The top qualities of an HR recruiter

Being in the recruiting field means that you are in a competitive industry where, if you are able to perform well, you can have a very rewarding experience. It is a gratifying job where you are also able to make lots of changes in the company you are working for.
Here are some crucial qualities a recruiter should posses

  • Relationship building

If you have the predisposition to connect with people, then this job is good for you. Depending on the job, you have the opportunity to get close with as many people as possible and get to know them really close, sometimes personally. Sometimes people may share crucial information with you, but only when they invest sufficient time at the end of which they feel comfortable in revealing themselves to you, including their strengths and weaknesses. That is why it is said that recruiting involves forming relationships. Your skill in building relationships would be helpful in generating excellent talent.

  • Understanding the business

An HR recruiter must understand the nature of business (of the company) because only then he would be able to understand the requirements of the company. When he is interviewing the candidates, he would be able to understand and recognize the skills required for that particular business.

  • Be social media savvy

Social Media Savy


Gone were the time when using the social media was a taboo. Now companies insist on researching the skills and character of a probable candidate by looking at his social media accounts. A recruiter would look at his Facebook or Twitter accounts to check whether the candidate’s account of himself tallies with what he has written on his resume.

  • Communication skills

Having exemplary communication skill is crucial to any business or job. Similarly, the HR recruiter must be able to communicate effectively. It might so happen that you have met with a good talent who seems to have excellent skills. However, you may not need him at the present time because the post is not vacant. How will you turn him down? Having excellent talent at saying politely that you will not be needing his skills right then is quite important.

  • Time Management skills

HR recruiters are expected to be deft at managing their time. They must know where their priorities lie and how to shift the less important ones to the last. They must learn to focus on the most important ones and configure their inbox’s in such a way that they respond to the most important mails in the correct order. Time conscious HR managers plan their day before committing to anything beforehand. They might have to face issues that may come up suddenly and that which they will have to exert full

attention. This could cause complete imbalance to the day’s schedule but a good HR manager should be able to come around and get his priorities in the right order.

  • Good at multi-tasking

As mentioned earlier, an HR manager may have to juggle several projects at a time, so he must be good at multi-tasking while managing the time. He may have to keep in mind the requirements of the company he is working for, the skills required for each candidate and for each job.

  • Self-discipline

An HR recruiter can manage his time brilliantly if he has good self-discipline. So that is another skill he must possess. If an HR recruiter has tight deadlines to meet, he would be able to complete all of them if he has good self-discipline. Some HR managers have a heavy workload that requires them to work 14-16 hours a day, can you manage it?

  • Trustworthy

Every job requires people who can be trustworthy. Similarly, an HR manager may have knowledge of several company secrets, which he must keep to himself. Credibility is important; if you lose that everything is gone, including your job. If somebody shares crucial information with you, do not make it public, unless of course, there are ulterior motives.

  • Be impartial

While recruiting new talent to a company, it might so happen that the recruiter meets with a candidate whom he knows personally. But it is important that he remains impartial and objective and keep only the country’s interests in mind. He must not hire someone just because he knows that person and shows favoritism.

  • Understanding and reading body language

A good HR manager would be able to interpret what people are trying to convey just by studying their facial expressions and gestures. Some candidates might be lying through their teeth while keeping a straightforward face and expression. But there might be other indications that he is lying.

  • Team working skills

Since the HR recruiter has to work as per the requirements of the company he is working for, he must be excellent at team work. He might have to confer with fellow recruiters before finalizing on a particular candidate. So he must be able to maintain excellent communication with all of them and work hard to clear misunderstandings.

  • Updated on the latest training techniques

It would be the job of the HR department to arrange for training sessions for the employees. So the HR manager must keep himself updated on the latest skills required in the job front and provide training to employees that would further their skills. He must be able to grow his team professionally, so he should act like a coach and a mentor to them.

These are just a few of the skills an HR recruiter should possess, but these are the most important ones in the list. If you have the above mentioned skills then there is no doubt, you will make a great HR manager/recruiter and you will steer your company to success.

Interesting links about the topic:

Qualities a great Recruiter must have
Essential Qualities of Modern Recruiters

Pictures: Flickr.com/ wonderworks/ Inkles/ Harris


The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.

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