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It’s common for small and even midsize companies to outsource their recruitment to a third party. This allows businesses to take advantage of the skills of an expert recruiter without needing to keep one on staff. Aas your business grows, though, you may realize that recruitment has become a permanent, full-time job. This is the point at which you should consider bringing a corporate recruiter onto your team to work alongside your talent acquisition manager and hiring managers.
To determine if you should have a corporate recruiter on your team, it’s important to understand what one does and what difference having a corporate recruiter makes compared to using external recruiters.
Duties of a Corporate Recruiter
A corporate recruiter plays a role in the entirety of the hiring process: from determining the need for a new employee to analyzing data to improve hiring strategies moving forward.
Some of the main responsibilities of a corporate recruiter include the following:
Collaborating with Hiring Managers
A hiring manager is typically responsible for informing the HR department of the need to search for a new employee. This could be because a current employee is leaving the company or because workloads have increased, creating an opportunity for a new position.
The hiring manager will work directly with the corporate recruiter to determine what qualities the company needs in the new hire and to develop a strategy for attracting the right talent.
Searching for Candidates
Based on the criteria discussed with the hiring manager, the corporate recruiter will write job ads and determine where to post them. In addition, the corporate recruiter may source candidates directly from places like professional networks and social media, by searching resume databases, and through referrals. It is also common for corporate recruiters to make appearances at job fairs, such as at local colleges.
Screening Applications
Once the company starts receiving applications for the position, it is the corporate recruiter’s responsibility to review resumes to find qualified candidates. This typically involves checking applicants’ experience, qualifications, and cultural fit.
The corporate recruiter may also decide to run skill assessments to determine if it’s worth pursuing an applicant.
Communicating with Candidates
The corporate recruiter is responsible for staying in touch with candidates throughout the hiring process. This begins when the company wants to schedule an interview with an applicant up until the candidate accepts the offer and starts the onboarding process.
Participating in the Interview Process
It is often the corporate recruiter who conducts initial interviews with candidates, whether in person, over the phone, or through video calls. The hiring manager takes over at the later stages and makes the ultimate decision about who to hire.
Developing Hiring Strategies
Corporate recruiters often develop strategies that align with their companies’ overall goals and hiring objectives. In addition, the corporate recruiter will assess current tactics by tracking KPIs to determine recruitment ROI.
How to Ensure Your Corporate Recruiter Is Successful
To see good results from your hiring efforts, your corporate recruiter will need access to tools and data. There are several ways companies can help corporate recruiters succeed.
Providing Training
Even experienced corporate recruiters need training when they join a new company. In particular, you need to ensure your corporate recruiter is familiar with each of the different departments, including their needs (current and future) and how they operate.
Investing in Modern Technology
If the company receives a large amount of interest for each position, it may be difficult for the corporate recruiter to manage applications manually. This is where technology becomes necessary. In addition to automating processes, modern tools can provide useful insights and improve candidate experiences. Make sure your corporate recruiter has access to some of the top recruitment tools available.
Tracking KPIs
You’ll only know if your recruitment efforts are successful if you have a way of measuring the performance of your tactics. Determine which KPIs matter to you and ensure your corporate recruiter has a way of tracking them.
Talent Acquisition Manager vs Corporate Recruiter
Large companies have a talent acquisition manager in addition to a corporate recruiter (or perhaps multiple recruiters). Although their purpose at the company is similar — i.e., finding talent — they have quite different responsibilities.
| Role | Corporate Recruiter | Talent Acquisition Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Fills current vacancies by sourcing candidates for specific job openings. | Develops long-term hiring strategies and builds a talent pipeline for future roles. |
| Approach | Reactive – focuses on immediate hiring needs. | Proactive – searches for talent before a position is open. |
| Candidate Engagement | Assesses candidates for existing roles and ensures a good fit. | Builds relationships and nurtures candidates through employer branding efforts. |
| Overlap | Both use job postings, engage talent, and assess candidates, but with different timelines and objectives. | |
Corporate Recruiters vs Third-Party Recruiters
A corporate recruiter works full-time for a company to help the organization fill vacancies as they arise. If the company doesn’t have the need for this to be a full-time position, it may use a third-party recruiter, such as a:
- Headhunter — Using a headhunter is often a good solution for companies that only have vacancies occasionally and need support filling a specific position. Another advantage is that headhunters are often good at finding passive candidates.
- Retained Recruiter — Another solution for filling occasional vacancies is to use retained recruitment. Retained recruiters work directly for the organization but only stay on the team as long as the company needs them. Plus, rather than paying a salary, the company pays a certain amount upfront and the rest only once the recruiter has found a suitable hire.
- Contingency Recruiter — Similar to retained recruitment is contingency recruitment. The difference is that companies don’t pay anything until the recruiter has found them someone to hire.
- Staffing Agency — Companies may turn to staffing agencies if they need a contract worker for a fixed amount of time or they’re looking for international staffing solutions.
Benefits of Having a Corporate Recruiter on Your Team
There are several benefits to having an in-house corporate recruiter over using external recruiters or expecting other team members (such as hiring managers) to carry out the entire recruitment process themselves.
Understanding of the Company and Sector
Unlike external recruiters, corporate recruiters have an in-depth knowledge of the company and of the industry as a whole. This means they understand the business structure, what each job title involves, and what the company is looking for in terms of culture fit.
Their knowledge also exceeds that of hiring managers. As recruitment experts, they’re aware of recruitment trends and best practices, which enables the company to remain competitive when searching for talent.
Reduce Workloads for Hiring Managers
Hiring managers are already under a great deal of pressure because they also have their regular job duties in the department where they are supervisors.
Reducing the amount of work that falls to a hiring manager is beneficial for the company because it means other tasks are not neglected. For instance, the corporate manager will take over posting jobs, sourcing candidates, and screening applicants to create a shortlist for the hiring manager to assess.
Greater Involvement in HR
Unlike an external recruiter, a corporate recruiter is a member of the HR team. In addition to working directly on recruitment efforts, the position involves contributing to broader employment efforts, such as creating job profiles, developing hiring strategies, and determining how to better retain employees.
A corporate recruiter may also be responsible for relocating employees, such as if the company wants to establish a presence abroad or bring a remote worker onto the in-person team.
Arrive at the Best Employment Terms
A hiring manager may not have much experience negotiating employment terms and may not know how to make an enticing offer for a candidate. The corporate recruiter can work with the hiring manager to determine what terms the employer would be willing to accept and how to sweeten the deal for the new hire with attractive benefits.
When Is a Recruitment Specialist a Better Option?
Companies that are too small to justify having a full-time recruiter will likely determine that outsourcing to an external recruiter is a better option. However, there are also other situations in which a corporate recruiter may be unsuitable. For instance, if you want to hire abroad, you’ll need to work with a specialist who understands the labor market to ensure you comply with regulations.
Hiring abroad is a great solution for expanding your reach, gaining access to specific skill sets, and finding affordable talent — especially when the work you need is possible to carry out remotely. A global recruitment specialist can find suitable candidates and support you throughout the hiring process, including with contracts.
Remote People speeds up the process by handpicking candidates for you from pre-vetted talent and then hiring workers on your behalf by acting as your employer of record. Find the talent you need by talking to one of our experts.
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Written by
Charlotte Evans