Employment, Recruitment, & Placement Specialist Careers: Employment & Salary Trends for Aspiring Employment, Recruitment, & Placement Specialists

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Employment, Recruitment, & Placement Specialists at a Glance

Employment, recruitment, & placement specialists’ main responsibility is to recruit and place workers. They also hire and train staff, handle employee benefits, and communicate with upper management and other high level professionals regarding planning.

Employment, recruitment, & placement specialists work full-time in comfortable office settings. Some positions may require travel or attendance at events such as job fairs. Around 25.7% of employment, recruitment, & placement specialists work part-time and 3% are self-employed.

Employment Trends

Job Outlook: Above average increase
Annual Openings: 30,000
Percent Growth: 30.5%
Total Jobs Held: 207,900
Projected Employment: 265,900 by 2018
The Best 500 Jobs Overall Ranking: Data unavailable
--Source: “Best Jobs for the 21st Century,” JIST Publishing 2009. Farr, Michael and Shatkin, Laurence, Ph.D.; “Salary Facts Handbook,” JIST Publishing 2008. Editors @ JIST.

View employment and salary data by City/State for Employment, Recruitment & Placement Specialists

Aspiring employment, recruitment, & placement specialists can expect an above average increase in job growth due to legislation changes that prompted new standards for wages, healthcare, sick leave, retirement benefits, equal opportunity employment, and safety and health in the workplace. Aspiring specialists that have experience in a specific area such as labor relations or disputes will have a large number of opportunities, as will individuals interested in working for a consulting firm or management firm.

Salary Trends

Employment, recruitment, & placement specialists earn an average annual salary of $50,070. Employment, recruitment, & placement specialists in the 90th percentile can expect to earn around $81,680 per year, while 75th percentile employment, recruitment, & placement specialists can expect to earn $58,320 annually. Entry-level employment, recruitment, & placement specialists can expect to earn a starting salary of around $26,590 per year.

Degrees and Training Programs

A bachelor’s degree or higher is preferred for entry into this field – even for entry-level positions. Currently, 1.3% of all employment, recruitment, & placement specialists hold a first professional degree, 1.2% have a doctoral degree, and 12.5% have a master’s degree. Bachelor’s degree holders make up 27% of the workforce and 13.8% of all employment, recruitment, & placement specialists have an associate degree.

Employers look for individuals with a bachelor’s degree (or concentration) in human resources, industrial and labor relations or human resources administration. They also prefer candidates with certification in an area relative to the position, For example, benefits specialists may obtain the CEBS certification, which stands for Certified Employee Benefits Specialist or senior human resource professionals may obtain the SPHR designation which stands for Senior Professional in Human Resources.

Coursework Required

Depending on the degree or focus area, aspiring employment, recruitment, & placement specialists may take courses that cover business and management principles, principles of training, human behavior and performance, principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, laws and legal codes of business, and structure and content of the English language. Accounting, arithmetic, algebra, calculus, geometry, statistics, and computer applications are also typical courses for the field. Labor relations programs will require completion of courses such as economics, industrial relations, management, dispute resolution, political science, communications, and occupational and environmental health.

Michelle Burton is a published author and contributing editor for Trouve Media, Internet Brands, and Publications International, Ltd.