How Do I Become a Recruiting Specialist?

A recruiting specialist is a human resources (HR) professional responsible for finding qualified candidates for job postings. Typically, anyone wishing to become a recruiting specialist must first graduate high school and many firms require recruiters to have a college degree. Additionally, most recruiters have some prior experience working in HR.

An individual who intends to become a recruiting specialist can obtain a bachelor's degree in human resource management although many companies hire HR professionals with degrees in business administration, management or related fields. Additionally, some universities offer post graduate degrees that focus on different aspects of HR. Someone intending to become a recruiting specialist can take a personnel recruitment postgraduate degree.

While many firms require recruiters to have industry specific degrees, many companies also place a strong emphasis on experience. Consequently, many high school graduates and college leavers begin working as HR specialists or advisers. These individuals have to handle day-to-day inter-personnel issues and negotiate wages with new employees. Many firms require candidates for recruiting specialist jobs to have a certain number of years experience in other HR roles to ensure that recruiters are comfortable with interacting with employees and handling staff issues.

Recruiters seek out job candidates for client firms and many of these recruiters work with employers that hire workers with a wide range of skills and talents. Other recruiters specialize in finding job applicants for employers engaged in certain types of industries such as the medical field or banking. Some employers in these arenas prefer to work with recruiters who have industry specific knowledge, rather than just a broad based knowledge of HR. Consequently, someone wishing to become a recruiting specialist for a medical firm may have to complete a medical degree or spend some time working in the medical field as a doctor or care provider. Banks and insurance firms often prefer to work with recruiters who have knowledge of the financial services industry since these individuals can more readily find candidates with the requisite skills to fill specific job openings.

Some recruiters have to negotiate short-term employment agreements with contractors who have specialized skills. Consequently, some firms prefer to hire individuals with law degrees to fill these roles or people who have experience with contract law. Multi-national firms sometimes recruit qualified candidates from overseas so people with language skills are often able to get recruiter jobs at these firms. Recruiters required to have language skills normally have to have undergone some kind of formal language training such as a degree program or college course rather than just acquiring language skills from social interactions.