What does a Recruiter do?

A Recruiter is an integral part of any business. In their day-to-day, a Recruiter is in charge of creating job ads, scouting for talent, assessing potential candidates, negotiating salaries and hiring new team members. This is why a good Recruiter is such a valuable asset  – their hiring decisions affect the entire company.

As a Recruiter, you could find yourself working as part of the human resources department for a particular company, or you could work for an external agency that helps organisations find the perfect candidate. 

What should a Recruiter know?

At the heart of a Recruiter’s role is to make sure that they are able to find the best possible candidate for the job, whatever that job may be. This means that Recruiters need to have an infallible knowledge of the company they’re working for, as well as an in-depth understanding of the role they are hiring for. 

A good Recruiter will know exactly what the requirements of a company are, the requirements of the role on offer, and they will know what to look for in the ideal candidate. 

What makes a strong Recruiter?

Recruiters need to have a wide-ranging skill set. These are the top 5 skills that are important for a Recruiter to have:

1. Interpersonal Skills

As a Recruiter, you’ll be interacting with a number of people every single day, face to face, over the phone or via email. These could be external or internal stakeholders. You’ll need to be approachable, friendly and trustworthy. This will help you to build relationships with candidates so that they are reasonably comfortable and relaxed during the interview process, so you and they get the most out of the experience. 

Think about it – have you ever had a bad experience with an interviewer that made you rethink wanting to take a particular job? The Recruiter will most likely be the first person a candidate meets, and they will be acting as the face of the company. First impressions count!

2. Time Management and Multitasking Skills

Wherever you find yourself working as a Recruiter, you’ll probably be hiring for multiple roles at the same time. Occasionally, some roles may need to be filled quicker than others, so you’ll be working to a strict deadline. However, it’s important to remember not to rush this process. If you do, you could end up hiring someone who is not the perfect fit for the job. This is where time management comes in. 

On top of this, you will need to also juggle your responsibilities and be an adept multi-tasker to ensure things get done on time, and that you’re able to follow up, call back and update different stakeholders during the recruitment process. 

3. Organisational Skills

This fits in with the above point. To have good time management and multi-tasking skills, you must also be highly organised! Remember, you’ll most likely be dealing with multiple candidates at the same time, which means you’ll need to keep these candidates’ information compartmentalised correctly so you don’t (worst case scenario) accidentally hire the wrong person. 

3. Communication Skills

Throughout your day, you’ll be liaising with a range of different people. Often, you’ll be acting as the middleman between two parties (internal and external stakeholders). This means that you’ll need to have exceptional communication skills to ensure that messages are clear and understood by both parties. You will also need to hone your sales skills in order to attract candidates to a particular role and convince them that yours is the company they want to work for. 

4. Active Listening Skills

Active listening and good communication skills go hand in hand. Active listening means seriously paying attention to what someone is telling you, and asking the right kind of questions to get the answers you need. This is a very important skill to have during the interview process. 

5. Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is about objective analysis – using your brain instead of relying on your gut. A good Recruiter will be able to objectively evaluate a potential candidate based on the evidence they see before them (eg, credentials, qualifications, experience, etc), instead of basing their judgement solely on what they may feel about a person. However, this doesn’t mean that a good Recruiter doesn’t listen to their intuition. It’s important to balance the two – objective and subjective judgement – to make the right decision. 

How can I improve my recruitment skills?

One way you can improve your recruitment skills is by undertaking further study. 

Open Colleges offers the BSB41015 Certificate IV in Human Resources which can teach you the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in your career in human resources. This course covers, among other things, how to support the recruitment process and how to induct new staff members. These are important skills to have for a Recruitment Consultant, as well as anyone looking to pursue a career in HR. 

Typically, you don’t need a qualification to become a Recruiter. However, a VET qualification can help you stand out from the crowd and improve your job prospects. It’s also one way of proving to prospective employers that you’re serious about your career, having undertaken formal study to improve your skills and knowledge. 

Whether you’re looking to upskill, switch careers or get ahead in your current role, Open Colleges can help you get there. Check out our Certificate IV in Human Resources today and see where your career in HR could take you.