How to Become a Recruiter: The Skills You Need

Recruiting is an exciting and dynamic field to work in, especially if you’re a people person. It requires a critical skill set that’s consistently in demand at companies large and small. It isn’t something you can get a bachelor’s degree in, though, and the path to entering this field can be confusing. So, if you’re wondering how to become a recruiter, here’s what you need to know. 

What Recruiters Do 

A recruiter’s main responsibility is finding the perfect candidates to fill open positions across the company. They oversee most of the hiring process, from sourcing qualified candidates to assessing their skills and qualifications to guiding them through the hiring process until an offer is extended and accepted. 

Recruiters serve as a key bridge between candidates, the organization, and hiring managers. This is an exciting and complex role which changes all the time, depending on the positions you’re recruiting for and the company you work for. 

For example, a recruiter at a small company might be single-handedly responsible for the entire recruiting process. They’ll write the job description, post it on the company’s website and platforms like LinkedIn, respond to the incoming applications and put them in the ATS (Applicant Tracking System), review the applications and assess who should move into the next phase, and set up phone screens and in-person interviews if needed. They’ll work with the hiring manager to select the top candidate and extend an offer as well as manage any negotiations about salary and benefits. 

Key Recruiter Skills 

Becoming a successful recruiter requires quite a few different skill sets.  

Since you’ll often be managing many different open roles, candidates, and hiring managers at once, your time management and organization skills must be strong. A recruiter at a fast-growing startup might be managing hiring for 10 different roles across multiple levels and skill sets, all with their own timelines and requirements. Plus, you should be good at multitasking so you can switch between all the responsibilities on your plate. 

You should also be confident and comfortable with negotiations and sales – after all, you’re selling both the role and the company, as well as the candidate, in a manner of speaking. And you’ll likely be participating in negotiations and helping all sides come to an agreement about the position and offer. 

Strong soft skills are also critical, as this is a people-focused position. You need to be able to communicate clearly in verbal and written forms, be empathetic, curious, and a problem-solver. You’ll be talking with people in various positions, roles, and stages of life all day, so those soft skills will be key to your success. 

This is even more true with the rise of AI in recruiting: compared to the year before, employers were 54x more likely (yes, that’s correct!) to list “relationship development” as a required skill for recruiters over the past year. Far from replacing recruiters, AI has actually made interpersonal skills and relationships much more valuable. 

Qualifications to Become a Recruiter

Typically, a bachelor’s degree is required for recruiting positions, and it’s a bonus if it’s in a related field like human resources, psychology, communications, or business administration. But not every employer requires a degree, especially if you possess experience in related fields and all the other required skills. 

How to Break Into the Recruiting Field 

There are many different paths for how to become a recruiter, depending on your work experience. Networking can be a very useful way to get a role as a recruiter for the first time, and it doesn’t have to be intimidating. LinkedIn is great for making new connections and building relationships in the field (plus it’s a tool you’ll need once you’re hired as a recruiter anyway). You can also attend HR and recruiting events in your local community, like Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) events. 

You can also look for entry-level roles in human resources if you’re new to the workforce or making a career change. Getting a year or two of work experience in this field under your belt can expose you to vital knowledge about the recruiting and talent world and prepare you for your future as a recruiter. Plus, it will also grow your network in the meantime. 

What Makes a Successful Recruiter 

Becoming a truly successful recruiter is about more than a list of skills. It’s about building relationships, excelling at negotiations, and helping both sides get what matters to them for every open role. And if you’re looking for more customized career guidance, just ask Jules, your AI life coach. Good luck as you make your way into this fun and satisfying career field!