There are many similarities and differences in the role of a recruiter when he/she is a corporate or he/she is a staffing firm recruiter.

I will discuss these over the next few days’ one blog entry at a time.

So to start here is something to consider.

1a. Corporate vs. Staffing--- Generally in a corporate role, the corporate recruiter is paid a salary but commission or bonus is much less than that for a staffing industry individual.

1b. Corporate vs. Staffing-- This compensation difference makes a difference in the type of person that fits the corporate role versus the type that fits a staffing industry role. Generally a money driven personality is better for the staffing industry.

However, there are individuals who are motivated not as much by money but more by success.
Someone who is driven by success can fit well into either role. Reward for hiring talent within a corporate environment is often not reinforced to the recruiter as success and often the same is true in the staffing industry.

Often recruiters are only recognized by a hire when money is at a good margin in a staffing industry position, and often in a corporate role, positive reinforcement is rarely given.

I have seen staffing industries sometimes have a bell that gets rung every time a client wants someone to start. I have never seen a bell in a corporate environment.

Both corporate and staffing industry organizations demand numbers and try to track how many hires.

Corporations and staffing industry organizations need to examine what their true reward program is. They need to then focus on the recruiting personality that matches that reward program if they want true long term success from individuals filling those roles.

One personality type can succeed in either role and that is the person who thrives on success and measures success by their ability to find the right person for the right job.
If the personality is money driven personality then the staffing industry is probably the key, and the staffing industry position shouldn't be an RPO type role. The role needs to be one where the person is rewarded monetarily on a per hire basis individually.