How To Become A Recruitment Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a recruitment director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Rachel Raymond

A recruitment director is an individual who is responsible for managing staff that seeks out prospective employees for an organization or a business, They work as contractors or for a company, oversee hiring and human resource functions, and interview, evaluate and hire prospective employees. These individuals work in a variety of industries and manage recruitment processes and employment procedures. They also keep up to date on labor market conditions, follow all recruitment standards and protocols of an organization, and work with third parties involved with job postings and advertisements.

Many recruitment directors have a bachelor's in business, human resources, marketing, or a related field, and should possess strong leadership. organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills. They should also be adept with computers and other related technologies, and be comfortable managing teams of employees.

A recruitment director can make up to $90,000 annually, and the good news is that this career field is expected to grow 7% in the next 10 years.

What general advice would you give to a recruitment director?

Rachel Raymond

Strategic talent acquisition sr. manager, Jack Henry & Associates

Entering the workforce for 2020 graduates will be more difficult this year, given the higher unemployment numbers we see across the US. With the uncertainty of Covid-19, companies will be more conservative in increasing headcount across their organizations. Graduates need to think strategically about identifying jobs that are in industries more likely to thrive by the current economic conditions: digital services, remote learning, online gaming, healthcare, remote call centers, delivery and transit (Amazon, Postmates, Instacart), and collaboration technology (Zoom, Citrix), are just a few.

Many graduates will be competing for positions against experienced professionals willing to apply to entry-level jobs. Don't discount internships and apprenticeships as they frequently lead to full-time employment and help graduates gain additional experience for their resume. Through the selection and interview process, hiring managers will interview self-starters who are comfortable embracing a work-life integration mindset, and who can be agile and flexible with the new, remote, working environment. Onboarding and training have become increasingly difficult for many organizations, so new hires need to understand those challenges. Recent graduates have a proven record of successfully navigating new technology and working in any environment - coffee shops, trains, traveling, etc.- so be sure to highlight those traits through the interview process.

ScoreRecruitment DirectorUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $114,841

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 5.71%

Black or African American 7.65%

Hispanic or Latino 11.14%

Unknown 5.09%

White 70.01%

Gender

female 49.37%

male 50.63%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a recruitment director

Explore recruitment director education requirements

Most common recruitment director degrees

Bachelor's

75.5 %

Master's

12.2 %

Associate

7.2 %

Start to develop specific recruitment director skills

Skills	Percentages
Applicant Tracking Systems	10.86%
Human Resources	10.10%
Healthcare	8.68%
Recruitment Process	6.84%
Recruitment Strategies	5.47%

Research recruitment director duties and responsibilities

Manage onsite logistics for interviews; research, evaluate and negotiate compensation packages.
Initiate and strengthen healthcare and service sales partnerships by applying business development strategies.
Lead recruiters and recruiting coordinators supporting the lines of business.
Compose special posts and articles for the company careers Facebook site.

Get recruitment director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a recruitment director. The most common roles before becoming a recruitment director include recruiter, recruitment manager team lead and senior technical recruiter.

Prepare your recruitment director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your recruitment director 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 recruitment director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable recruitment director resume templates

Build a professional recruitment director 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 recruitment director resume.