Transfer Recruitment Skills to Other Professions

Recruiters and technical sourcers are experts in identifying and attracting top talent to their respective companies. But their skills are not limited to the field of recruitment, and sometimes a job change is the best medicine. Many of the abilities and skills that make a great recruiter can also be applied to other verticals in tech, including roles in project management, product management, and UX research. Sometimes it's hard to visualize, so we've provided resume examples with some recruitment skills to show how to frame your work!

‍At the core of the recruitment profession is strong interpersonal skills– including empathy, communication and management. These are three soft skills that will become even more important in the world of tech as companies aim to be more approachable to users and candidates alike.
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Recruiters are the first impression of a new company, and often work with candidates from first contact all the way to offer negotiation and onboarding. This involves understanding a company's needs and culture, and being able to match candidates with the right role and organization. These skills can be transferred to other professions, such as project or product management, where being able to identify strengths, manage timelines and set expectations is crucial for organizational success.
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Another important skill for recruiters is the ability to effectively communicate with candidates and hiring manager stakeholders. This involves being able to listen to the needs of both parties and clearly articulate requirements and expectations. This skill can easily be applied to other professions, such as UX research, where effective communication is key to conducting user interviews and gathering valuable qualitative insights.

Tech recruiters are highly skilled at managing the recruitment process from start to finish… almost like an entire project per person. This knowledge involves coordinating and scheduling cross-functionally, setting timelines and goals, and ensuring that all parties are on track to meet deadlines. These skills can easily be transferred to project management, where being able to manage a project from start to finish is critical for success.
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Recruiters are also skilled at prioritizing and organizing tasks, for themselves and others. This involves being able to prioritize activities based on a function of importance and urgency. It also involves being able to create and maintain an effective system for tracking progress and managing several deadlines. These skills translate directly to project management, where being able to organize tasks is crucial for keeping a project on track.

Resume Bullet Ideas for a Recruiter Transitioning to Project Management

• Managed candidate and stakeholder expectations through effective communication, and placed X candidates monthly in roles.
• Organized a task-management system in ASANA to boost hiring productivity. Efforts resulted in X% lift in weekly completed tasks.
• Led weekly standups for multiple hiring teams to discuss progress, changes and expectations. Managed more than 5 meetings per week.
• Communication tactics with candidates yielded X% response rate across multiple platforms including Linkedin, Hired, and Builtin.
• Prioritized outreach activities to hit stakeholders desired deadlines. Placed X% of candidates before or ahead of deadline.
• Identified strong candidates for corresponding roles– placed candidates averaged more than two years with the company.

We also recommend using a tool like Jobscan on specific project management listings to identify ways to stand out!

View Full Project Manager Skillset Here

Recruiters are experts in understanding the needs and requirements of both the company and the candidate. This involves being able to evaluate a prospective job seeker’s skills and experience, and being able to match them with the right role within the right organization. These skills can be transferred to product management, where being able to understand the needs of your users is imperative to a job well done.

Resume Bullet Ideas for a Recruiter Transitioning to Product Management

• Acquired job requirements from hiring manager stakeholder to craft into effective job listing. Listings received an average of X qualified candidates in Y time frame.
• Balanced expectations of more than X hiring manager stakeholders and their job requirements that often changed scope.
• Worked with cross-functional team members to fully understand job expectations of designers, engineers, researchers and project managers.
• Actively monitored, measured and reported on candidate response and match rates to aid in optimization efforts. Insights yielded X% lift in response rate and Y% lift to placement rate year over year.

View Full Product Manager Skillset Here

Recruiters are confident and cool communicators. Recruiters are especially skilled at interviewing, as they spend a bulk of their time conducting screens of candidates on behalf of the hiring managers to make sure the job is a good fit for both sides. These activities are not too far off from the daily tasks of a UX researcher, who actively interviews users to craft insights and understand problems.

Resume Bullet Ideas for a Recruiter Transitioning to UX Research

• Responsible for candidate communication and first impressions. Conducted more than X hiring screens per week.
• Synthesized job requirements from hiring manager stakeholders into effective screening questionnaires. Screens were continually optimized for efficiency.
• Identified user problems with the interview processes and worked with corresponding stakeholders to rectify.
• Designed candidate feedback surveys to measure NPS with company recruitment processes. Implemented feedback and prioritized changes with hiring managers.

View Full UX Researcher Skillset Here

And these roles are just the beginning! Recruiters have valuable skills that would make them assets to any company. Once you've identified a career vertical, framing and communicating the skills you have is key to landing the role.

If you're looking to change your career, let us help! Check out our job guides below.