Executive Recruiting Researcher for a Tech Recruiter
Q1: Where are you located?
A1: I am located in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Q2: What is your role title?
A2: My role title is Executive Recruiting Researcher.
Q3: In your words, describe what you actually do?
A3: In this role, I conduct in-depth research on recruiting best practices, emerging technologies,
and hiring trends to help optimize and modernize our recruiting strategies. I analyze data to
identify issues and opportunities, collaborate with recruiters and hiring managers to understand
needs, and make data-driven recommendations on improving our recruiting and hiring
processes
Q4: How long have you been doing this role for?
A4: I have been in this type of research role for 5 years now, starting as a Recruiting Research
Analyst and working my way up to an Executive Recruiting Researcher.
Q5: How did you get to this point in your career?
A5: I began my career in a campus recruiting coordinator role after earning my bachelor's
degree in human resources. From there, I moved into a recruiting coordinator position where I
became interested in recruitment data and analytics. I pursued my master's degree part-time in
HR analytics and landed a junior research role on the recruiting team after graduating. I've since
worked hard to become the lead recruiter researcher.
Q6: When it comes to remuneration, what are your three B’s? (Base, Bonus, Benefits?)
A6: My base salary is currently $90,000. I earn an annual bonus of around 15%, based on
meeting key recruiting metrics. My benefits include 401K matching, healthcare, vision and
dental insurance, and generous PTO.
Q7: I’m not going to ask you who you work for, but, what industry is your company in?
A7: I work in the technology industry.
Q8: When it comes to work flexibility, is your work primarily office-based, fully remote, or a mix of both? Which do you prefer? Does your company allow you to be flexible?
A8: This role is a mix of office and remote work. I prefer having flexibility to work from home a
few days a week but also collaborate in person. My company offers a hybrid remote work policy.
Q9: What does an average week or a typical day look like for you? Can you walk me
through your day? What time do you arrive and start at work, what are your main
tasks/responsibilities, who do you interact with, what meetings do you attend, etc.?
A9: A typical day involves reviewing recruiting data dashboards, identifying trends and insights
to share, meeting with recruiters to gather feedback, brainstorming new research projects and
ideas, analyzing recruitment sources and pipeline data, and compiling findings into
presentations for our hiring managers and recruiters. I get in around 9 AM and try to wrap up
around 6 PM.
Q10: What does a typical day look like when things are going well vs a more
challenging/stressful day?
A10: On stressful days, I'm troubleshooting data issues, dealing with tight turnarounds on urgent
hiring manager requests, and balancing multiple competing priorities from various teams. It's all
about staying organized!
Q11: What skills or knowledge are most important for your day-to-day work?
A11: The most important skills for me are data analysis, critical thinking, project management,
communication, collaboration, and business acumen.
Q12: What are some examples of recent accomplishments or contributions you've made in this role?
A12: Some recent accomplishments are leading a project to enhance our recruiting analytics
dashboard, standardizing and automating our recruiting reports, and overhauling our university
recruitment strategy based on my research findings.
Q13: Do you have a supportive manager and do you feel valued?
A13: I have a very supportive manager who values my contributions and advocates for my
development. I'd say I collaborate heavily with our recruiters, analytics team, and hiring
managers - at least 50% of my week.
Q14: How much time do you spend collaborating with colleagues vs working
independently?
A14: I collaborate heavily with colleagues, spending at least 50% of my week working with
recruiters, analytics team, and hiring managers.
Q15: Is there anything you wish you would have known before starting this role?
A15: I wish I had known just how fast the recruitment tech landscape would evolve - it's
essential to stay on top of new innovations!
Q16: What do you hate most about your role?
A16: The most frustrating part of my job is when hiring managers wait until the last minute to fill
urgent roles. Advanced planning is key!
Q17: What do you love most about your role?
A17: What I love most is seeing how my research directly leads to positive improvements in our
recruiting over time. I get to work on diverse projects and continuously learn.
Q18: What’s the next role for you and when do you hope to achieve this?
A18: My next role goal is to become a Recruiting Analytics Manager and lead a team. I hope to
achieve that in the next 3 years.
Q19: Is your next role going to be with the same company or a different one?
A19: Ideally, the next role would be with this same company since I believe in their mission and
values.
Q20: What’s one piece of advice you could give to someone who aspires to reach your
position?
A20: My advice to someone looking to get into recruitment analytics is to pursue opportunities
on corporate recruiting teams to gain firsthand experience, work on enhancing your data
analysis skills, and stay on top of the latest HR tech developments.
Q21: It’s Day 1 for someone in your role. What one piece of advice would you give them to
succeed?
A21: My number one tip is to build strong relationships and credibility with the recruiting team.
Sit down early on with each recruiter and hiring manager and understand their frustrations and
needs. Ask them what challenges they face and where they need more data-driven insights.
Listen more than you speak in these conversations. Then proactively identify opportunities you
can address through research initiatives tailored to each person’s needs.
Deliver value incrementally by providing them helpful analysis and recommendations regularly
that make their jobs easier. Don't wait for perfection. If the recruiters trust you and see you as a
strategic partner rather than just a reporter of metrics, you will be set up for success. The key is
to apply your skills not in isolation, but in service of helping your internal partners and customers
thrive in their roles.
Recruiting analysis and research is only as powerful as its adoption. Make the recruiters' needs
your north star and align everything you do to add value for them. If you can do that, you'll
become an indispensable partner
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