Recruiters Are Overdue for a Pay Raise

If you needed any proof that staying on top of data trends in your industry and metro area is important for recruiters and HR professionals, here it is: National data can help you (the recruiter) determine if you’re being compensated fairly and commensurate with current trends – and potentially help you negotiate a higher salary.

For May 2017, Local Pay Reports by Glassdoor Economic Research showed that recruiter pay increased more than any other job title in the United States, growing by 7.4% year over year to a median base salary of $51,216. Not only that, recruiter pay has grown three times faster than overall U.S. pay growth (2.1%) year over year. This news, paired with the fact that the recruiter title is at nearly full employment means now is the time to look at your compensation and see if you’re being paid fair market value.

Recruiters are an increasingly important strategic asset to organizations at a time when unemployment rates are at their lowest since 2007. “Great recruiters know how to find and entice the right candidates for open positions, it is something of an art,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist. “Having an eye for screening candidates and good judgement about who will or will not work for a position is becoming an increasingly valuable skill in a tight labor market.”

To add to your knowledge about your local labor market, make a habit of checking Local Pay Reports for your metro on a monthly basis. May 2017 data shows that the cities where pay grew faster than the national average of 2.1% were Los Angeles (2.6%), San Francisco (2.3%), and New York City (2.3%). If you’re hiring in these areas, be mindful of increases so that you’re offering fair market value in order to win candidates.

On a national level, the top three jobs with the biggest pay gains were Recruiter (#1; 7.4% wage growth YOY; median base pay: $51,216), customer service manager (#2; 7.1%; $54,552) and restaurant cook (#3; 7.0%; $29,097). Look at our job seeker blog post, 10 Employees Who Should Ask For A Pay Raise Today for a list of the 7 remaining jobs with the largest pay raises.

Remember, if you as a recruiter can arm yourself with information to negotiate a higher salary, candidates you interview are also accessing similar information about their own jobs. To understand what your personal worth is – and whether you’re overdue for a pay raise – use Glassdoor’s Know Your Worth tool to arm yourself for salary negotiations with a personalized estimate of your market value today. You can also use the tool to find out what the candidates in the positions you’re trying to fill – whether it’s software engineers, nurses, or data scientists – are looking at and basing their salary expectations on.