A Corporate Recruiter is a Human Resources professional responsible for the hiring of individuals within a company. The Corporate Recruiter is a member of the organization for which they are hiring and their primary focus is talent acquisition.
In 2014 beginning with Q1, Denver, Colorado employers have placed talent acquisition at the top of their list. Why? As we see our clients’ business grow and expand, baby boomers retiring and technology changing, the responsibility of recruiting top talent to compete in today’s global economy has now become a paramount priority. Therefore, in order to develop a consistent pipeline of targeted, qualified candidates, the position of Corporate Recruiter has recently been approved as a newly created position by several of J. Kent’s clients.
Such was the case with J. Kent’s Fortune 500 client whose foundation was established in 1929. In 2013, the company chalked up 4 Billion in revenues from its variety of business services throughout North America. The company’s “mountain” and regional headquarters’ office is located in Denver. The Mountain Region also has experienced significant growth in 2013 as a result of the sales produced by 15 locations employing 1400 FTE’s. However, during this time of unprecedented growth, each field office’s Branch Manager had been responsible for their own branch’s recruiting and hiring efforts; a difficult task when challenged with daily operational and sales responsibilities. Therefore, when it was announced that a professional Corporate Recruiter would be hired, the news was more than welcomed.
For the “Mountain Group” the newly created HR Representative/Recruiter position would be responsible for actively developing a consistent pipeline of qualified candidates throughout CO, AZ, NV, KS, NE, UT, ID and IA. Talent acquisition for Service Sales Representatives (SSR) would be the primary recruiting and hiring goal for the Denver Corporate Recruiter. The recruiting responsibilities would also call for building a large talent pool resource, attending job fairs, recruiting recent college/university graduates and developing high level recruiting and networking relationships. Some travel in the position would be required.
The role of the Denver Corporate Recruiter had been designed to spend 80% of dedicated time to managing the entire recruitment process (full-cycle recruiting). The recruiter would be responsible for the recruitment plan, job postings, sourcing and screening candidate resumes, interviewing candidates, and negotiating and extending formal offers of employment. Other HR generalist duties such as HR compliance, employee relations, payroll/benefits administration would also be required. With the right educational background, the position also offered excellent opportunity for growth into an HR Manager position after 18-24 months of successful performance. During J. Kent’s search process this growth opportunity was appealing to many of the candidates who interviewed for the position.
The search process took several months as finding the best talent is always a challenge. However, finding the best and most qualified talent is one thing; finding the right cultural match is quite another. Through a detailed job development process led by one of J. Kent’s Recruiters, our client’s culture, management style and the hiring team’s process and expectations were fully discussed. In the end, J. Kent’s recruiting plan was approved by the organization’s management to include casting a wider out-of-state recruiting net.
During the recruiting and interview process SKYPE interviews were conducted and successful candidates were flown to Denver for final, in-person interviews. After a long search, Sarah, a Michigan native with BS in Journalism and 6 years’ business experience received the Denver Corporate Recruiter job offer from our Fortune 500 client. Sarah’s experience included 3 years in advertising sales and college admissions before finding her niche in recruiting. Strong corporate recruiting skills were developed over several years working on-site in Chicago for one of the Gannett Companies, also a Fortune 500 organization.
Sarah is thrilled to be in Colorado as outdoor activities and fitness are a top priority. As a tri-athlete she has completed a ½ Ironman competition and is looking forward to long hikes with her dog in the Colorado mountains. Hope the dog can keep up — congratulations Sarah!