What does a recruiter do?
A recruiter helps an employer identify and assess people for a vacancy, while helping candidates understand the opportunity and hiring process. Their work can include defining requirements, finding applicants, screening experience, arranging interviews and coordinating offers. The exact responsibilities depend on the employer, recruitment service and type of role.
For energy, engineering, marine and construction positions, recruitment often involves practical assignment questions as well as professional experience. Where will the person work? When can they start? Does their background match the project stage? A useful recruitment process makes those details clear before either side commits.
What are a recruiter’s main responsibilities?
- Clarify the vacancy: Understand the work, essential skills, location and intended start date.
- Find potential candidates: Use applications, professional networks, referrals and direct approaches.
- Discuss suitability: Explore relevant experience, interests, availability and expectations.
- Present a shortlist: Explain why candidates may match the employer’s requirements.
- Coordinate interviews: Arrange meetings, share preparation information and collect feedback.
- Support offer discussions: Help clarify pay, working arrangements and start dates.
- Coordinate the handover: Explain the next steps and connect the successful candidate with the appropriate onboarding contacts.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes recruitment specialists as finding, screening and interviewing applicants. Agency consultants may also develop client relationships and advise on the search, as outlined in the Prospects recruitment consultant profile.
What happens when a recruiter receives a vacancy?
The first task is to turn a hiring request into a clear brief. A job title alone rarely explains enough to begin a useful search.
For example, two employers may both need a mechanical engineer. One could require design experience, while another needs support with equipment reliability at an operating facility. The same title does not make the candidates interchangeable.
An employer can improve the brief by answering four questions:
- What work must this person deliver?
- Which experience is essential immediately?
- Which skills can be developed after joining?
- What practical arrangements might affect someone’s interest or availability?
If those answers change during the search, tell the recruiter promptly. Otherwise, candidates may be assessed against an outdated requirement.
How does a recruiter assess a candidate?
A recruiter compares the person’s background with the vacancy and explores details that a CV may not explain. Screening helps identify who should move forward; it does not replace every technical assessment.
A conversation might cover the projects someone has worked on, their own responsibilities, equipment or systems used and reasons for considering a move.
Candidates can prepare by selecting examples that explain their contribution. Instead of saying only “I worked on commissioning”, describe the activity, your responsibility and the result. State where you worked under supervision and where you held decision-making responsibility.
A specialist recruiter should also recognise when a question needs input from the hiring manager or a technical assessor. Clear boundaries are more useful than pretending every uncertainty has been resolved during an initial call.
How do recruiters help candidates?
Recruiters can explain relevant vacancies, clarify employer expectations and coordinate communication throughout an application. Their ability to help depends on the roles they are handling and how closely those roles match your background.
A productive first conversation should cover your discipline, experience, location preferences, availability and the kind of move you want to make.
You can also ask:
- Is this a specific vacancy or an introductory conversation?
- Which requirements are essential?
- What is the expected interview process?
- When should I expect an update?
- Will you confirm the role with me before submitting my CV?
Keep a record of applications and introductions. Tell the recruiter if you have already applied for the same position elsewhere so that everyone understands your application history.
A recruiter may suggest improvements to how you present your experience. You remain responsible for ensuring that your CV and interview answers are accurate.
How do recruiters help employers?
Recruiters organise the search and provide information that helps employers assess candidates and make decisions. Employers get more value when they provide a clear brief and timely feedback.
Agree who will review the shortlist, which interviewers need to be involved and who can approve an offer. A strong shortlist can still stall if nobody has responsibility for the next decision.
Give specific feedback. “The candidate lacks experience with this project phase” helps refine the search more than “not quite right”. If several suitable people decline because of the location or working pattern, discuss whether the assignment needs to change.
Ask the recruiter to distinguish evidence from assumptions. A candidate’s stated availability, for example, should be separated from an estimated mobilisation date that still depends on other steps.
What is the difference between a recruiter, HR and a hiring manager?
Recruitment focuses on filling roles. HR has broader people responsibilities, while the hiring manager defines the team’s needs and usually leads the selection decision. In smaller organisations, these responsibilities may overlap.
| Responsibility | Recruiter’s usual contribution | Employer’s usual contribution |
| Role requirements | Clarifies the brief and tests whether the search is realistic | Defines the work and approves requirements |
| Candidate assessment | Screens experience and coordinates the process | Assesses role-specific capability and makes the selection decision |
| Pay and offer | Communicates expectations and supports discussions | Approves the package and employment terms |
| Starting work | Coordinates agreed recruitment or onboarding steps | Provides role induction, supervision and workplace arrangements |
| Long-term development | May maintain contact after placement | Manages performance and development for direct employees |
Contract staffing and outsourced employment arrangements may divide responsibilities differently. Confirm who employs the worker, who manages their work and who handles payroll or assignment questions.
What types of recruiter might you work with?
Agency recruiters serve external employer clients, while in-house recruiters work within the organisation that is hiring. Executive search focuses on particular senior or specialist appointments.
Agency and in-house teams can work together. The right approach depends on the vacancy and the support the employer needs, rather than one model being universally better.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP) arrangements describe broader services rather than individual job titles. An RPO provider takes on an agreed part of recruitment; an MSP commonly coordinates aspects of a contingent workforce programme, including suppliers. Responsibilities should be defined in the service agreement.
Who pays a recruitment agency?
In a typical employer-funded agency arrangement, the employer pays for the recruitment service. The fee structure depends on the agreed model.
Permanent recruitment might use a fee linked to a successful placement or a retained arrangement. Contract staffing may use a different charging structure that includes ongoing services. Avoid assuming that every agency is paid only after a candidate starts.
Candidates should understand their own agreed pay and terms. Treat demands to pay an individual recruiter to guarantee a job as a warning sign, and verify unexpected payment requests independently.
What does a specialist energy or engineering recruiter look for?
A specialist recruiter should explore the context behind someone’s experience: the asset, discipline, project phase and level of responsibility.
Consider a hypothetical electrical engineering vacancy. Matching the phrase “electrical engineer” is only the beginning. The recruiter should clarify whether the work concerns design, construction support, testing or operations, then discuss the candidate’s relevant experience.
Similarly, an offshore assignment requires clarity about the work and deployment arrangements. A certificate listed on a CV should not be treated as proof that the person has performed every task associated with the role.
Ask a potential recruitment partner how they will assess the requirements that matter most to your project. Specific questions and clear explanations are more informative than broad claims about industry expertise.
How does location affect a recruiter’s work?
Location affects the search, candidate expectations and assignment planning. The recruiter should distinguish the employer’s office from the place where the work will actually happen.
What can a recruiter not guarantee?
A recruiter cannot guarantee that every candidate will receive an interview or offer, or that every vacancy will be filled by a preferred date.
Selection depends on the employer’s needs and assessment. Timelines may also depend on interviews, notice periods, approvals, and assignment arrangements.
A useful recruiter should explain what is known, identify what is outstanding, and agree when to update you. If a question falls outside their remit, they should help identify the right person to answer it.
Find the right recruitment support with WRS
Worldwide Recruitment Solutions (WRS) connects employers and candidates across oil and gas, renewables, offshore and maritime, and construction. Our services include permanent and contract recruitment, with contractor support available according to the assignment and agreed service.
For employers, start by sharing your required skills, project location, and hiring timeline. For candidates, tell us about your experience, availability and preferred next step.
Discuss your hiring requirements with WRS or explore current vacancies.
Frequently asked questions
Is speaking to a recruiter the same as a job interview?
Not always. It may be an initial screening call or a discussion about future opportunities. Ask whether the conversation relates to a specific vacancy and what happens afterwards.
Can a recruiter contact me when I have not applied?
Yes. Recruiters may approach people whose experience appears relevant to a vacancy. Verify who is contacting you and understand the opportunity before sharing sensitive information.
Can I work with more than one recruiter?
Yes, subject to any arrangements you have agreed. Keep track of submissions and discuss potential duplicate applications so that your representation for each vacancy is clear.
Does a recruiter decide my salary?
A recruiter can discuss expectations and communicate an offer, but approval depends on the employer or employing organisation. Confirm the full package and working arrangements rather than comparing headline pay alone.
Will the recruiter support me after I start?
Some recruiters provide follow-up contact, and some agencies offer ongoing contractor services. Ask which support is included and who handles payroll, workplace or assignment questions.
About the Author
Apurva Agrawal is an SEO Specialist at Worldwide Recruitment Solutions (WRS), with three years of experience driving digital growth and visibility within the global recruitment sector.
This guide was developed in collaboration with and verified by Melissa Walsh, Marketing and Brand Manager at WRS, ensuring all workforce data and service methodologies reflect WRS’s global standards and positioning.
