Hire Calling

Hiring the Right Recruiter: A 7-Step Guide

• Pete Newsome • Episode 88

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Hiring a great recruiter isn’t as simple as it sounds, and getting it wrong can hurt your entire hiring strategy. In this episode of the Hire Calling Podcast, we break down a proven 7-step process to help you hire a recruiter who can actually deliver results.

In just 20 minutes, you’ll learn how to define the role based on hiring volume, time-to-fill goals, and specialization needs, so you don’t end up misaligned from day one. We’ll help you choose the right level of recruiter—entry, mid, senior, or executive—and explain what each brings to the table in terms of skills, cost, and expectations.

You’ll also get practical tips on writing job descriptions that attract top recruiting talent, sourcing strategies that go beyond job boards, and interview questions that reveal true capability. We even cover red flags to watch out for and creative ways to offer competitive compensation when your budget is tight.

To wrap it up, we dive into onboarding best practices and explain when partnering with a staffing firm might be the smarter move.

If you’re ready to elevate your hiring team, this episode is a must-listen.

Additional Resources:

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👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog/

Pete Newsome:

Not all recruiters know how to recruit. Are you surprised by that? If so, this episode of the Hire Calling Podcast is for you. Over the next few minutes, I'll walk through exactly how to hire the right recruiter for your team and, just as importantly, how to avoid hiring the wrong one. So let's get started. The first step is to define the role. Begin by identifying the kinds of jobs your new recruiter will fill. Here are some variables to consider Volume how many positions will your new recruiter fill? Time to fill Are your positions quick turn or do they tend to take a while? The level of specialization that's needed If you need a recruiter who will be effectively searching for needles in a haystack, well, that's something you need to understand up front, because that's very different than hiring a recruiter who can handle a wide variety of more general positions.

Pete Newsome:

Work environment Are you remote, hybrid or in the office every day? Needless to say, if you're fully remote, that opens up the candidate pool to an unlimited geography. But if you need someone on site, even part of the time, I highly recommend hiring locally for that role. You can, of course, relocate someone, but it just adds an extra level of complexity and time to the search, so avoid that at all costs. And, as icing on the cake, that local recruiter will have familiarity with the market that they're going to be recruiting in. And then, finally, what are your KPIs? What does success in this role look like? It's definitely something you want to clarify before posting this job publicly and beginning your search.

Pete Newsome:

Step two is choosing the right experience level. I'll walk you through the four different types of recruiters. This is something that is not scientific by any means, but it's a categorization that I think will make a lot of sense in almost every scenario, and it's certainly something that you can modify for your own specific needs. First up are your entry-level recruiters. Now I recommend hiring someone without any experience. If you have positions that are very simple to recruit for Think high volume, repetitive roles, customer service positions, warehouse jobs, anything that will allow the recruiter to be largely task driven. That's a really good use of an entry level person and, let's be honest, it's an affordable way to go. It's the most affordable as you look at recruiters with more experience. You're going to pay more for them, but the trade-off is that they'll need more oversight and training. Assume that you'll be starting from scratch, and so you need to make sure that you have the internal resources, time and knowledge to bring someone up to speed.

Pete Newsome:

And then next is your mid-level recruiters. These are professionals who should be able to handle full cycle recruiting autonomously. They have experience, but they're not specialists in any one area, at least not yet. I like hiring them for sales, marketing and healthcare positions, where the roles are really easy to define and understand what they are, not a lot of strategic thinking involved. So that brings us to the senior recruiters, where you should expect strategic thinking. They should be recruiting almost fully autonomously. They should come with their own network that's something you shouldn't expect from the entry or mid-level recruiter and they should probably have a pretty big presence on LinkedIn and know how to use it effectively, especially for recruiting passive candidates, and that's something that is also a good differentiator between an entry or mid-level recruiter.

Pete Newsome:

And then, as you make the jump to senior, is the difference between recruiting based on job applicants that come in and sourcing proactively, spending time on job boards, sending custom messages to candidates. The more senior recruiters should be able to do that, and they should also be able to work closely with your department heads or executives and ultimately seen as a consultant in the hiring process. So you get what you pay for when you're hiring a senior recruiter or at least you should expect to and then make sure you interview and manage accordingly, and then the highest level is what I would consider to be executive recruiters. Most companies won't need an executive recruiter. You really take probably a large organization that is consistently hiring senior level roles, which means they need to be large enough to warrant that. Otherwise it probably makes sense to outsource. We'll touch on that a little bit later. But executive recruiters will often have a retained background where they operate with a bit of a different mindset, really focused on one position at a time, have deep market knowledge in whatever area they're focused on and, as importantly as anything, they are used to handling sensitive searches and really know what it means to maintain confidentiality throughout their recruiting process. Once you have the level of recruiter defined, then you can turn to your job description.

Pete Newsome:

Step three here is really important. Because you're recruiting recruiters, your job description isn't just a formality, it's a marketing tool. So create it accordingly. Start with a strong company and position summary. Describe who you are and why the position matters. Then connect responsibilities to outcome. Be specific here.

Pete Newsome:

Generic bullet points aren't going to resonate. Too many companies make that mistake. Be specific wherever possible. For example, don't say source candidates Say we need you to fill 20 professional-level roles per quarter across key departments. Right, the more detail you can provide, the better, and be clear wherever possible on the essential aspects of the role.

Pete Newsome:

Also, avoid acronyms that you use internally that aren't going to make sense to external candidates. That you use internally that aren't going to make sense to external candidates. That's a little side tip for this, but it is definitely something I encourage with every job description is use terms that are widely understood. It'll help your search go better and it'll just attract the candidates that you really want. The best candidates aren't going to spend time trying to make heads or tails of a bunch of acronyms they've never seen before. Also, on your job description, be sure to list any systems or tools that they'll be using, but don't overemphasize the need to have specific experience with an applicant tracking system that you happen to use. Generally speaking. If you know how to use one, you can quickly learn the others, and that knowledge is really transferable for one software tool to the other, so don't get too hung up on that.

Pete Newsome:

Be transparent in your salary List. The range. According to, appcast just put out a report not too long ago that said, job listings with clear, concise language and salary transparency receive 120% more applicants than vague or overly broad postings, so the more you can provide there, the better. Finally, share your team's culture. What's it like to work in your environment day-to-day? What values do you hold? That matters to a lot of recruiters just as much as the day-to-day responsibilities and duties.

Pete Newsome:

And then on to step four. Now you're ready to recruit. Start by sourcing candidates proactively. Don't just post a job and wait for applicants to come to you. The best recruiters are busy. They're not coming through job boards all day. A recent report from LinkedIn that they just published in January 2025 said that 75% of recruiter hires began through direct outreach, not inbound applications. So let that sink in for a second. The best recruiters are not going to apply. You need to go find them.

Pete Newsome:

Get on LinkedIn, look at what your potential candidates are doing. Find the ones that are posting and engaging and sharing content. If they're doing that, if they're active on LinkedIn in advance of coming to work for you, then you're going to get the benefit of that if you hire them. So make sure that you're paying attention to how they're going about their day. I mean, it's a way to get a view into their work habits before you even reach out, let alone interview them. So take advantage of what they're posting publicly and determine if those that you see posting are worth talking to. And then, when you reach out, make it personal. Reference something they shared. Avoid canned messages at all costs. Those tend to get ignored because, since we recruiters are on LinkedIn all the time, we get spam messages all the time and any generic message we're just so used to seeing. We really just are dismissive of those.

Pete Newsome:

And then, finally, as big as anything in your sourcing process is, take advantage of your internal network. Referrals are 55% faster to hire, so think about that. If you can use a candidate who's already known to someone on your team, there, there's inherent trust already in place You'll have insight that you otherwise would not be able to get through the recruiting process. So really use that to your advantage. Your internal network is huge and if you need to offer a referral bonus, that's a great way to go as well.

Pete Newsome:

Step five have an effective interview process. Don't wing it. This is your chance to evaluate recruiters at a deeper level. Remember, these are people who understand interviewing in a deeper fashion than almost everyone else does because of what they do for a living. So really dig into details about how the recruiter thinks and builds relationships and how they go about driving results. Listen, this is a group that's trained to present themselves well, so your interview process really needs to account for that.

Pete Newsome:

Other things to consider is really good traits of recruiters. I'll list some Do they communicate clearly and confidently? I mean, nothing is more important than that when it comes to this profession. What kind of metrics can they use to explain their success? This is an opportunity for you to ask questions about their previous performance, which will really give you a good indication of their work style and what kind of results they were able to produce. Are they showing initiative and solving hiring challenges? So ask questions around that. Do they have the ability to work across departments and what kind of history do they have of working with stakeholders? Now, depending on the level of recruiter you're hiring, that may be more or less important, but it's something that you should understand on any recruiter who has experience coming in and then emphasize how they handled and managed a candidate experience right. This goes beyond just numbers. It's about their interactions, and do they value those and really take those candidate relationships seriously? And if you dig into that a little bit, it'll quickly become apparent whether the recruiter does or does not.

Pete Newsome:

With that said, here's some sample interview questions. One tell me about a tough role you filled. How did you approach it? Two walk me through your sourcing strategy for passive candidates. Three what's your process for partnering with a difficult hiring manager? We all have those stories. At least they should right. I mean, any recruiter who's been experienced for any matter of time is going to have difficult hiring manager conversations. I think that's something that binds all of us together. Number four how do you measure your own success in a recruiting role? I love that question. It really gives insight into how someone views their own job, which I really think there's a lot to be gained from that.

Pete Newsome:

Number five describe a time when your candidate fell through. What did you do? Again, this is a common experience that all of us share, and so if you have a recruiter who gives you a blank stare or says that's never happened, that just tells me they haven't done it very long. And then the last question that I like is about their sourcing tools and methods they rely on. Ask them to explain that in some detail, right, ask about the method and then say why do you take that particular approach? What value does that offer to you? So some just general questions. I think every recruiter should be asked in an interview and then through that, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some red flags to look out for vague answers. If they're not able to give you specifics, then I would question how much relevant experience, if any, they actually have.

Pete Newsome:

Over-reliance on job boards this is something that I probably date myself when I start talking about job boards and how they've become a crutch for recruiters, because I really believe that it's taken the art out of recruiting and made too many professionals in the space rely on the fact that there's always another resume to pop up. They don't have to invest as much time and effort and energy in any single candidate, drawing referrals out of them and really establishing rapport early and having deep conversations. So over-reliance on job boards to me is something that is a big negative in a potential recruiting hire. And excuses Are they blaming others for lack of success? Are they blaming the market? Are they blaming conditions that were beyond their control? And here's the thing. We've all been through the same market. We've all had to deal with the same challenges. So if someone is using that as a reason they weren't successful, just know that others were successful despite those same things happening, and let that be your guide.

Pete Newsome:

And then, of course, poor communication. I mentioned that as the most important trait, but you have an opportunity, as you're communicating with someone from the start, is consider the entirety of your interaction with them. Every message, whether it's text or a LinkedIn message or email. How are their grammar skills? Are they formal? Are they too casual in how they write? Is the way they approach communication going to fit in with your company style, whatever it is? And then, of course, verbal, both on the phone, in person, whether it's body language or tone. All these things matter so much in a recruiting role. And if they can't hit all the marks with that, I think that's the kind of red flag you don't need to dig too deeply into. You see it. Make the call, move on.

Pete Newsome:

Okay, so now you have your candidate. You've gone through your interviews hopefully not too many. If you find the right person, act quickly. So step six make the offer. Don't drag your feet. Top recruiters will not wait around. If you hesitate, someone else will hire them and, conversely, the recruiters no one wants to hire, yeah, they'll wait around. So that's what you're going to end up with if you take too long.

Pete Newsome:

You want to make a competitive offer and I highly recommend using our salary data tool on fourcornerresourcescom. That will give you real-time compensation benchmarks by title and geography. So I'll just leave that there. But I also understand that it's not always possible to offer at or above the market, and so if that's the bad news, the good news is that a lot of recruiters value more than just base salary, and if you find yourself in that situation, look, I'll always say offer the best salary that you can. That will make it easiest to attract the best talent.

Pete Newsome:

But if you can't consider some of the other in-demand perks on LinkedIn's 2025 Talent Driver Survey, here are some of the top things that recruiters look for Flexible work arrangements, hybrid and remote no surprise to anyone there Performance-based bonuses or commission plans. So if you can measure their success by results and pay more, maybe that's a way internally to sell, getting more money for the role. You won't have to pay it up front and it's really a pay-for-performance model which should be attractive for your organization and, as this survey showed, it's attractive to a lot of recruiters who are willing to give a little bit up on the front end to make more once they produce. Mental health and wellness support is another one. Again, probably no great surprise to hear this one.

Pete Newsome:

I really like seeing professional development learning stipends that you can offer. What a cool thing, and every company handles that differently. Some will pay for schooling, some will pay for training and education. Well, if that's something you offer, share it, because recruiters want to know what's on the other side of accepting that role and, along those lines, make sure you're clearly defining their career growth opportunities. So this is a profession that has seen a lot of people laid off, sees a lot of people looking for jobs on LinkedIn, and so if you can make them comfortable that they're going to have the opportunity to learn and grow and evolve professionally, that can go a long way in making up for a salary that's a little bit on the low side. And then access to modern tools, specifically AI. The smart recruiters right now are the ones who are leveraging it or figuring out a way to leverage it. So if your company is looking to get on that adoption curve, or maybe you're already there and you want to stay ahead of it. Dangle that out there as a carrot. It's a really attractive one to a lot of recruiters. Okay, so we've defined our role, we found our candidate, we've made the offer, we're done right? No, not quite yet.

Pete Newsome:

Step seven is onboarding. Your onboarding experience will set the tone for your new recruiter's performance engagement retention it is so important. The first few weeks are critical. Your recruiter is stepping into a role where they're expected to produce results, so if you can give them structure, clarity and support from day one, they will have a much better chance of success and, conversely, a poor handoff will create confusion and kill momentum before it even has a chance to get going.

Pete Newsome:

So start with a plan. That's the best thing you can do. Before their first day, already have a 30, 60, 90 day onboarding plan in place. It should include clear milestones for learning, meeting the key stakeholders and, of course, beginning to work on their own rec. So here are some steps to consider giving them access to your ATS and sourcing platforms and all internal communication tools.

Pete Newsome:

Another one is introduction meetings with HR department heads and hiring managers. Make sure that they meet everyone. They need to Reviewing your current positions and upcoming recs. Get them in the loop, get them indoctrinated as soon as possible and then, of course, walk through your hiring process how the approvals work, how your interview process is handled. What kind of structure do you have there? Get all of that in your new recruiter's hands as soon as possible and they will definitely be teed up for success. And the last thing I'll recommend is to pair them with an internal mentor. That can make a massive difference in how comfortable someone is going to be from the start. Give them someone who can take them under their wing, who will look out for them, who's been around the block, who knows all the secrets necessary for success in your organization, whatever it is. Start them off with a bang by pairing them with someone to look out for your new hire from day one. Okay, so those are the seven steps.

Pete Newsome:

You now have all the knowledge you need that you can apply and hire a great recruiter, but that's not always the best option. Sometimes you should outsource your hiring to a staffing firm. Yes, I'm the owner of a staffing firm, so you could say I'm biased, but there's lots of opportunities when you should consider working with a third party? Of course, mine, but there's lots of others, believe it or not. And here are some of those reasons why I recommend considering using a third party. Is your internal team at capacity or do they lack recruiting experience? Right, I mean, if you don't have the time or knowledge to apply to a thorough recruiting process, as you can see from everything we've just talked about, it's straightforward, but it's not simple and it's not necessarily quick, right, certainly involves a lot of knowledge and effort to execute as well as you can. So consider that.

Pete Newsome:

And the next is whether you're going to need this recruiter indefinitely or just for a short period of time. Hiring a contract recruiter can be a very attractive option if your needs are seasonal or temporary or just covering a spike. That's not going to persist. Whatever it might be, if that recruiting need is not going to last indefinitely, that's a great reason to use a third-party staffing company. Another one is if you're hiring for a specialized or hard-to-fill niche position or senior level we talked about that earlier. I said I'd get back to it.

Pete Newsome:

When you may need an executive recruiter, someone who can really handle a very, very unique role or a very high level that may have a lot of confidentiality associated with it, then you don't necessarily want to hire a person just for those one-off type of needs. Go ahead and hire a recruiting firm who has experience and knowledge to do exactly what you need. Your life will be so much easier, I promise. So hiring a third-party staffing company is often the right way to go. If you want to know more about staffing companies, reach out here. You can send us a message hirecalling at fourcornerresourcescom. Highly recommend you visiting our website. Lots of information on there and I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. So reach out anytime and if you've liked what you've heard today and you've learned from it, then please subscribe. We'd appreciate that, and thanks for listening. Have a great rest of the day.