If you’re thinking about changing careers and giving IT recruitment a shot, then let us tell you about all the skills that make a successful IT recruiter.

As an IT recruiter, you’ll be in charge of filling job openings for an organization (or several). Tasks such as creating job ads, looking for candidates, reviewing CVs and their qualifications, as well as negotiating salaries, will become a part of your daily chores. To sum it up, the duty of an IT recruiter is to find the right person for a given job position.

 

Essential IT recruiter skills

There’s a common set of recruitment skills that every good recruiter needs to have to perform their job well. These include a combination of hard and soft skills that are either innate to the recruiter’s personality or were learned over time.

Soft skills are inherently related to the personality of the candidate. They are a part of who you are and can also be improved over time. Some good examples are:

Attention to detail: Attention to detail: Details have a huge impact on a company’s reputation, so it’s extremely important for a recruiter to pay attention to the quality of the hiring process, including the smallest details.

Communication & listening skills: These need to be excellent and must entice the candidates to apply for the vacancy. The IT recruiter is considered the face of the company when it comes to the applicant’s perspective. The way the recruiter communicates with the candidate will either attract or push them away. Also, listening allows them to understand the candidate’s feedback regarding the position or even the company. It’s only by communicating and listening that the IT recruiter capable of placing the employee in the correct position.

Relationship-building skills: Just think of a recruitment process as a relationship between a company and the applicant. It all starts with a standard email and then it evolves into personalized emails and face-to-face meetings. Nurturing this relationship is essential because it benefits both parties. It helps the company show off its brand and creates a positive recruitment experience.

Time management & multitasking skills: These characteristics are not only extremely important for a skilled IT recruiter, but they also walk hand in hand with success. Sometimes a company might need a position to be quickly filled and there are a lot of things that need to be done before finding the candidate to interview: posting the job, putting together the ad, screening the applicants, etc. A skilled recruiter is able to do multiple things at once, perfectly.

Patience & Confidence are key: Dealing with candidates and clients is not easy. The right person for the job must have a great deal of patience and confidence in themselves. Just setting up a simple job interview can take a long time because people don’t always agree on the schedule. Not giving up and overcoming obstacles can only be done when a person has a great deal of self-confidence.

We could name many skills that make up a great IT recruiter, but these are some of the most important ones and will lead the right candidate on the right path. On the other hand, hard skills are learned with time and through education. Here are some of them:

Data-driven mentality: We all know technology is rising in several areas. Learning about which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or recruitment metrics matter to the company will allow for a more efficient recruitment process. It is essential to be able to analyze the data and use it as a recruitment advantage.

Marketing and sales skills: There is a crucial moment during the interviewing process when you have to sell the company to potential candidates as if it were a product. This will only become possible by acting as a true salesperson and marketer at the same time. Pitching the company’s benefits is what will allow for a smooth sale of the job position to the candidate.

Technology skills: It goes without saying that it is imperative for an IT recruiter to be tech-savvy. This means that they must know how to combine recruitment skills with the ability to use technology such as Applicant Tracking Systems or Performance Management platforms, in order to allow for a better and more efficient recruitment process. Knowledge about technology will also be beneficial when hiring candidates for IT positions because communicating with them in their “language” gives the recruiter confidence and increases the chances of success.

Social media: This is one of the most influential channels for recruitment. It’s a great virtual space to spread the word about job positions and vacancies and talk to potential candidates directly. There are millions of different people online that recruiters can chat with.

 

If you think you have what it takes to start a career as an IT recruiter, discover our job vacancies and apply to be a part of the Prime Engineering team!

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