Recruiter – the labour market specialist

Recruiter as a new profession

Recruiter is a relatively new profession. Companies have created it as part of the specialisation in HR. Before, recruiting was one of many tasks of HR managers. Due to increased employee fluctuation and skills shortage, the demands on recruitment have increased. Especially when companies are looking for specialists and executives, generalists are no longer up to the challenge. The approach of recruiters has also changed. For a long time, they were able to cover their personnel requirements through job advertisements on the open labour market. Today, recruiters even have to directly address specialists at lower hierarchical levels. They use the tools of headhunters and track down employees on the hidden labour market. They also address people who are not actively looking for a job. The search is carried out via data analysis on the Internet and in social networks. LinkedIn has established itself as the leading tool in this respect.

Task sharing between recruiter and hiring manager

The recruiters work on behalf of the hiring managers. This is the role description of line managers in recruitment. They determine the personnel requirements in their department and define the job profiles sought in cooperation with the recruiters. The scope of the recruiter service depends on their seniority and expertise. For a long time, mainly younger employees have worked in recruitment. This was a good opportunity to enter the HR business. Very few of them have held this position for many years. With the increasing importance and professionalisation of the function, the requirements have risen. Recruiters must have strategic skills, a good knowledge of human nature and a developed personality, especially for the recruitment of technical and management specialists. The realistic assessment of candidates requires them to be aware of their own assessment mistakes. They must also be confident enough to critically question even highly qualified applicants.