Exploring key recruiting roles to build great teams

Recruiting the right people for any role is one of the most important tasks any business faces. Yet, finding the right people to fill recruiting roles is even more important. After all, these are the people who will help you not only expand your teams but help your business thrive by recruiting only the best candidates. 

But which of the key recruiting roles does your business need to fill to help you accomplish your business objectives?

What combination of skills does each role require to help you build great teams? And how can you assess the skills of your future HR and recruiting staff objectively and accurately?

In this article, we’ll take a look at the responsibilities of recruiting teams and how to determine which recruiting roles your business needs to hire for. Then, we’ll provide a deep dive into the six key recruiting roles, the skills needed for each position, and when you should consider recruiting for each role.

What are the recruiting team’s roles and responsibilities?

Whether your recruiting team consists of one person or twenty, there are certain roles and responsibilities that this team is in charge of. 

Keep the following roles and responsibilities top of mind when considering the scope of your recruiting team’s missions and tasks: 

• Developing and executing a recruitment strategy

• Identifying and sourcing qualified candidates

• Developing job descriptions and job postings

• Managing and tracking recruitment activities and progress

• Building and maintaining relationships with prospective candidates

• Using applicant tracking systems (ATS) to manage recruitment activities

• Coordinating and organizing recruitment events

• Cultivating a positive candidate experience 

• Reflecting employer branding in all recruiting activities 

• Screening and interviewing candidates

• Determining details of open positions and extending job offers

How to determine the key recruiting roles your business needs 

Many factors go into creating a strong recruitment team. Let’s take a look at the main considerations to make when deciding which recruiting roles you need. 

1. Analyze your current recruitment processes and structure

Start by evaluating your current recruiting processes and how they benefit your hiring needs. Pay close attention to the people that are currently involved, which tasks they take on, and the state of your current recruiting metrics such as time to hire. 

For example, some small businesses don’t have a dedicated recruiter, and instead, rely on heads of departments to manage the bulk of the recruiting and hiring processes. This can often distract from their main duties and cause inefficiencies elsewhere in the business. 

Other businesses might find that one person in the HR department – who is not in a formal recruiting role – is taking on the majority of recruiting tasks and is performing well. In this instance, the organization might consider moving them into a formal recruiting role or adjusting their job description to reflect this. 

This first step will enable you to identify roles that could be eliminated or combined and give you a good idea of any further recruiting roles you need to hire for. 

2. Analyze your workforce and talent needs

Secondly, evaluate your current workforce and the types of roles that you need to fill in the short and long term. For example, if your business has aggressive growth goals over the next year, you might want to consider expanding your current recruitment team. 

3. Consider your budget and the size of your organization 

When it comes to the structure of your recruitment team, the size of your business and your budget will play a huge role in determining which recruiting roles you need. 

While small businesses and startups might only need one dedicated recruiter, larger businesses will need a bigger recruiting team to handle the hiring volume and associated processes. 

Structuring a recruitment team: 6 key recruiting roles

While there is no perfect recruitment team structure – your in-house recruitment team structure will depend on the factors above – there are several recruiting roles that you should consider.  

Here are the six key recruiting roles to keep in mind when assembling your recruitment team structure. 

1. Recruiter

Recruiters are responsible for all aspects of the recruiting process, including sourcing candidates, coordinating interviews, writing job descriptions, assessing candidates, and engaging in different recruitment-marketing activities. 

The recruiter is usually the first recruiting role that organizations hire for, because they perform key recruiting and hiring tasks.

What qualifications and skills do recruiters need?

Recruiters often have a bachelor’s degree in human resources or a related field, and/or a strong background in recruiting. Some recruiters also specialize in recruiting in specific industries. 

They should also be familiar with recruiting and hiring software tools such as ATSs, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), and pre-employment testing solutions. 

Recruiters need the following core skills: 

• Relationship-building skills

• Communication skills 

• Time management skills

• Strong attention to detail 

When you might need a recruiter 

You might need a recruiter if: 

• Your business is expanding and you don’t have a dedicated recruiting function

• You’re hiring for a role with a small talent pool

• You want to streamline your recruiting processes and save time and money

2. Recruiting manager

Recruiting managers (or recruitment managers) are responsible for managing a business’s entire recruiting strategy, including creating recruiting workflows, identifying opportunities for improvement, and keeping track of recruiting metrics. 

They’re also responsible for managing recruiters, implementing recruitment best practices, and overseeing interview processes.

What qualifications and skills do recruiting managers need?

Recruiting managers may have a degree in human resources management, and/or experience in managing teams of recruiters. They’ll also need good knowledge of local labor laws, experience in working with different job advertising techniques, and be up-to-date on the latest recruiting and hiring software. 

Recruiting managers need the following core skills: 

• Strong decision-making skills 

• Leadership and people management skills

• Written and verbal communication skills 

• Time-management skills

• Strong attention to detail 

When you might need a recruiting manager 

It might be time to hire a recruiting manager if:

• You have more than one recruiter 

• You have ambitious growth goals

• You want to implement a new recruiting strategy 

3. Sourcer

Sourcers solely participate in the initial phases of the recruitment process and are experts in using several different channels such as resume databases, social media, job boards, and professional networks to source the best candidates for vacant positions. 

They are also skilled in contacting passive candidates and building talent pipelines to benefit an organization’s long-term hiring needs. 

What qualifications and skills do sourcers need?

Sourcers will be adept in using various sourcing techniques such as crafting Boolean search terms, will have experience with HR platforms and candidate management systems, and will know how to create candidate funnels for hard-to-fill positions. 

Sourcers need the following core skills: 

• Marketing skills

• Networking skills 

• Relationship-building skills 

• Communication skills

When you might need a sourcer

You might need a sourcer if: 

• You want to build a solid talent pipeline

• You’re hiring for a role with a limited talent pool

• You want to promote your employer brand 

4. Recruitment coordinator

Recruitment coordinators are junior employees that support recruiters, sourcers, and recruiting managers in their efforts to recruit candidates. 

They manage the logistical processes to help cultivate the recruiting funnel, including posting job listings, coordinating interviews and travel, preparing offer letters, scheduling interviews, and conducting background checks. 

What qualifications and skills do recruitment coordinators need?

While recruitment coordinators don’t necessarily need a college degree, they should have relevant experience in administrative support for recruiting teams or a related area.

Recruitment coordinators need the following core skills: 

• Strong organizational skills

• The ability to work collaboratively

• Time-management skills 

When you might need a recruitment coordinator 

You might decide to hire a recruitment coordinator if: 

• You need extra support in your recruiting efforts

• Your company is expanding

5. Talent acquisition specialist

Talent acquisition specialists are responsible for enacting proactive and long-term recruiting strategies to build talent pools and pipelines that align with business needs.

They analyze a business’s current workforce and growth strategy to create hiring strategies to source, attract, and recruit candidates for future vacant positions. They’ll also engage in talent mapping to identify and analyze organizational vulnerabilities and build a strategy to fill skills gaps. 

What qualifications and skills do talent acquisition specialists need?

Talent acquisition specialists should have experience in recruiting and hiring roles and a solid foundation of HR knowledge. 

They should also have in-depth knowledge of talent management and recruiting strategies, an understanding of full-cycle recruitment processes, and experience with using relevant recruiting software to build talent pipelines.  

Talent acquisition specialists will need the following core skills:

• Strong communication skills

• Critical thinking skills 

• Interpersonal skills 

• Solid HR management knowledge

• Organizational and time-management skills

When you might need a talent acquisition specialist

It might be time to hire a talent acquisition specialist if: 

• You want to future-proof your business’s talent pipeline

• Your leadership is mapping the future and growth goals of the company

6. Technical recruiter

Technical recruiters are responsible for sourcing and recruiting candidates to fill IT and technology positions such as data scientists and software engineers. They have technical knowledge that general recruiters don’t have, enabling them to find candidates with the right technical skills for each position. 

Just like general recruiters, technical recruiters are responsible for all aspects of the recruiting process, including writing job descriptions, sourcing and screening relevant candidates, and scheduling interviews.

What qualifications and skills do technical recruiters need?

Technical recruiters often have a background in tech and in recruiting. 

They’ll also be familiar with recruiting and hiring software tools such as ATSs, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), and skills testing platforms. In most instances, they’ll have specialized knowledge about a specific segment of the tech industry (e.g., IT, SaaS, or e-commerce).

Technical recruiters need the following core skills: 

• Relationship-building skills

• Communication skills 

• Time-management skills

• Strong attention to detail 

When you might need a technical recruiter 

You might need a technical recruiter if your business is becoming more tech-focused and wants to hire more It or technology professionals. 

Build the best recruiting team with pre-employment skills testing 

Whether you’re just starting to build a recruitment team or expanding your current one, you’ll first need to analyze your workforce plan and talent strategy and determine your business priorities. This will give you a solid idea of which key recruiting roles you need to add to your team. 

Once you start recruiting, you’ll then need to assess candidates to make sure they have the right recruiting skills to be successful in their roles.

With TestGorilla, you can test candidates’ soft and hard skills with a pre-employment skills assessment consisting of up to five tests. For example, you can combine our free Talent-acquisition test with other tests such as our Communication, Time Management, and Attention to Detail tests. 

To find out more about how TestGorilla can help you fill key recruiting roles with the best candidates, sign up for a free demo today