High School

To prepare for a career as an executive recruiter, you should take business, speech, English, computer science, and mathematics classes in high school. Psychology and sociology courses will teach you how to recognize personality characteristics that may be key in helping you determine which job candidates would best fit a position. Learning a foreign language will increase the number of clients that you can work with.  

Postsecondary Training

You will need at least a bachelor's degree and several years of work experience to become an executive recruiter. Postsecondary courses helpful to this career include communications, marketing, and business administration. Some colleges offer undergraduate degrees in human resources management or business degrees with a concentration in human resources management. For more job opportunities, you may also consider getting a master's degree in one of these fields. Recruiters come to the field with a variety of educational backgrounds.

Certification

The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESLC) offers a certificate in client relationship development, executive talent consulting, and executive research. Contact the association for more information.

Other Education or Training

Several professional associations provide continuing education (CE) opportunities to recruiters. For example, the National Association of Personnel Services offers many useful webinars such as Recruiting on Facebook and other Web 2.0 Social Networks, Get Started on Twitter: Top 10 Recruiting Techniques, Sourcing and Finding Candidates With A Vision, and Emergency Resuscitation Kit for Recruiters. The AESLC offers online courses, teleconference forums, and audio seminars. The National Association of Executive Recruiters also provides continuing education opportunities at its annual conference. Contact these organizations for more information.

Certification or Licensing

The National Association of Personnel Services offers several human resources–related  certification credentials that may be of interest to those who work in recruiting. They include the certified personnel consultant, certified temporary staffing-specialist, and certified employee retention specialist credentials.Contact the association for certification requirements.

Most recruiters move into this industry after successful careers in their particular areas of expertise. Ideally, recruiters have obtained experience in positions with hiring responsibility.

Executive recruiters need strong people skills. Good communicators are in demand, especially those who can maintain a high level of integrity and confidentiality. Recruiters are privy to sensitive company and employee information that may prove disastrous if leaked to the public. Other important traits include strong powers of persuasion and good research, time-management, and organizational skills. 

The most powerful tool in this industry is a network of good contacts. Since executive recruiters begin this career after working in the field for which they are now recruiting, they are usually familiar with who's who in the business.