Becoming an executive recruiter requires a college degree and at least three years of experience in recruiting lower-level positions. Recruiters can work for a human resources company or a corporate human resources department. The job requires strong sales and service skills, as well as the ability to cultivate new clients and manage relationships over time. Executive recruiters typically have more industry experience and focus on luring employed individuals away from their current employer.
An executive recruiter combines elements of business overview, sales experience, service experience and networking. Recruiters may work for a human resources company that finds executives to fill positions for clients, or as part of a human resources department at a large corporation tasked with filling internal vacancies. You can become an executive recruiter by earning an undergraduate degree, spending at least three years recruiting lower-level positions, and developing the kind of skill set expected of an employee in sales or marketing.
The basic educational requirement for becoming an executive recruiter is typically a college degree. In some cases, a degree is preferred but not required. This underscores that, ultimately, recruiting is about the ability to get the job done. There is no industry-standard recruiting course or mandatory education program, but if you choose to pursue a college degree to increase your chances of success, a business or communications course will usually be adequate.
Recruiters assigned to executive-level positions typically have more industry experience than an entry-level recruiter. Executive placements generate the highest commissions for human resources agencies, and clients who trust an agency with executive positions are often longtime clients. While there is no hard and fast rule that prevents an agency from hiring an entry-level executive recruiter, the position typically requires three to seven years of recruiting experience in lesser positions.
Generally, employers prefer recruiters to have an entrepreneurial bent because of the way recruiters develop a portfolio that operates similarly to a company within a company. The job description typically requires strong verbal and written skills, service and sales experience. To become an executive recruiter, your credentials need to demonstrate the ability to find and evaluate talent, cultivate new clients, and manage client relationships over time. Recruiting executive-level talent, in particular, can be challenging, as it often involves luring an employed individual away from their current employer, a practice often referred to as headhunting. This type of recruiting relies on the same kind of common connections and networking that is common in sales.
You can choose to become an executive recruiter working for an independent staffing agency or working for a corporate human resources department. A corporate executive recruiter has internal vacancies and doesn’t have to worry about cultivating clients. Instead, he focuses on developing the best talent pools and matching quality to the company. Companies tend to want newly hired executive recruiters to have some prior experience, typically in a staffing agency.
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