So You Think You Want To Be A Recruiter?

We can say this from the start: hardly anyone says they want to be a recruiter when they grow up. I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone that majored in recruiting in college. Yet, do a search on Linkedin, and 20,000 recruiters show up in Chicago alone.

So how did they get there? Some people want to get into Human Resources and see recruiting as a good entry point. Most people back into it. Large staffing and recruiting firms hire a lot of new college grads, and they often have very little idea of what the job really entails. 50+ percent turnover in the first year is fairly standard.

With all that said, we thought it would be helpful to outline what recruiting really entails and what skills you’ll get to utilize and develop to be successful.

Why You Want To Become A Recruiter

Recruiters get exposure to a lot of things. To get good at it, there are plenty of intangibles that are required to be successful, including:

1. You’re drawn to the different components of the job: You’re ready to connect with hiring managers, work with candidates, you enjoy sales and sometimes even act as therapist. All aspects of the role appeal to you.
2. You are excited about the challenge: It’s like a puzzle figuring out how to match a job seeker and an open role, and make everyone happy.
3. You like the rush: At the end of the day, the people you’re able to find drive a company’s success. You get to impact the direction and transformation of a business, while also connecting people with their passions.
4. You enjoy seeing the impact of your work: You get to see a team that you helped build succeed and create an innovative product.

Final Thoughts

So, why would you become a recruiter, when you have to wear so many hats and so many things can go wrong? Because…

You want a job where no two days are the same.

You enjoy bringing positive energy to your work, and you embrace transparency.

You know that you will suffer rejection, it will be exhausting, and anything that can happen will happen, but figuring it out makes the highs outweigh the lows.

You will change lives, transform companies and if you’re a people person anyway, you can be happy at work as well.

Matt Tokarz