualify candidates.
- Update and verify all information in ATS.
Prepare your professional recruiter resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your professional 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 professional 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 professional recruiter resume templates
Build a professional professional 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 professional recruiter resume.
Apply for professional recruiter jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a professional 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 did you land your first professional recruiter job
Are you a professional recruiter?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average professional recruiter salary
The average professional recruiter salary in the United States is $54,615 per year or $26 per hour. Professional recruiter salaries range between $40,000 and $74,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do professional recruiters rate their job?
Professional recruiter reviews
I like Bonus and helping people. Sometimes our company cover expanse for networking and meeting. More we do networking more we can earn.
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
Communicating with people, interview applicants.
I don't have anything I don't like.
I enjoy and I’m great in recruiting in any organization I trust and believe in.
Nothing.
Updated January 8, 2025
