What is a senior recruiter and how to become one

Q: Can you make good money as a senior recruiter?

Yes, you can make good money as a senior recruiter. The average salary of senior recruiters in the United States is $75,000 but can vary considerably. However, a senior recruiter's salary can range between $60,000 to over $100,000. This depends on your location and your level of education and experience within the field.

Q: Do recruiters get paid well?

Yes, recruiters get paid well. Most recruiters earn a base salary, but the largest part of their income is based on commissions. Salary is also dependent on whether you are an external recruiter or an internal recruiter.

Q: What does a lead recruiter do?

A lead recruiter oversees the recruiting process of a company. Lead recruiters perform general recruiting duties while also supervising the recruitment department's daily functions. Lead recruiters are involved with other tasks that directly relate to how the recruiting department is run, including:

Q: What is a senior recruiter?

Senior recruiters provide staffing services to businesses. There are three main senior recruiter responsibilities: Locate appropriate candidates. A senior recruiter must be resourceful to find appropriate candidates for the specific company they are filling the position for. This can include networking online and in-person on different social media platforms and at job fairs or colleges and universities. Interview and possibly hire candidates. Knowing proper interviewing techniques is a must because many senior recruiters have an informal interview with candidates to decide whether they are qualified to proceed to a formal interview. Keep a record of candidates. Maintaining a database of potential candidates provides a large reference of qualified candidates for companies to choose from. This can also result in filling positions more quickly.

Q: What qualifications do you need to be a recruiter?

There are no qualifications or certifications needed to become a recruiter, but most recruiters have a bachelor's degree. Many recruiters have a background in business, psychology, marketing, or communication.

Q: What type of recruiters makes the most money?

Executive recruiters make the most money in the US. The base annual salary is $93,045, and the average is $119,473 per year. The recruiters who make the most correlate to the industries that earn the most. There is a huge difference in pay structure between Internal Recruiters and External Recruiters.

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted Expert

Mick Joneja

A senior recruiter manages the entire recruitment process in an organization. They work with hiring managers to identify staffing needs, screen and interview potential candidates, negotiate job offers, and onboard new employees. Senior recruiters act as a liaison between job seekers and hiring managers, ensuring that the right people are placed in the right jobs. They also use data analysis to identify trends in recruitment, develop strategies to attract top talent, and improve the hiring process.

What general advice would you give to a Senior Recruiter?

Mick Joneja

Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, Life Time

We see similar trends to the Great Recession and Global Financial Crisis of 2008, regarding the workforce supply and demand in many US industries. Because of the recent spike in the amount of talent, companies have become inundated with a significant increase in applicants. For those graduates entering the workforce now or shortly, it will be vital for them to find ways to set themselves apart, while being open and patient during this unique time.

1.Graduates need to use their networks to make personal connections to increase their chances of being considered for those more desired, entry-level roles. Student organizations with alumni networks, family friends, and career service centers with strong relationships with local companies are great places to start. Appropriate and professional persistence is essential when candidates are requesting introductions through their network.

2.Many companies that were financially impacted during the epidemic have restructured their corporate offices, and have found more creative ways to combine roles and work more cross-functionally. Candidates need to be more open to positions that may come with a mixture of different types of related work and see it as a way to grow their skills while learning their new role and integrating themselves into the company. Temporary roles are also the right way for candidates to get their foot in the door, exceed expectations, and transition into permanent positions.

3.The implementation of short, project-based work and gigs is becoming significantly more common, where various leaders need additional help on critical initiatives in short periods. Once hired, those beginning their careers should look for these opportunities to quickly diversify their backgrounds and internally network across new divisions.

4.While conducting your job search, or after getting settled into your first position, consider online courses and certificates related to your desired profession and industry. Not only will you gain new educational experience, but the progress also shows work ethic and dedication to continuous development.

ScoreSenior RecruiterUS Average

Salary

6.2

Avg. Salary $78,931

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.0

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 8.05%

Black or African American 10.63%

Hispanic or Latino 18.28%

Unknown 5.18%

White 57.25%

Gender

female 56.28%

male 43.72%

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

What are the pros and cons of being a Senior Recruiter?

Pros

Opportunity to work with diverse candidates and industries
Constantly learning about new industries and job markets
Opportunity to build strong professional relationships with clients and candidates
Flexibility in terms of work schedule and location
Ability to work independently and manage own workload

Cons

High pressure to meet recruitment targets and deadlines
Dealing with difficult candidates or clients can be challenging and stressful
Heavy reliance on technology can sometimes be frustrating or overwhelming
High competition within the industry can make it difficult to stand out or secure clients
Can sometimes require extensive travel or remote work, which may not suit everyone

Key steps to become a senior recruiter

Explore senior recruiter education requirements

Most common senior recruiter degrees

Bachelor's

77.0 %

Master's

10.4 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific senior recruiter skills

Skills	Percentages
Applicant Tracking Systems	10.67%
Customer Service	6.33%
Human Resources	6.12%
SR	6.11%
Recruitment Process	4.46%

Complete relevant senior recruiter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior recruiters 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 senior recruiter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior recruiter resumes.

Research senior recruiter duties and responsibilities

Utilize ATS (TALEO) to manage full-cycle, end-to-end, high volume recruiting efforts.
Lead process development effort to centralize sourcing information and improve efficiency for one of the largest RPO clients.
Manage applicant database and tracking system to ensure data integrity and compliance with federal regulations, including OFCCP compliance.
Recruit a team of QA experts to do framework lead solution as a testing bed foundation for quarterly regression testing.

Get senior recruiter experience

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

Prepare your senior recruiter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior recruiter 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 senior recruiter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Recruiter Resume templates

Build a professional Senior Recruiter 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 Senior Recruiter resume.

Apply for senior recruiter jobs

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

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

How do senior recruiters rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Senior Recruiter reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019

Pros

research, build a good relationship with others, interview

Cons

need a lot of time

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

What is a senior recruiter and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a Senior Recruiter?

What are the pros and cons of being a Senior Recruiter?

Senior Recruiter career paths

Key steps to become a senior recruiter

Explore senior recruiter education requirements

Most common senior recruiter degrees

Start to develop specific senior recruiter skills

Complete relevant senior recruiter training and internships

Research senior recruiter duties and responsibilities

Get senior recruiter experience

Prepare your senior recruiter resume

Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Recruiter Resume templates

Apply for senior recruiter jobs

How Did You Land Your First Senior Recruiter Job

Average senior recruiter salary

How do senior recruiters rate their job?

Senior Recruiter reviews

Senior Recruiter FAQs

Can you make good money as a senior recruiter?

Do recruiters get paid well?

What does a lead recruiter do?

What is a senior recruiter?

What qualifications do you need to be a recruiter?

What type of recruiters makes the most money?

Search for senior recruiter jobs

Senior Recruiter jobs by state