The Rise of the Corporate Recruiter: Job Description, Salary Expectations, and Key Skills for 2020

As the war for talent intensifies, an effective corporate recruiter can help win that war by finding the right talent. So, what exactly does the corporate recruiters job description include in 2020? Find out in our definitive primer on corporate recruitment and what professionals in this space can expect in the new year.

Too often, HR practitioners are compelled to wear many hats and juggle multiple responsibilities as part of their daily schedules. On the one hand, they must fulfill workforce management and engagement needs, while on the other hand, the demand for top talent is on a steady rise. This has resulted in the role of a corporate recruiterOpens a new window , who takes charge of top-of-the-funnel or primary recruitment activities.

If youre looking to hire a corporate recruiter in 2020 or become one yourself you need to know the right skill set and tools to do the job. In this detailed guide, we look at how corporate recruiters can be integral to business growth and the skills that should be on your radar should you choose to don this role or hire for it.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Corporate Recruiter?
• What Is a Corporate Recruiters Job Description?
• How Much Does a Corporate Recruiter Make?
• What Are the Key Skills You Need in a Corporate Recruiter for 2020?
• Innovation Is Central to the Future of Corporate Recruitment

What Is a Corporate Recruiter?

A corporate recruiter can be defined as an individual tasked with hiring talent for the company or organization where they are employed, charged mainly with the sourcing and screening of candidates.

Recruitment is a complex function involving several top-of-the-funnel, mid-funnel, and bottom-of-the-funnel tasks. At the very bottom, you have the final selection and onboarding processOpens a new window . The middle of the funnel consists of engaging with selected candidates, negotiating terms and conditions, and finalizing the offer.

At the top are the highest number of tasks, such as selecting the right channels for candidate sourcing, building an outreach program to establish your employer brand, interacting with different recruitment stakeholders, and several others.

Corporate recruiters are responsible for these top-of-the-funnel initiatives. For example, they may regularly visit colleges and universities to conduct recruitment drives. Typically, theyll also be the first point of contact for inbound job applications. However, they may also be responsible for extending offers and onboarding new employees. As you can see, a corporate recruiters role is layered, comprising a mix of iterative tasks as well as strategic responsibilities.

Corporate recruiters work for only the company that is hiring on the permanent payroll. In other words, they arent consulting headhunters or individuals at recruitment agencies brought in to fill a specific number of vacancies.

Thats why corporate recruitment is generally limited to large organizations with a countrywide/worldwide presence that need regular hiring services.

What Is a Corporate Recruiters Job Description?

As an organization looking to hire corporate recruiters, ensure that the job description outlines the companys current size and future goals. It should include the ideal candidate profile, a breakdown of specific tasks they will have to perform daily, their eligibility criteria, and a skill set as precise as possible. For example, you may be looking for someone with 5+ years of recruitment experience, familiarity with key hiring technologies, and preferably, industry-specific knowledge.

Daily responsibilities

A corporate recruiters daily responsibilities include:

1. Networking and stakeholder interactions: Corporate recruiters will regularly meet external staffing or recruitment process outsourcing companies, representatives from digital hiring platforms, and trade union leaders. They will also contact people from educational institutes and others to expand the companys professional network.

2. Job posting: Creating job posts and distributing them intelligently across platforms is integral to a corporate recruiters job. Here, they work closely with different line managers and regional heads to identify the description of the role being hired for and consolidate hiring efforts.

3. Passive candidate search: Corporate recruiters are also expected to keep an eye on third-party databases and social media to find high-potential passive candidates. They can then use recruitment marketing to target and convert this segment.

4. Terms negotiation: Your company may or may not have a dedicated team to negotiate terms, create offers, and confirm the finalized agreement with candidates. Either way, the corporate recruiter acts as the point of contact, engaging in the entire candidate relationship managementOpens a new window process.

5. Relocation management: This is critical for large companies that frequently relocate candidates across cities or even countries. The recruit must be assimilated into their new location, often with housing and living assistance, and it is the corporate recruiter who will handle relocation for the new hire.

6. Data analysis: A significant portion of the recruitment process is now automated. The corporate recruiter monitors these systems and collects data to generate reports. These reports are then shared with talent acquisition stakeholders and business leaders to optimize the corporate recruitment strategyOpens a new window .

These are some of the responsibilities that youll find in any corporate recruiters job description. And to perform this role, five essential eligibility criteria may be required.

Eligibility criteria

1. 25 years of experience: Unlike a headhunter or a recruiter at a staffing agency, corporate recruiters must possess a good level of hiring experience. However, this need not be at a previous corporate recruitment job. General recruitment may also suffice.

2. A degree in human resources (HR): Corporate recruiters typically possess a graduate degree in HR or an equivalent earned via mid-career educational courses. But someone with years of experience or promising potential who does not have an HR degree can also be hired as a corporate recruiter.

3. Technical skills: Experience in or knowledge of using platforms such as applicant tracking systemsOpens a new window (ATS), candidate relationship management software, recruitment marketing tools, human resource information systemsOpens a new window (HRIS), etc. are now a staple in a corporate recruiters job description.

4. Soft skills: Corporate recruiters must regularly work with other stakeholders inside and outside the company, not to mention engage with candidates. Thats why soft skills such as communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and teamwork are essential to their role.

5. A robust professional network: Corporate recruiters at leading companies typically have an impressive professional network in their own right, i.e., a robust social media presence (especially on LinkedIn and Facebook). Companies may look for candidates who have these networks and can leverage them for their hiring requirements.

Another key element to look out for in a job description is the salary. How much a corporate recruiter makes varies from company to company, given the complexity of their duties and their critical role in overall business success. However, four different components make up the final compensation.

Learn More: Talent Acquisition vs. Recruitment – Key Differences and SimilaritiesOpens a new window

How Much Does a Corporate Recruiter Make?

What Key Skills Must Corporate Recruiter Possess in 2020?

While a corporate recruiter is definitely a salaried employee, there are several components to their compensation package. Briefly, this includes:

1. Basic salary: This makes up the lions share, comprising a steady amount thats paid to the recruiter every month. Regardless of the number of employees they hire or business profitability, corporate recruiters will earn this basic salary.

2. Commission: Apart from the basic salary, corporate recruiters can get additional payment based on the number of employees they successfully hire over a specific period. Remember, this isnt a mandatory component, and several companies opt for a basic salary only model.

3. Performance bonus: Just like any other full-time job, corporate recruiters can have a bonus amount specified in their employment terms. If their performance meets the requisite criteria (this refers to more than just the number of employees onboarded), they may or may not receive a bonus.

4. Profit share: In companies where corporate recruiters are instrumental to business growth, they might claim a percentage of the profits as part of their compensation package. For example, a technology company where the corporate recruiter can demonstrate their contribution to revenues may offer this amount.

The basic salary, followed by the commission, forms almost the entire job recruiters salary. According to payscale.com, this stands at an average of $58,200 every year in the U.S.¹ Of course, this depends on the level of experience someone with 14 years of experience will bring in approximately $53,000, while those with 20+ years in the business can make upwards of $70,000.

Interestingly, $10,137 of this $58,200 average is made up of commissions.

In the U.K., a senior recruiter earns a salary of 39,543 per year, reports indeed.co.uk.²

What Key Skills Must Corporate Recruiter Possess in 2020?

Corporate recruitment is now a rapidly evolving space, requiring a fresh skill set from professionals every year. The rules of engagement that were applicable five years back are no longer relevant which is why corporate recruiters are continually looking to upskill and reskill themselves. Here are four areas that will garner the most attention in 2020:

1. Industry knowledge

To find candidates that meet the specific skill requirements of a job, corporate recruiters need working knowledge of the industry in which they operate. This will help to understand line managers exact requirements better and translate them into job posts.

In this case, professionals from a non-HR background may also find their way into corporate recruitment in 2020. For example, a software developer who worked at a product startup for two years and then put in another year at a staffing agency could be the perfect candidate as a corporate recruiter for a global technology company.

2. Marketing prowess

In a candidate-centric world, job seekers are almost like customers for organizations. Thats why top-of-the-funnel recruitment often involves marketing techniques, with digital advertisements, social media posts, branding, email automation, and chatbots.

So, someone from a marketing background with strong people skills can fit right into the corporate recruiters role. Those already employed in HR positions will need to brush up on their marketing skills, especially in social media.

3. Compliance awareness

With GDPR now applicable to any company that works with EU citizens, security know-how is a definite bonus. Recently, the state of California also introduced the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to help consumers gain more control over how their information is used.³

Corporate recruitment involves collecting, storing, and utilizing vast repositories of candidate data. Someone with knowledge of local and global security laws can help to navigate this thorny landscape, ensuring their companies are always on the right side of compliance.

4. Data literacy

With analytics now becoming critical for the talent acquisition function, corporate recruiters must be able to analyze and interpret data. They should be able to suggest strategic moves informed by data to senior hiring managers, helping to optimize talent acquisition in the long term. Today, nearly every SaaS-based recruitment tool comes equipped with an analytics module corporate recruiters must keep an eye on these analytics insights and practice data-driven recruitment to be truly successful in 2020.

5. Gen Z understanding

Generation Z is now entering the workforce in droves. Corporate recruiters must understand the needs, wants, and objectives of this generation to engage with them on a deeper level. This segment is hugely value-centric and won’t hesitate to abandon an offer if it perceives a better opportunity elsewhere. Corporate recruiters should be able to sustain these young professionals interests through the full-cycle recruitment process, even if it takes several weeks.

6. Diversity training

In 2020, every corporate recruiter must be trained in diversity & inclusion (D&I) policies, helping their companies to build a more inclusive workplace. Diversity begins at the hiring stage by ensuring a level playing field for all candidates, corporate recruiters can significantly aid their companys D&I initiatives. The increasing popularity of diversity hiring strategies will make this skill even more necessary in the new year.

Learn More: Top 10 Recruitment Software and Tools for 2020Opens a new window

Innovation Is Central to the Future of Corporate Recruitment

Truly effective hiring isnt about maintaining the status quo it must achieve the objective of adding to your culture and business capabilities with every recruit. For this reason, corporate recruiters must bring an accurate understanding of the as-is company landscape, as well as a bold assessment of where it is headed.

By combining their expert knowledge of the hiring process with the latest digital tools, corporate recruiters are poised to take their companies to new heights. This will be critical as we enter a new era in talent acquisitionOpens a new window , marked by candidate centricity, continuous engagement, and tech-enabled hiring.

Do you expect a fresh addition to a corporate recruiters job description in 2020? Tell us on FacebookOpens a new window , LinkedInOpens a new window , or Twitter.Opens a new window We are eager to know more about your views!

References

¹Average Corporate Recruiter SalaryOpens a new window , Payscale.com

²Corporate Recruiter Salaries in the United KingdomOpens a new window , Indeed.co.uk

³A New California Privacy Law Could Affect Every U.S. BusinessWill You Be Ready?Opens a new window , Forbes.com