Becoming an Employment Recruiter

Employment recruiters, also known as employment agents or job recruiters, act as brokers between employers and potential employees. They attract applicants for vacancies notified to them by employers, put forward a short list of suitable people to the employer, and charge employers when an applicant starts work or remains in employment with them for a certain period of time.

The Job:

Employment agencies work in many different ways in order to fill their clients' vacancies. Some agencies are state run while others are private companies. Whoever they are working for, the people employed in these offices work in small teams. They contact employers and potential employees by telephone and letter, by visiting companies, and by interviewing applicants face to face.

Employment recruiters advertise some vacancies, using their knowledge of the media to determine how to attract the best applicants. The wording of advertisements may be controlled by law and they need to be written to attract the right applicants and discourage unsuitable ones. Agencies often attract a broad range of applicants. They keep their details, including curricula vitae, on a database so they can quickly identify suitable people when an employer notifies them of a vacancy at any point in the future.

Some employment recruiters work as headhunters, actively seeking senior executives or people with specific expertise, for their clients without advertising. Part of this work includes researching where the people might be. Having completed this exercise, those most suitable are contacted by telephone and, if they are willing to consider a change in job, a meeting is arranged for a preliminary interview. After many people have been interviewed, a few candidates will be put forward for final selection by the employer. The selection procedure may also include aptitude tests, which are usually carried out in the offices of the employment agencies.

The type of work suits people who are sales orientated. Employment recruiters in the private sector sell their services to employers who are seeking staff. They also sell the job vacancies they have to suitable prospective applicants. Brining the two together for their mutual benefit is the nature of the work.

The work includes writing a job specification from details supplied by the employer, preparing and publishing advertisements, and sifting through applications and curricula vitae. At the next stage, employment recruiters interview candidates and prepare a short list of suitable ones for the employer. It is often necessary to sell a job to applicants who may not otherwise give it serious consideration.

Employment agencies often specialize in particular types of jobs, such as computing, secretarial, or finance, or in supplying personnel for a specific industry. Some recruiters begin this work without experience; others first gain relevant experience working in the industry or in the type of position which they intend to recruit.

Training Involved:

Training for work in employment agencies is usually conducted on the job. It always includes training in the techniques of selection interviews and sometimes involves administering psychological questionnaires or aptitude tests. These skills are usually gained by attending short courses. Employment agencies usually prefer to recruit and train candidates who have outgoing personalities and an aptitude and flair for sales.

Administrative skills and the ability to write carefully targeted advertisements must also be learned quickly by new recruits. A first step into employment agency work is sometimes by taking an administrative post in an agency. Computer literacy - in particular, good word processing skills and the ability to use databases - may be required.

Useful Qualifications to Have:

No special subjects are required to work in an employment agency.

Most employment consultants have good grades when leaving school. When working in certain sectors, it may be necessary to have relevant qualifications in order to prove your credibility. Many people in agency recruiting, for example, accountants or lawyers, will have accountancy or legal qualifications

Salary Expectations:

The base salary range of an Employment Recruiter ranges from $38,410 to $62,735 annually, while the median salary for most Employment Recruiters is $49,500 annually. (US Base Pay)

Future Prospects:

Employment agencies vary in status from country to country. In some, they are not legal, since job vacancies are handled entirely by government agencies. In others, agencies are not regulated and have considerable freedom of operation. Prospects depend entirely on the need for qualified personnel. During recessions, many small employment agencies cease trading. Yet even in times of high unemployment, some employers have difficulty in recruiting high-caliber, specialist staff, so the best agencies always have work.

Recruiters' salaries often include an element of commission, based on the number of people placed in employment each month. The more people placed, the higher the salary and the better the prospects for advancement.

Starting at the bottom, it is possible to be promoted to manager of a branch of a large chain of agencies. There are also opportunities to become self-employed as an employment consultant.

For further information, contact associations of employment agencies and professional bodies concerned with personnel/human resources management.