Is your organization in need of recruiters? You're certainly not alone. Burning Glass, a labor-insights company, reports that recruiters are in very high demand, with more than 100,000 jobs available in the past 12 months. And with an average time of 33 days to fill the role, you'll need to get started now to find the best candidate for your open recruiter position.
Here's a checklist of steps you'll need to take to hire a top-notch recruiter:
When you need to hire someone quickly, the thought of a drawn-out hiring process is daunting. This is especially true when it comes to recruiting recruiters, who are ambassadors for your company culture and drive operational success by ensuring you have the best people on board — and that they stay on board.
This diagram points out ways you can streamline your hiring process, so you can get a quality candidate through the door as soon as possible.
To engage the right type of candidate for your open role, it's important to put together a salary package that's on par with the market rate. As you start doing your research into what your competitive offer should be, check out Randstad's salary guide for the most up-to-date data.
The national averages included in our salary guide make for a great start, but be sure to click on over to our salary calculator for a more accurate estimate based on your particular industry and market.
After you've completed your research into compensation and have decided on a salary number, it's time to look at what skills are needed for the position, which will vary from company to company. For instance, a small company of 50 people will need a well-rounded recruiter with knowledge of multiple business functions, whereas an enterprise organization with an IT team of 100 will need someone with deep knowledge of the tech space and its current hiring trends.
Start by talking to hiring managers and your HR experts — such as your HR managers and your own recruiting team — to determine a list of skills a successful hire should have. Then, sort these skills and experience into two categories: "must-haves" — basic things like expert communication skills and a track record of success recruiting for your industry — and "ideal" — such as working knowledge of the specific HRIS your company uses.
These are the skills most typically required of a recruiter based on 100,000 job postings:
recruiting
talent acquisition
applicant tracking systems (ATS)
social media
onboarding
scheduling
full-lifecycle recruiting
The job description plays an important role in the hiring process, since it's likely the first impression job seekers will have of your organization. Keep these three things in mind when you're writing your next job description.
don't write like a robot
Start by describing the job in layman's terms, steering clear of any corporate jargon or language specific to your organization. Simply describe the job as you would to a friend or someone in your network.
And instead of just listing skills and responsibilities, give insight into how the role would fit into the larger team and organization, and what opportunities there are for advancement. For example, you could say:
As a recruiter, you'll help our people succeed by finding the right role for them based on their personality and skills.
No two days are the same! This is not a desk job — you'll be attending job fairs and conferences, and will gain expertise in the latest tools in the evolving recruiting software and technology space.
show how this job is meaningful
Recruiters today want a position that makes an impact on their team, organization or the world at large. Be sure to tell them how their role contributes to the company's mission and answer questions such as: What's the team culture like? How much interaction does the role have with other teams? Why is this role important?
For example, a recruiter has the opportunity to help the company grow alongside the most valuable asset of all — its people. Plus, an effective recruitment and selection process reduces employee turnover, meaning the role has a direct impact on your business's bottom line.
make it easy to skim
Reading long paragraph after long paragraph is intimidating for any job seeker. And if a candidate's actively looking, they're likely reading multiple postings a day. So be sure to structure your job description in a way that potential candidates can easily see what skills are needed for the role, what the company is like and what flexible work options are available, such as telecommuting or remote work.
Use shorter paragraphs and bulleted lists where applicable so candidates can pick up on keywords and phrases — as well as any HR technology platforms they'll need to use — to decide whether the role could be the right fit.
Human resources as an industry is expected to see enormous growth in the coming years, so you'll need to keep up-to-date with what's going on in the space in order to stay competitive in the hiring market.
Here are some hiring trends to keep in mind during your recruitment process:
Demand for HR specialists, a category that includes recruiters, is expected to grow seven percent by 2029 — a rate that's faster than the average for all other professions.
With the hiring landscape as competitive as it is, recruiters will play an increasingly important role for organizations as they source and land top talent — especially as roles and skills change with digital transformation.
As more of a recruiter's responsibilities move online, successful candidates will need to become very familiar with the latest HR technologies in addition to flexing their traditional communication skills.
Posting your open roles on job boards no longer has the impact of days gone by. In fact, to ensure you get the best-fit candidate to join your team, you're going to need to diversify your search tactics. One path for finding your next superstar recruiter is to partner with a staffing firm. Not only can they provide you access to vetted, high-quality candidates, they're well versed in all aspects of hiring in the human resources industry.
Reach out to the human resources experts at Randstad if you think a staffing partner could be helpful in your search for your next recruiter. Or, check out our Find Employees portal to browse our pool of candidates today.