Recruiter job description template

What a recruiter does

Recruiters find and hire the people a company needs to grow. The best recruiters act like business partners: they push back on unrealistic requirements, coach hiring managers, and sell candidates on the opportunity. Tell candidates how many open roles they'll carry, which functions they'll hire for, and which tools they'll use. Recruiters know better than anyone how much a clear job description matters.

Recruiter job description template

Copy the description, replace everything in [brackets], and cut any line that isn't true for your job. The duties and requirements are a starting point written by HR practitioners, not a legal standard, so edit them to match the real work.

Recruiter

Details
- Department: [Department]
- Reports to: [Manager title]
- Location: [City, State, or remote]
- Employment type: [Full-time, part-time, or seasonal]
- FLSA status: [Exempt or nonexempt]
- Pay range: [$X to $Y per year]

About [Company]
[Two or three sentences about what your company does, who it serves, and why people like working here.]

Job summary
We're hiring a recruiter to partner with our hiring managers, find great people for [functions or locations], and give every candidate a respectful, timely experience.

What you'll do
- Partner with hiring managers to define roles, requirements, and interview plans.
- Write and post job descriptions on job boards and social channels.
- Source candidates through databases, LinkedIn, referrals, and events.
- Screen applicants and run phone interviews.
- Coordinate interviews and gather structured feedback.
- Extend offers and negotiate within approved ranges.
- Keep candidate records current in [ATS].
- Track hiring metrics such as time to fill and source of hire.

What you'll need
- [Two] or more years of full-cycle recruiting experience.
- Experience with an applicant tracking system.
- Strong sourcing and interviewing skills.
- Clear, persuasive communication.

Nice to have
- Experience hiring for [technical, healthcare, or other] roles.
- Agency or high-volume recruiting experience.
- Knowledge of employer branding.

Skills
Sourcing, Interviewing, Stakeholder management, Negotiation, Candidate experience, Data tracking.

Physical demands and work environment
Office, hybrid, or remote setting, with occasional travel to career fairs.

Pay and benefits
[$X to $Y per year], based on experience and location. [List benefits, such as health insurance, retirement plan match, paid time off, and training.]

Equal opportunity
[Company] is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply or interview, contact [name] at [email or phone].

How to customize it for your job

• State the number of open roles the recruiter will carry.
• Name the functions or locations they'll support.
• List your ATS and sourcing tools.
• Say whether recruiting is in-house or agency.

Then check it against the HRTally job description standard, our 10-point checklist, and run it through the inclusive language swap list. Both take about five minutes.

How much to pay a recruiter

Half of US human resources specialists earned more than $36.51 an hour in May 2025, and half earned less, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That national figure is a starting point, not a pay range. Pay for the same job can differ by 30 percent or more between metro areas, so check the BLS occupation profile for state and metro data before you set your range.

To convert between hourly and annual pay, use our salary to hourly calculator. If you hire in a state or city with a pay transparency law, the range must appear in the posting itself. Our pay transparency laws guide lists where, and our guide to salary bands explains how to set ranges you can defend.

Exempt status, licenses, and legal notes

FLSA status: Depends on duties. Job titles don't decide overtime eligibility. Duties and pay do. Our guide to exempt vs non-exempt employees walks through each test, and the overtime calculator shows what a nonexempt employee is owed.

Recruiters can be exempt under the administrative exemption when they exercise independent judgment in hiring decisions, but recruiters who mainly screen resumes against set criteria and schedule interviews may be nonexempt. Recruiters must follow EEO rules, state salary history bans, pay transparency laws, and ban-the-box rules that limit when you can ask about criminal history. Background checks require FCRA disclosure and authorization.

This is general information for US employers, not legal advice. Laws change and vary by state and city, so confirm the current rules or talk to employment counsel before you rely on them.

Interview questions to ask

Ask every candidate the same core questions and score answers against the same criteria. Structured interviews are fairer and predict job performance better than open conversation.

1. How do you push back on a hiring manager with unrealistic requirements?
2. Walk me through how you'd source a hard-to-fill role.
3. Tell me about a candidate who declined your offer. What happened?
4. How do you make the candidate experience better for people who don't get the job?

When you're ready to schedule, use our interview invitation email template. For a full hiring process, read the recruitment process guide.

Frequently asked questions