Recruiters were hit hard during the pandemic. With many companies pausing their hiring efforts, many were forced to lay off their talent acquisition teams. Now that the world is recovering and companies are once again hiring, a recruiter’s skills and experience have never been more in demand.

In fact, just a few months ago, open recruiting jobs surpassed the number of open engineering roles advertised on LinkedIn.

Companies across the globe are struggling to fill open roles, and these open roles won’t magically get filled with the right candidates on their own. Recruiting and hiring recruiters can be a challenge because they’ve been in your shoes; they know what to look for and are used to being in the driver’s seat during the hiring process.

However, as Forbes pointed out, “the cost is too high to rely on resumes alone” right now. You need savvy recruiters to find the people that will help your business continue to grow; that’s why it’s essential to prioritize hiring your recruiters first.

Below, we’ve outlined how to recruit recruiters that fit with your goals and will be cheerleaders for your organization when they are working with candidates!

Consider what type of recruiter you need

First, you should assess your business needs. Will you need someone full-time or will a freelance recruiter suffice? There are several different types of recruiters that you can employ based on your company’s needs and hiring goals.

Internal: An internal recruiter is typically a full-time employee of a medium to large-sized business whose sole focus is talent acquisition.

Contingency recruiter: A contingency recruiter only gets paid if their candidate gets the job. They are typically paid a flat fee or a percentage of the candidate’s salary by the company that hired them. Contingency recruiters usually work for recruitment agencies but can also be freelance.

Retained recruiter: Similar to contingency recruiters, retained recruiters are sometimes referred to as headhunters. A company will pay the recruiter or agency a fixed upfront fee in order to perform the search as well as an additional fee once the candidate is placed. This type of recruiter is usually reserved for higher-level positions because the talent pool is smaller and thus, the search can be more challenging.

Outside of the employment parameters, recruiters can also have specialties based on their skills and experiences. Technical recruiters have an understanding of the tech talent space and what types of skills and requirements are valuable for roles in engineering, software development, etc. Other recruiters may have strong backgrounds in executive, legal, or hospitality hiring.

Depending on the type of roles you’re hiring for, you may want to consider hiring a recruiter who has focused on a particular industry.

Where to find recruiters

Once you’ve determined what type of recruiter you’re looking for and what their responsibilities will be, you can start your search!

Look online: A good recruiter is great at selling themselves and might be advertising their services on LinkedIn or other social media. There are also online communities of recruiters that you may be able to engage with, depending on the group's rules for entry.

Reach out to passive candidates: Like hiring for any role, passive candidates are key. Psst...they are 120% more likely to make a strong initial impact on your business! Learn more about the benefits of passive candidates in building your talent pipeline.

Use Fetcher: We are biased, but Fetcher's capabilities to automatically find you diverse, top talent for your open recruiting roles will allow you to hire qualified recruiters faster - and will be their best friend after they've joined your team!

What to look for in a recruiter

Interviewing recruiters

If you have a strong candidate, you may be interviewing an interview expert. Make sure you’ve prepared beyond the standard introductory and core competency questions. Our partners at Lever have a comprehensive list of questions that will help you better understand how a recruiter tackles each aspect of their job. Recruiters should be confident answering questions about evaluating candidates, conducting interviews, and working with hiring managers. If you are hiring for an entry-level recruiter role, customer service experience is a great transferable skill.

If a candidate aces the interview, try giving them a real assignment. For example, have them source five potential candidates for one of your open roles.

Again, be sure to stay on top of communication with your recruiter candidates. When you make the hire, follow up with them to get their feedback on the recruiting process. Now that they’ve been through it, they’ll be perfectly suited to help you improve upon it!

Recruiters have a lot to juggle. They partner with hiring managers to understand different department’s needs and the skills and qualities desired for each role. They manage the entire recruiting lifecycle from sourcing to interviewing to the offer letter. They continuously nurture qualified candidates in the event they are a good fit for a future role.

Once you’ve brought on a recruiter or a recruiting team, they’ll take over the heavy lifting of the hiring process for you. However, to retain recruiting talent, you’ll want to make sure they are happy and doing meaningful work. Fetcher’s recruiting automation software allows recruiters to focus on the parts of the job that they love, like engaging with candidates and developing a seamless onboarding experience.

Fetcher can help you hire recruiters faster and make their lives easier once you’ve brought them onboard! Reach out to us to schedule your demo today.