Do you ever wonder what a recruiter does all day long? If so, I’m going to fill you in on some of the day-to-day ins and outs in the life of a recruiter.
Recruiters are driven by getting a job opening filled. But it’s not quite as simple as finding a candidate and putting them into a position. There is an extraordinary amount of work that they perform behind the scenes to find that person, find the right job for them and get the job offer to them.
Recruiters first receive a job description from a client or a hiring manager. Many times the job description is old and outdated, or it contains information that isn’t pertinent to finding a candidate. “Excellent communication skills” seems to appear on every job description, but how many positions can you think of where strong communication is not required at all? I can barely think of one. So, recruiters have to weed through the fluff in order to find out what the hiring manager really wants. Sometimes the job description isn’t accurate at all, and the recruiter then must have a conversation with that manager to find out what they are looking for that’s not on paper. They need to know the intangibles as well as the actual skills required.
Once you have the job description tightened up, then recruiters need to post the position online, typically on several websites. The posting can’t be boring or too technical, so the recruiter must spiff it up and make it more of a marketing advertisement. No one wants to apply to a job posting that looks or sounds awful.
Then the recruiter has to use several avenues to find candidates. Yes, they may receive applications and resumes from their postings, but that takes time and oftentimes the applications aren’t a perfect match. So they hop onto the job boards, LinkedIn, and Indeed and search for those perfect candidates. But that’s not enough either! They need to post their jobs on social media, ask friends and family for referrals, attend job fairs and networking events, and even find specialty niche job boards for specific skill sets.
Once they actually find a candidate that looks like a match on paper, they’ve got to call. And call. And call again. Then they’ve got to find additional candidates who match the job description, because one candidate is never enough. Then they need to sell the job to the candidate, make sure the candidate can pass any pre-employment screenings, and that the candidate’s salary and commute expectations are met.
Then the candidate gets an interview! Finally! The recruiter has to prep that candidate to do well on the interview. Then they debrief after the interview with both the candidate and the hiring manager to see if it’s a match for both parties. If the candidate gets an offer, the recruiter deals with salary and benefits negotiations. Then the recruiter administers new hire paperwork and pre-employment screenings like background checks or drug tests.
In summary, the recruiter wears many hats in his or her organization. They are sales people, marketers, negotiators, administrators, human resources, and recruiting all wrapped up into one! Recruiting is a difficult but rewarding job. It’s all worth it when you get a heartfelt thank you from the person you placed, who now has a new and exciting position!
