Do you require the services of a HR recruiter and are wondering exactly what they do? There are many job roles in the HR world, all requiring a wealth of different qualifications and experiences, all of which command fees or salaries that businesses find they have to accommodate when they are looking to fill a role.
What is the difference between HR and a recruiter?
Firstly, it is important to distinguish between these two roles to avoid any confusion. The role of human resources recruiters is to take care of testing the potential of the candidate for the job role. On the other hand, human resources allocate the recruiting resource to a role. It is the responsibility of the talent recruitment team to test the potential of the candidate to move them to the next stage of the company’s recruitment policy or to the actual hiring process.
What does a HR Recruiter do?
The role of an HR recruiter involves a lot of responsibility and is imperative for the effective running of a business. HR recruiters are usually required to be responsible for range of duties:
- Devise and drive forward the recruitment process for the business.
- Be able to efficiently network with industry contacts, trade groups, social media and employees to name but a few.
- Implement and monitor the goals and targets of the hiring and recruiting process.
- Implement recruiting initiatives and reach out to local education providers.
- Effectively screen applicants to determine if they are suitable for the position applied for and keep track with applicant tracking systems.
- Liaise with the hiring managers to create and publish new job adverts and descriptions.
- Hold meetings with managers to determine how effective the recruitment procedures are and decide if anything needs to be changed etc.
- Build and develop a pool of suitably qualified candidates in advance.
- Collect data on cost per hire and time-to-hire
- Research into new sources for active and passive candidate recruiting
What skills and competencies does a HR Recruiter need?
There are a number of key skills that HR recruiters need to possess:
Excellent communication skills: Communication is at the heart of what all good HR recruiters are about. The role involves plentiful communication with managers and employees alike to establish good working relationships and rapport. HR Recruiters will also frequently liaise with new job seekers and potential candidates to fill job vacancies.
Possess great interpersonal skills: HR recruiters should have great interpersonal skills in order to work and liaise with various departments on a daily basis working on filling open positions and nurturing teamwork. Again the HR recruiter must be comfortable with meeting potential new candidates for the available job openings.
Be an effective decision-maker: A HR recruiters plays a very important role for businesses as they need to effectively review candidates’ applications and determine whether or not they meet the criteria and skillset to be considered for the specific job role they have applied for.
Be discreet: Because an HR recruiter handles sensitive and personal data, data protection laws must be adhered to, so the ability to be discreet and follow the correct legal requirements and procedures is paramount.
Attention to detail: A recruiter should have a keen eye for detail when handling admin duties and keeping records and data.
What qualifications does an HR recruiter need?
A bachelor’s degree is often the minimum education requirement for a recruiter. Some employers may require several years of work experience, although preference may be shown to candidates who hold professional HR certification or a master’s degree in HR. A degree certainly isn’t the only way, there are a number of courses that can be embarked upon to get qualifications that enable a person to be a recruiter.
What does the working week of an HR recruiter look like?
Work Environment
Recruiters are likely to be based in a bustling office but it is not uncommon for them to travel between companies, attend job fairs, networking events, meet with prospective employees etc to make the all-important connections and grow industry knowledge.
It is the recruiters’ responsibility to ensure the workforce is of high quality and operating correctly with everyone in the right job roles for their skills. Because of this, the HR recruiter role can be considered high pressure. A HR recruiter has to be comfortable and confident under pressure and meeting new people on a daily basis.
Work schedule
HR recruiters often work a full-time position of around 40 hours a week, and those hours are usually pretty full. Travel during the working week is also very common due to the volume of recruitment days, meetings, careers fairs and networking. So although office-based generally, there is an expectation of a travel requirement. Weekend work is also not uncommon in this type of job role and would be advantageous to career growth and job opportunities.
Does your business need to use a recruiter?
Internal recruiters, in-house recruiters, agency recruiters, external recruiters, there is such a wide range of options for the employer looking to fill a job or various job roles. From creating the job description and identifying the specific skills and job responsibilities, the employer is faced with the choice of whether to attempt to handle the recruitment process themselves or to look for outside help.
The interview process can be time consuming for employers. Having someone who can help identify and filter the talent pool to find the best candidates is invaluable. Whether your business needs this support will depend on the manpower you have available internally to perform this kind of role, or if you would be better served by outsourcing your recruitment and staffing needs to someone with the skills to do it for you.
