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What is a source recruiter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. James Lampley

Sourcing recruiters proactively search for talented and qualified job candidates for current open positions. Sourcing recruiters are responsible for sourcing and screening candidates, coordinating the interview process, and facilitating employment negotiations. They perform reference checks when needed, manage onboarding and new hire processes, manage all the overall interview, selection, and closing processes. They also ensure that all screening, hiring, and selection processes follow employment laws and regulations.

To be an excellent sourcing recruiter, you must have good organizational and time management skills. You must also be comfortable with making decisions independently and must communicate effectively. As a sourcing recruiter, you must understand interview techniques and applicant screening methods, coupled with a deep understanding of employment laws and regulations. The educational requirement of a sourcing recruiter is a bachelor's degree in human resources or business administration and also two years of recruiting experience. The average annual salary of a sourcing recruiter is $51,617.

What general advice would you give to a source recruiter?

Dr. James LampleyDr. James Lampley LinkedIn profile

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.
ScoreSource RecruiterUS Average
Salary
5.2

Avg. Salary $66,093

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.0

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 8.59%

Black or African American 9.43%

Hispanic or Latino 18.33%

Unknown 5.26%

White 57.76%

Gender

female 59.98%

male 40.02%

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

Source recruiter career paths

Key steps to become a source recruiter

  1. Explore source recruiter education requirements

    Most common source recruiter degrees

    Bachelor's

    75.9 %

    Master's

    9.4 %

    Associate

    8.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific source recruiter skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Customer Service15.28%
    HR14.05%
    Applicant Tracking Systems10.44%
    Cloud4.92%
    Client Facing4.18%
  3. Complete relevant source recruiter training and internships

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

    • Manage internal transfer requisitions utilizing Taleo.
    • Manage compensation packages using payroll software.
    • Track candidates through company ATS (iCIMS )
    • Update and maintain candidates in CRM and ATS.
  5. Prepare your source recruiter resume

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

    Build a professional source 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 source recruiter resume.
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
    Source Recruiter Resume
  6. Apply for source recruiter jobs

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

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

How did you land your first source recruiter job

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Average source recruiter salary

The average source recruiter salary in the United States is $66,093 per year or $32 per hour. Source recruiter salaries range between $44,000 and $98,000 per year.

Average source recruiter salary
$66,093 Yearly
$31.78 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do source recruiters rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

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1 star

Source recruiter reviews

profile
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


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019
Pros

Communicating with people, interview applicants.

Cons

I don't have anything I don't like.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Cons

Nothing.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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