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Role hub · Human Resources Specialists

Recruiter: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of recruiters earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$75,940
Hourly
$36.51
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Recruiters recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. The median pay is $75,940 a year ($36.51 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (47% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$75,940
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
912,430
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
47% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Human Resources Specialists (O*NET-SOC 13-1071.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Recruiters

SalaryRecruiter salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeRecruiter how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeRecruiter resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsRecruiter interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changeRecruiter career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What recruiters do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Interpret and explain human resources policies, procedures, laws, standards, or regulations.
  2. Hire employees and process hiring-related paperwork.
  3. Maintain current knowledge of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action guidelines and laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  4. Prepare or maintain employment records related to events, such as hiring, termination, leaves, transfers, or promotions, using human resources management system software.
  5. Address employee relations issues, such as harassment allegations, work complaints, or other employee concerns.
  6. Review employment applications and job orders to match applicants with job requirements.
  7. Inform job applicants of details such as duties and responsibilities, compensation, benefits, schedules, working conditions, or promotion opportunities.
  8. Select qualified job applicants or refer them to managers, making hiring recommendations when appropriate.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

SpeakingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreWritingCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationJudgment and Decision MakingActive Learning

Knowledge areas: Personnel and Human Resources, Administrative, Administration and Management, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Law and Government.

Tools and technology

Software recruiters use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Applicant tracking softwareHuman resources softwareIn demand
  • Oracle HRISHuman resources softwareIn demand
  • Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • ESRI ArcGIS softwareGeographic information systemHot technology
  • Extensible markup language XMLEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • GitHubApplication server softwareHot technology
  • Google AnalyticsData mining softwareHot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology

Also called: Hr Specialist, Human Resource Specialist, Corporate Recruiter, Employment Representative, HR Analyst (Human Resources Analyst), HR Coordinator (Human Resources Coordinator), HR Generalist (Human Resources Generalist), Human Resources Representative (HR Rep).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).