How do I Become a Retail Recruiter?

A retail recruiter is someone who finds qualified candidates for positions in retail stores. This person might hire people to work on the sales floor, manage retail employees, or fill executive-level positions. In essence, a retail company can use a recruiter to fill any position it has open. Many people gain retail and human resources knowledge and experience in order to qualify for the position of retail recruiter. Others obtain a college diploma before enrolling in retail recruiting training programs.

A four-year degree in human resources, business, consulting, or a related field can be obtained to prepare for a career as a retail recruiter. Courses in psychology, workplace law, business and office management, and coaching may be beneficial to aspiring recruiters. However, there are no specific educational requirements for working as a retail recruiter. In fact, many people work their way up to recruiter positions starting at the entry level and working their way up to a human resources position that eventually leads to recruiting.

Spending time familiarizing himself with the retail industry is usually beneficial to someone who wants to become a retail recruiter. This applies not only to the various types of jobs available in the industry, but also to the hiring procedures. This could come in handy when it’s time to find applicants for retail job openings. Employee rights and affirmative action are two topics that an aspiring retail recruiter should learn about.

A person who wants to work as a retail recruiter should learn how to evaluate resumes and job applications. A person interested in this field, for example, could learn how to search for specific keywords in resumes and application packages. He might also learn about the laws governing application screening and background and reference checks.

Retail recruiters may attend training courses designed to prepare them for a career as a recruiter. A company that hires recruiters may provide on-the-job or pre-job training to others. Important recruiting techniques may even be learned from books and Web sites for some people.

Aspiring retail recruiters can begin looking for work answering help-wanted ads placed in newspapers and on online job boards, submitting his resume to hiring companies. Some people go above and beyond researching recruiting firms and sending letters of intent and resumes to their human resources departments. College career counselors and professors can sometimes provide useful contacts for candidates.