Human Resources (HR) recruiters are responsible for identifying and hiring suitable candidates to fill job vacancies. Recruiters are usually in-house personnel, as opposed to agency recruiters who are HR professionals that a firm can hire on a short-term contractual basis. Employers either have a policy of reactive hiring or proactive hiring but regardless of the hiring policy, HR recruiters play a central role in the hiring process.
If a company has a reactive hiring policy then it only advertises for new employees when staff positions become vacant. HR recruiters have to liaise with departmental managers prior to creating job postings that detail the job duties and the requisite skills that applicants must possess. The recruiter may advertise jobs internally by posting advertisements on staff notice boards or by emailing employees about vacant positions. Some firms attempt to promote from within in which case HR recruiters must determine whether any internal applicants are qualified to fill a position before allowing external applicants to apply for the role.
When external candidates are able to post for a position, HR recruiters must make arrangements to have job descriptions posted on recruitment websites, in local newspapers or listed with local employment agencies. Depending on the role, the recruiter may include salary information so that prospective applicants have an idea about the level of pay before they apply for the job. When applications are submitted, HR recruiters must compare the applicant's credentials with the requirements listed in the job posting and then reject ill qualified candidates and make arrangements to interview well qualified applicants.
At some firms, recruiters conduct preliminary interviews with job applicants and then arrange for the most impressive candidates to meet with the hiring manager. In other instances, HR recruiters jointly conduct interviews with hiring managers although the manager normally makes the final hiring decision. After the interviews have been completed, the recruiter must negotiate terms with the applicants although many firms have strict payroll guidelines which mean that recruiters have limited room to maneuver during negotiations. When an agreement is reached the recruiter makes arrangements for the employee's orientation and training.
Some companies have a proactive hiring policy which means that HR recruiters are responsible for head-hunting qualified applicants before positions become vacant. Firms that employ individuals with specialized skills often have proactive hiring policies because qualified candidates are sometimes hard to locate. Recruiters must contact and interview prospective employees and create a file of interested candidates. When positions at the firm become open, the recruiters immediately contact the already identified candidates and arrange interviews with the hiring manager.