Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists Overview
Levels of responsibility and diversity of duties vary from position to position as do the educational backgrounds of employment, recruitment, and placement specialists. A certification and college degree will help candidates find the best positions. Strong interpersonal skills are imperative in the field of human resources. Over the next decade, much faster than average growth is expected.
Nature of the Work for Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists
Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists help organizations attract top candidates and match them with jobs they’re best suited for. While many of these workers completed administrative tasks, increasingly work is more complex involving collaboration with top executives on policies and strategies.
Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists are in charge of doing what their title infers—recruiting and placing workers. Recruitment specialist often travel a lot, including to job fairs and college campuses, looking for promising candidates and establishing relationships in the community. These workers interview, screen and sometimes test job applicants. For the best candidates, they check references and give job offers. Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists must understand their organizations goals, work and human resources policies as they’ll be talking salaries, promotions and working conditions with job applicants. The equal employment opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action guidelines and laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act must also be followed.
Usually employment, recruitment, and placement specialists work in clean, comfortable offices. Some travel may be required to attend professional meetings, job fairs and college campuses for job interviews.
A 40-hour workweek is the standard for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists, but some longer hours may be necessary on occasion and job fairs and recruitment may take place on evenings or weekends.
Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement for Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists
Educational backgrounds of employment, recruitment, and placement specialists vary as do the job duties and levels of responsibility. Entry-level jobs usually go to college graduates who majored in human resources, human resources administration or industrial and labor relations. College graduates with technical or business backgrounds or a well-round liberal arts degree are favorable as well.
A bachelor’s degree is common in this field, but human resources degree programs aren’t typically offered until the graduate level. So many employment, recruitment, and placement specialists choose to take courses or concentrations in human resources, organizational development or human resources management during their undergraduate education.
An interdisciplinary background of social sciences, behavioral sciences, and business administration will prove useful. More technical or specialized positions may require a background in finance, law, science or engineering. Courses in organization structure, industrial psychology and principles of management are standard and finance or accounting are growing in popularity for workers in this field. Labor law, labor history and collective bargaining may also provide valuable skills. Computer skills are also valuable.
Entry-level workers in human resources careers typically start with administrative tasks and learn skills on the job to eventually advance to supervisory roles or specializations such as employment, recruitment, and placement specialists.
For senior-level posts including managerial positions, experience is essential. At the entry-level even, employers prefer candidates with internship or work-study experience. Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists need to demonstrate both a knack for interpersonal communication and a commitment to the organization’s goals.
Written and oral communication skills are needed for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists as they interact with potential employees constantly. The diversity of the workforce places an importance on being able to work with many cultural backgrounds, experiences and educational levels. A foreign language can come in handy especially when working with international companies or those that hire immigrant workers. Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists must demonstrate integrity, an ability to be both persuasive and fair, balance under stress and discretion. These workers often have access to confidential information and must show they’re responsible with sensitive employee information.
Some professional organizations offer certifications to human resources workers including the Society for Human Resources Management.
Employment and Job Outlook for Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists
In 2008 there were 207,900 employment, recruitment, and placement specialists working. Jobs were found in nearly every industry and some workers were self-employed consultants.
Experts project employment to grow faster than average between 2008 and 2018. College graduates who earn a certification should have access to the best opportunities.
Demand for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists may slow due to corporate downsizing, restructuring and mergers, but they will pick back up again as companies expand operations and add additional workers to the staff.
Employment, management and consulting services should demand many employment, recruitment, and placement specialists as more and more companies seek to outsource human resources function due to cost and the complexity of the job.
Certificate-holding college graduates will find the best opportunities, but graduates with a bachelor’s degree in human resources, human resources administration or industrial labor relations will be most sought-after. Technical, business or a liberal arts background can appeal to some employers as well. Business cycles and economic conditions can affect the demand for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists because staffing needs will change as such. Fast-growing businesses will need help locating many staffers as those downsizing won’t need assistance at all.
Besides employment growth, many job openings will arise due to retirements and workers who leave the occupation for other reasons.
Earnings and Salary for Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists
Training, experience, location and firm size all impact the annual salary rates for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists. Median wages for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists are $45,470. The highest 10 percent earned above $85,760, the lowest earned under $28,030 and the middle 50 percent earned between $35,020 and $63,110. Broken down by top industries employing employment, recruitment, and placement specialists, salaries are as follows:
State government: $38,970
Employment services: 42,670
Local government: 42,950
Management of companies and enterprises: 51,320
Computer systems design and related services: 55,600
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services: 56,110