What is a recruiting lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Expert
Rachel Raymond
introduction image

Recruiting leads are in charge of supervising daily operations at recruiting departments, finding talent for the companies they work for. They lead HR teams responsible for sourcing employees by setting goals, creating recruitment strategies, and overseeing their implementation.

As a recruiting lead, you will be reporting to the recruiting director. You will most likely be invited to contribute to creating annual recruitment budgets in collaboration with higher-level management and expected to manage your department's resources throughout the year.

You will be regarded as a mentor for junior-level members of your team, guiding them on their path of professional growth. They will be looking to you for input on corporate and business culture, which is a role that comes with great personal responsibility as well.

What general advice would you give to a Recruiting Lead?

R

Rachel RaymondRachel Raymond LinkedIn Profile

Strategic talent acquisition sr. manager, Jack Henry & Associates

Entering the workforce for 2020 graduates will be more difficult this year, given the higher unemployment numbers we see across the US. With the uncertainty of Covid-19, companies will be more conservative in increasing headcount across their organizations. Graduates need to think strategically about identifying jobs that are in industries more likely to thrive by the current economic conditions: digital services, remote learning, online gaming, healthcare, remote call centers, delivery and transit (Amazon, Postmates, Instacart), and collaboration technology (Zoom, Citrix), are just a few.

Many graduates will be competing for positions against experienced professionals willing to apply to entry-level jobs. Don't discount internships and apprenticeships as they frequently lead to full-time employment and help graduates gain additional experience for their resume. Through the selection and interview process, hiring managers will interview self-starters who are comfortable embracing a work-life integration mindset, and who can be agile and flexible with the new, remote, working environment. Onboarding and training have become increasingly difficult for many organizations, so new hires need to understand those challenges. Recent graduates have a proven record of successfully navigating new technology and working in any environment - coffee shops, trains, traveling, etc.- so be sure to highlight those traits through the interview process.
ScoreRecruiting LeadUS Average
Salary
6.0

Avg. Salary $76,768

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
8.0

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 8.47%

Black or African American 11.02%

Hispanic or Latino 18.07%

Unknown 5.24%

White 56.57%

Gender

female 50.47%

male 49.53%

Age - 40
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40
Stress Level
8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
7.0

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

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Recruiting Lead career paths

Key steps to become a recruiting lead

  1. Explore recruiting lead education requirements

    Most common recruiting lead degrees

    Bachelor's

    75.1 %

    Master's

    10.4 %

    Associate

    8.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific recruiting lead skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Healthcare9.10%
    Recruitment Process8.91%
    Applicant Tracking Systems8.17%
    Human Resources6.71%
    Recruitment Strategies5.71%
  3. Complete relevant recruiting lead training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New recruiting leads learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a recruiting lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real recruiting lead resumes.
  4. Research recruiting lead duties and responsibilities

    • Manage the team's daily activity, KPI's, weekly and monthly goals.
    • Partner with managers, compensation, workforce management, legal, and HRIS to attain goals.
    • Manage the RFP selection for ad agency and ATS system, along with composing the scripts and requirements.
    • Manage enterprise-wide HRIS software implementation through product release.
  5. Get recruiting lead experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a recruiting lead. The most common roles before becoming a recruiting lead include recruiter, senior recruiter team lead and technical recruiter.
  6. Prepare your recruiting lead resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your recruiting lead resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a recruiting lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Recruiting Lead Resume templates

    Build a professional Recruiting Lead resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Recruiting Lead resume.
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    Recruiting Lead Resume
  7. Apply for recruiting lead jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a recruiting lead job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Recruiting Lead Job

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Are you a Recruiting Lead?

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Average recruiting lead salary

The average Recruiting Lead salary in the United States is $76,768 per year or $37 per hour. Recruiting lead salaries range between $52,000 and $112,000 per year.

Average Recruiting Lead Salary
$76,768 Yearly
$36.91 hourly

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How do recruiting leads rate their job?

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Recruiting Lead reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Cons

need a lot of time


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019
Pros

I like Bonus and helping people. Sometimes our company cover expanse for networking and meeting. More we do networking more we can earn.

Cons

too much pressure. to hire 1 executive vacancy we have to make connections with 100s of people. We work with people and people are sometimes really hard even we are doing our best. After weeks of hard work right before the placement, some firms reject them without any answers


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019
Pros

Learning about the business and candidate journey

Cons

declining under or overqualified candidates


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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