When more than 4 million workers a month quit their jobs, the impact is felt across corporate budgets, production schedules and the operations of departments throughout the business. That puts a lot of heat on companies, which have to face the consequences of strained revenue and margins, even as they scramble to keep operating whether their headcount is reduced or not.

So, it’s not surprising that recruiters are busier than ever – and in demand as candidates.

As the Great Resignation gained momentum, the number of job postings for recruiters more than doubled, says The Wall Street Journal. Recruiting firms say it’s become more difficult to fill their own jobs, even when less-experienced recruiters can earn compensation in the low six figures.

“There are not remotely enough recruiters to fill the demand that’s out there,” said John Arbolino, managing director at financial recruiter Boothroyd & Co. “Everyone and their mother out there in corporate America wants recruiters.”

According to ZipRecruiter, the average number of monthly U.S. job postings for recruiters has more than doubled since February 2020, to nearly 148,000 this past September. That’s led to a number of efforts to fill the pipeline with recruiters-candidates who can, one way or another, do the job.

For example, Recruit Rise is a nine-week remote training program to train technology recruiters, who are in particularly heavy demand. Run by a former tech recruiter, the program educates budding recruiters from all sorts of industries about tech roles, buzzwords, strategies and poaching. Tech recruiters can earn between $75,000 and $115,000 annually, the Journal said, higher than a year ago.

New Recruiting Teams

Many recruiting firms say they’re struggling to meet client demand for new hires, while others say they’ve been successful at increasing their headcount. For candidates, the strong market is opening up new paths into the business.

A number of companies are building up their own in-house recruiting teams as a way of avoiding the 20% to 30% in fees recruiters charge on a new hire’s first-year salary. As a result the value of experienced recruiters has increased, the Journal said, while the value of novices has been limited.

Many of the skills recruiters need can be found throughout the business world, Keith Wolf, managing director of recruiting firm Murray Resources, told the Journal. He mentioned strong communication and organizational skills, persistence and “just being talkative.”

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By Mark Feffer

Mark Feffer is executive editor of RecruitingDaily and the HCM Technology Report. He’s written for TechTarget, HR Magazine, SHRM, Dice Insights, TLNT.com and TalentCulture, as well as Dow Jones, Bloomberg and Staffing Industry Analysts. He likes schnauzers, sailing and Kentucky-distilled beverages.

Discussion

1 thought on “Recruiters Are On the Hunt for… Other Recruiters”

  1. Excuse the fishing analogy… but putting more “lines in the water” is sometimes, but not always, the right solution. There can be diminishing returns; the real constraint is often the small number of fish in the pond, and they’ve already been approached.

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