Top Skills for Recruiters

With the increasing need for organisations to attract and retain the best talent, developing an effective recruitment team is more critical than ever.

Recruitment has faced unprecedented challenges and had to embrace the need for revising strategies and digitising processes and services.

A core requirement is the need to re-evaluate and build skill sets in the recruitment team to keep pace with the impact of technology and new ways of working.

Here are five of the top skills you need to focus on developing:

1. Strategic thinking

Identifying, attracting and retaining the best talent gives organisations a competitive edge. Taking a long-term, strategic approach to sourcing talent and building a talent brand is fundamental to success.

Recruiters need to adopt a lateral thinking approach to sourcing, looking for new skill sets in non-conventional settings, new industries, and new geographies, and looking beyond current requirements to the organisation’s future needs.

2. IT and social media skills

Recruiters have an array of digital tools available to support their activities. Social media recruiting is now the norm, and many sites have features explicitly tailored for both recruiters and job seekers.

AI and data analysis have combined to provide recruiters with unprecedented access to information on both active and passive candidates. Predictive algorithms and metrics provide insights into the effectiveness of processes, and support organisations to gain competitive advantage.

Recruiters need to ensure that they stay up to date with IT advancements in their field and have the technical skills they need to get measurable results.

3.Communication skills

The ability to communicate well across all forms of media is an essential skill for recruiters. During all phases of the recruitment cycle, communication needs to be direct and tactful, whether done in person or at a distance. The recruiter represents the company brand and creates a lasting impression on candidates.

The best recruiters are also adept at listening, both to what the organisation needs and what the candidate brings to the table. Conducting effective and professional assessment centres and interviews involves clear and direct communication, interpreting body language and empathising with candidates.

An added challenge to maintaining a professional and approachable style is the increasing use of virtual communication tools throughout the recruitment cycle.

4. Marketing and sales skills

Recruiting involves marketing and selling the organisation and the role to a candidate and selling the candidate to the hiring manager. Recruiters need to understand the needs and aspirations of candidates and be able to relate these to the role on offer.

Successful recruiters have the skills needed to develop leads, negotiate, and close deals for the benefit of all concerned.

5. Multi-tasking and time management skills

The logistics associated with attracting, scheduling, interviewing, and selecting candidates can be overwhelming, and the ability to manage time effectively is a critical competency.

Recruiters must be flexible, able to prioritise well and to multi-task. Often several roles are being recruited simultaneously, and there is competition to attract and secure the best talent, often within tight timeframes.

To build a cohesive team of motivated and passionate recruiters with the right skill sets, HR managers must support their teams’ continuous skills development.

Read more about the next step, Employee Onboarding.

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