Recruiters are hugely in demand right now. The Wall Street Journal says recruiting is actually the hardest job to recruit for right now, exceeding even tech jobs as being the most in-demand. If you have the right skills, recruiting is a highly lucrative, rewarding job. Recruiters on the low end make $75,000 to $100,000, while top talent makes upwards of twice that. But what if you want to break into this field? What transferable skills do you need for a promising career in recruiting?
What Skills Do You Need to be a Recruiter?
Great recruiters are one-half salesperson and one-half project manager. They are organized, efficient, and keep going even when they hear the word “No.” Recruiters work hard to fill open positions for employers, and whether it’s hospitality or technology, a c-suite role, or a front-line worker, a recruiter has the skills necessary to close candidates and find you talent.
Some of the duties of a recruiter include:
- Collecting candidate requirements and putting together job descriptions
- Sourcing and finding new talent
- Reviewing resumes
- Corresponding with candidates on job boards
- Interviewing candidates
- Coordinating the interview and screening processes
- Managing marketing to potential candidates
- Keeping both internal and external clients happy
- Writing offer letters
Recruiting 101
Most recruiters have some higher education, usually a bachelor’s degree in HR or business. Most recruiters specialize in a particular job category, like hospitality. But recruiters can work for a staffing agency, which is where the big money can be earned. Or, in a corporate environment hiring in-house candidates. No matter your recruiting specialty area, though, you will need these skills to succeed:
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. You must have excellent follow-through and impeccable note-taking to work in this field.
- Marketing skills that allow you to entice candidates away from other positions and consider the role you’re hiring for. You must be savvy with social media and have a way with words to succeed as a recruiter.
- Communication skills are key, along with the ability to negotiate, balancing the needs of candidates and the hiring manager to come out with the win.
- Relationship-building skills that allow you to talk with and listen to all kinds of people. You must be able to sell the position and the company to the candidate. But you must be able to communicate enough with the candidate to figure out if it’s a good fit for both the candidate and the employer.
- Multitasking is always critically important to a good recruiter. They often manage multiple candidates simultaneously who could be at different stages of the hiring process.
Recruiting requires all of these skills and more. If you have these skills and would like to break into the hospitality recruiting field, Gecko would like to speak with you. Our tight-knit team is always looking to add to the fold. We’re growing and are looking for a few more great people to add to our team. If you think you have what it takes to be a recruiter, give us a call.
