Junior Recruiter Job Description

Junior recruiters help initiate the hiring process by identifying and screening qualified candidates for employment opportunities. Their work requires critical thinking, research, sales skills, and people skills. Junior recruiters work in support of senior recruiters and account managers in supplying candidates to hiring managers and by helping the candidates through the hiring process. Experience at the junior level can help qualify recruiters for promotions and opportunities in recruiting for higher level candidates or taking on account-management tasks.

Junior recruiters often handle the bulk of resume screening and make initial contact with candidates. They can also be involved in posting job openings to generate applications, scheduling candidates for interviews with hiring managers, presenting job offers and coordinating start dates for new hires. Many employers require a drug test and background checks, and junior recruiters are often involved in coordinating those as well.

Most staffing agencies and human resources departments prefer to hire junior recruiters with bachelor’s degrees. College majors such as business administration, human resources administration, communications and other relevant degrees are preferred, but not always required for prospective recruiters. Many recruiters have sales-related experience, and those who recruit for highly technical fields such as software development or medical professions are sometimes hired for first-hand experience with the technologies involved. Hiring standards for selecting recruiters vary widely.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a May 2010 annual media salary for recruiters and human resources professionals of $52,690. The lowest 10 percent, primarily junior recruiters and human resources assistants, earned less than $29,050. Salaries for these skill sets in 2010 were highest with federal employers and lowest among staffing agencies. Many junior recruiters work at least minimal overtime in pursuit of goals or quotas.

The job market for recruiters and human resources professionals is projected to continue a trend of growth at 21 percent, significantly higher than the national average of 14 percent for all professions, through 2020. The BLS projects particularly strong growth of up to 55 percent for staffing agencies and executive search companies. Corporate human resources departments have increasingly outsourced candidate search and screening to third-party search agencies in recent years, a trend predicted to continue.

Human resources specialists earned a median annual salary of $59,180 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, human resources specialists earned a 25th percentile salary of $44,620, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $78,460, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 547,800 people were employed in the U.S. as human resources specialists.