Use this as a neutral starting point for a recruiter job description — adapt every line to your own company, team and market. For the writing principles, see how to write job descriptions; for the underlying structure, the job description template.
Role overview
Recruiting varies by setting — in-house versus agency, generalist versus technical, high-volume versus executive search. Naming the focus and the type of roles this person will fill keeps the description grounded.
What a recruiter typically does
The work is part relationship, part process. A recruiter clarifies what a role really needs, writes and posts compelling job descriptions, sources and reaches out to candidates, screens for genuine fit, coordinates interviews, and keeps candidates and hiring managers informed. Throughout, they protect the candidate experience and support fair, consistent decisions.
Key responsibilities
- Partner with hiring managers to define roles and realistic requirements
- Write clear job descriptions and post them on the right channels
- Source and proactively reach out to potential candidates
- Screen applications and run initial conversations fairly and consistently
- Coordinate interviews and keep candidates informed at every stage
- Support structured, evidence-based hiring decisions
- Keep the applicant-tracking system accurate and the process compliant
Day-to-day activities
- Intake conversations with hiring managers about open roles
- Searching for and messaging potential candidates
- Reviewing applications and running screening calls
- Scheduling interviews and briefing interviewers
- Updating candidate status and notes in the ATS
- Following up with candidates and giving timely feedback
Required and preferred skills
Required skills
- Strong communication and genuine people skills
- Good judgement in assessing fit against real requirements
- Organisation across many candidates and roles at once
- Fair, consistent and bias-aware screening habits
- Comfort with an applicant-tracking system and sourcing tools
Preferred skills
- Experience recruiting for your role types (e.g. technical, sales, volume)
- Familiarity with your ATS and sourcing platforms
- Knowledge of inclusive and structured hiring practices
- Employer-branding or candidate-marketing experience
Education and experience considerations
Recruiters come from varied backgrounds; some study HR or business, while many move in from sales, customer-facing or operational roles. Evidence of communicating well, organising a process and exercising sound judgement usually matters more than a specific degree.
Match the requirement to the focus. High-volume recruiting, technical recruiting and executive search each reward different experience — describe the real mix, and treat ATS-specific or sector-specific experience as preferred rather than essential where you can train it.
Example job description template
A generic, editable structure — not tied to any company. Replace every bracketed placeholder.
Hiring a recruiter?
Plan the role before you post it. Start from a neutral structure and a free, printable interview scorecard — no signup, no gating.
Common hiring mistakes
- Describing the role as "filling seats" rather than hiring well, which attracts the wrong approach
- Ignoring fairness and candidate experience, which damages your employer brand
- Confusing sourcing-heavy and full-cycle roles without saying which this is
- Requiring experience with one exact ATS that is easy to learn
- Leaving out the role types, so applicants cannot judge their fit
Interview considerations
- Ask how the candidate would run an intake meeting with a hiring manager who has unrealistic requirements.
- Explore how they keep screening fair and consistent across many candidates.
- Look for genuine care about candidate experience, not just speed-to-fill.
- Use a structured scorecard so you assess recruiters the way you want them to assess others.
For ready-made questions and a way to compare candidates fairly, use the interview question bank and the hiring scorecard guide.