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December 19, 2024
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This post was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
Becoming a recruiter has been attracting the interest of many job seekers or career switchers over the last couple of years. And, obviously, if you’re someone who’s thinking about stepping into a new career, how much you can make as a recruiting specialist will be a game-changer in your decision.
Considering you’ll spend most of your day-to-day activities as a recruiter matching people with their ideal job, it makes sense you start doing that for your own career choice. This means examining every aspect of the craft —salary, benefits, schedule, fulfillment, etc— and making sure it complies with your expectations and needs.
Now, as with any other job, income is a big part of the final decision. Yes, the benefits of becoming a recruiter can be great and plenty, but do recruiters make good money? According to Indeed, the average yearly recruiter salary in the United States is $57,097 (as of September 2024).
However, if you go browsing the Internet for answers you will surely find many other sources with various results for the national average, which can range from $34,000 up to $89,000 or even more than 100k.
Although how much earnings recruiters make will depend on many aspects, two of the most dominant are where you’ll be recruiting and the company behind you. In case you’re interested in the highest-paying cities for recruiters, here is how much recruiters make across the U.S. according to Indeed.
While you can analyze all that data and get an idea of how much recruiters make, this may not be all the information you need to know what your earning potential as a recruiter could be.
Two more aspects that influence how much a recruiting specialist can make are the industry you work in, and whether your income will be salary or commission-based. The last is probably the most relevant factor, and probably the reason why you’ll find many sources giving such varied information. So, here are a couple of things you should keep in mind when it comes to both scenarios.
First, though you are probably interested in the recruitment industry because you think you could be great at matching people with companies, you have to know that there are different ways in which you can make a living out of it.
If what you are looking for is having job stability with a fixed salary, then your two main options are either to work as an in-house recruiter or for a staffing agency that offers a base salary.
The first option is great if you are looking to stay with the same company and place people according to their turnover or expansion needs within one specific industry. Still, you should be aware that some small or medium companies that look for an in-house recruiter will likely merge recruiting with HR and talent acquisition tasks.
Usually, it’s large or growing companies who’ll have the need for an all-hands-in recruiter; which is great, because you’ll likely be offered a far more competitive income. Although the average salary in the U.S. for in-house recruiters is $63,214 per year, depending on the position level, you can get an offer that ranges between $35k and $85k.
Staffing agencies, on the other hand, can also provide you with a base salary and add commissions on top of that. This might work for your income goals, depending on the agency’s commission plan. Sometimes, when there is a fixed salary in the mix, agencies can offer an unattractive base salary or limit the scope of their commissions.
If you want to earn money via commissions, then you should probably look into working for a staffing agency with a great commission system, such as gpac. This is probably more your style if you consider yourself to be a high-performer who is self-driven and enjoys making money based on your own results.
With commission-based jobs, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. But once more, you need to dig into how you get paid and what the commission is based on.
Some agencies work upon the amount of deals you close in a specific period of time. The problem with that is that you might be spending your time wearing yourself out making as many matches as possible simply trying to reach a number.
A kinder and far more reasonable commission plan for everyone involved is probably one based on a fixed percentage. Most staffing agencies charge a percentage of the new hire’s gross first-year income for a job order. From that fee, recruiters are paid a fixed percentage. So it’s up to the recruiter whether they spend time matching many job orders with smaller fees or placing one person in a C-level role for a larger fee.
An even better deal is when staffing agencies increase your compensation based on your growth. For example, when you become a recruiter at gpac, you start earning a 30% commission, but once you cross $150k in net cash-in, your percentage goes up to 50%.
On top of the money you can make per placement, which can be as high as 75% once you cross $500,000 in net cash-in, you can also unlock more benefits, such as tools reimbursement and company trips, as you reach more milestones.
Our commission plan allows the average gpac recruiter to make up to $90,000 a year, while the top 50 billers have been known to earn around $240k, and the heavy hitters in the top 10 can unlock earnings of approximately $480k.
It all comes down to what you value most and the way you like to work. Getting paid a fixed salary in-house can be good for someone who values stability and routine or would rather specialize in a specific or niche industry. Just keep in mind that there will always be a cap on your salary regardless of your performance.
But for people who would rather be rewarded based on their results, working for a staffing agency will be the way to go. Joining a recruiting firm provides you with far more resources, such as training to become a recruiter and a large network, that can help you accelerate your earning potential.
With so many options the choice is in your hands, and if you are committed to get a job as a recruiter there is no wrong one, you can always try a different recruitment path later on. Just keep working on your skills for recruiting and you’ll kill the game.
If you just recently started exploring recruitment as a career path, knowing how much you can make in commissions as a gpac recruiting specialist it’s a convincing argument, especially if you want to be financially free while working from home. Nevertheless, here are more key points you should know aside from the salary.
If you’re more convinced that becoming a recruiter is the next move for your career, but still want to know more about gpac, our commission plan, and company structure, contact our talent acquisition team to schedule an interview and start your career in recruitment.
Contributed by Mary Dominguez and Luis Arellano
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