How To Become a Job Recruiter

Become a Job Recruiter or Headhunter

A headhunter or job recruiter acts as a liaison between a corporation hiring a qualified candidate and a person looking for a job. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, "Employment of human resources, training, corporate recruiters and labor relations managers and specialists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations."



If you have the ability to match candidates with potential job openings and possess strong Internet searching skills, you might be a candidate as a corporate recruiter or headhunter.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Recruiter resume
• Experience cold-calling clients
• Ability to screen resumes and cover letters for applicant's skills and abilities
• Knowledge of local and state hiring laws
• Knowledge of direct hiring techniques

1. Identify your recruiting niche. Job recruiters or headhunters specialize in the following recruiting categories: healthcare, technology, marketing, medical, administrative or office, executive search, manufacturing, armed forces or construction. Freelance recruiters and in-house human resources professionals develop a reputation in a particular niche to maintain contacts within the industry and to recruit the best talent.

2. Create a winning resume and cover letter. Write a chronological resume highlighting your job skills and years of employment. Include accomplishments within your cover letter that focus on the reasons why the recruiting firm should hire you for the corporate recruiter position. Tailor your resume and cover letter to suit the qualifications of your recruiting niche.

3. Contact leading sales recruiting organizations for open positions. Randstad and Spherion are examples of two nationwide human resources and sales organizations who hire recruiters. Submit your corporate recruiters resume to these companies and follow up with a call to verify the hiring manager's receipt of your materials.

4. Join a network of professional recruiters. Find a weekly recruiting meeting in your city where sales professionals network and trade employment contacts. If you want to connect with job recruiters via the Internet, visit the RecruitersNetwork to peruse their job openings for recruiters and headhunters.

5. Use social media and online networking to become a job recruiter. Websites like LinkedIn and Facebook have a large network of recruiting professionals discussing current issues in recruiting and human resources. Create an online profile on these sites to connect with hiring managers looking to fill corporate recruiting positions.

6. Create a recruiting blog to show your web skills. In the competitive recruiting marketplace a blog or weblog is a great sales tool to position a sales recruiter as a thought leader in your recruiting niche. Create a free blog using Wordpress or Blogger advertising your recruiting skills and your knowledge of challenges and innovations in the job placement industry.

Tips & Warnings

• Develop your corporate recruiting skills. A job recruiter is required to interview candidates for open positions, cold-call potential clients for job openings and negotiate first-year salaries and benefits.

• Learn how to manage the staffing process from the beginning call to a hiring manager to filling a job with a qualified candidate.

• If you want to become a job recruiter, look for opportunities beyond the classified newspaper ads to get your dream job.

References

• Spherion: Job recruiters
• Ranstad: Become a Job Recruiter
• Recruiters Network