9 Essential Skills of a Great Recruiter

July 15, 2016

If you’re a recruiter, you know that your job is more than just placing people in jobs. It’s about finding the best possible candidates for your clients, and ensuring that they are the perfect fit for the position. It’s also about networking and building relationships with both clients and candidates. And, of course, it’s about staying up to date on the latest trends in the recruiting industry.

If you want to be a great recruiter, you need to have a range of skills.

Here are 9 essential skills that every recruiter should have.

1. Relationship Building

It’s essential for recruiters to be good at building relationships. After all, the better you know your clients and candidates, the better you’ll be able to match them with the right jobs. Good relationship skills also help you to network effectively and source candidates from a wide range of sources.

Relationship building is also key when it comes to negotiating salaries and closing deals. If you can build a good relationship with your client, they’re more likely to trust your judgment and be willing to work with you. And if you can build a good relationship with the candidate, they’re more likely to trust your skills as a recruiter and be more likely to accept your job offer.

So if you want to be a great recruiter, make sure that you focus on developing strong relationships with both clients and candidates.

2. Strong Communication Skills

Recruitment relies heavily on effective communication, so it’s important for the recruiter to be good at communicating both face to face, as well as via phone/email.

The best recruiters can amplify communication between employers and candidates, simply through personalized communication. They speak in a language that’s frank and straight to the point, but also sincere and genuine.

Certainly, one of the most important things a great recruiter should be is a great listener! You need to listen carefully to both the job seeker and your organizational needs. The more you listen, the more you find out. Understanding what your organization and jobseeker are looking for, the easier it is to find the perfect match, allowing you to make better decisions and improve future recruitment for similar positions.

3. Understanding the Business

It is important for recruiters/headhunters to understand the business because they need to know what the company is looking for in a candidate. They also need to know what the company is like so they can find the best person for the job. Recruiters also need to understand the business so they can help their clients find good candidates and so they can help their candidates learn about the company before they decide to take a job there.

4. Knowledge of the Recruitment Process

Knowing the recruitment process can help any recruiter become better at their job. By knowing how the process works, they can be more prepared to help candidates find good jobs and help companies find good employees. They will also know what to expect during different parts of the process, which can make things run more smoothly.

5. Negotiation Skills

Negotiation skills are important for recruiters because they need to be able to get the best deals for their clients and candidates. They also need to be able to negotiate salaries, which can be a difficult task. Good negotiation skills can help a recruiter build strong relationships with both clients and candidates.

6. Persistence and Determination

Recruiters need to be persistent and determined because they need to find good jobs for their clients and good employees for their companies. They also need to stay up to date on the latest trends in the recruiting industry. This takes a lot of hard work and determination.

Sourcing alone takes a lot of work and patience!

Sourcing candidates is hard because it takes a lot of time and effort to find good candidates. You need to find people who are the right fit for the job, and you also need to find people who are interested in the job.

Sometimes, getting candidates to simply pick up the phone can take a ton of patience.

7. Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is important for recruiters because they need to be precise when they are matching candidates with jobs. They also need to be accurate when they are putting together job descriptions and interviewing candidates.

By being precise and accurate, recruiters can show that they care about their work and that they are serious about helping their clients find the best employees.

8. Organizational Skills

Being organized is really important for recruiters. This way, they can match candidates with jobs more easily, and they can also be more accurate when putting together job descriptions and interviewing candidates.

Since you would be dealing with multiple candidates at a time, that means you need to juggle different activities at different stages for each candidate. Keeping in mind where you are at with each of these candidates is important in order to stay on top of things and work efficiently. Having great time management is essential because certain positions need to be filled urgently and getting your priorities straight is paramount.

9. Marketing and Problem Solving Skills

A big part of the recruitment process is marketing. How will you promote this position to candidates is highly important. Your convincing, negotiation, and selling skills are important to do so. People don’t turn up to their interviews? Not finding a suitable candidate for that hard-to-fill position for a long time?

Great recruiters will know what to do and think of creative and innovative solutions to any scenario.

Final Thoughts

The skills that are essential for a good recruiter include understanding the business, understanding the recruitment process, having negotiation skills, being persistent and determined, having attention to detail, being organized, and having marketing and problem-solving skills. These skills are important because they help recruiters find good candidates for jobs and help companies find good employees.

These skills are essential for any great recruiter. If you have these skills, you will be well on your way to becoming a great recruiter. Remember, being a great recruiter takes a lot of hard work and dedication. But if you are up for the challenge, it can be a very rewarding career.

By: Curran Daly + Associates

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Jerry Amores

Practice Lead, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance

Areas of Expertise

Manager to C- Suite Level

Banking (Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, Private/Wealth management, Digital), Financial Services (Traditional, remittance, alternative finance, fintech), Insurance ( Life, Non-life, Reinsurance, Insur-tech)

With over 11 years of Executive Search experience, Jerry Amores has built a strong track record in leading talent acquisition strategies and delivering end-to-end recruitment solutions across APAC. His expertise spans Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), and a wide range of Talent Solutions, allowing him to support organizations with scalable, efficient, and high-impact hiring programs.

Jerry brings nine years of management experience, during which he has led multi-geography recruitment teams, strengthened operational performance, and fostered strong stakeholder partnerships. He has consistently driven process optimization, team development, and service excellence, while managing senior client relationships and ensuring the successful delivery of executive, specialist, and volume hiring projects.

Grounded in his background in Psychology, Jerry is deeply passionate about mental health and people development, which shapes his leadership philosophy and collaborative approach. He is committed to creating supportive, productive, and growth-oriented environments—both for his teams and the clients he serves—while continuously elevating recruitment standards and talent strategy impact.

 

Pam Delas Alas

Client Relations and Digital Marketing Lead

I shape the digital presence of Curran Daly & Associates through thoughtful branding, strategic content, and marketing that connects with the right audience.

Pam is a digital marketing and client relations professional with nearly a decade of experience in B2B lead generation, brand strategy, and early-stage sales enablement. She specializes in content that connects, campaigns that convert, and client journeys that start strong.

She started her marketing journey in 2016, gaining hands-on experience in business development, campaign execution, and client acquisition. She later took on lead generation and digital asset management as a Digital Marketing and Client Executive. Today, she drives branding and marketing at Curran Daly & Associates—boosting SEO visibility, launching outbound campaigns, and supporting lead generation and client onboarding. With a sharp eye for strategy and a collaborative style, Pam helps turn first impressions into long-term partnerships.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management from Far Eastern University – Diliman and is passionate about using content to elevate brand image, drive recall, and support business growth. Her work spans branding, digital strategy, SEO, and client acquisition—contributing to how the firm builds presence and fosters long-term success.

Honey de los Reyes

Financial Controller

I bring discipline and dedication to finance and accounting—driving growth by transforming numbers into strategic insights, anchored in integrity and operational excellence.

Honey is a results-driven finance leader with over a decade of experience in accounting, taxation, and financial operations—spanning both professional service firms and corporate finance environments. She brings together deep technical proficiency and a commercial mindset to streamline financial systems, ensure full regulatory compliance, and support strategic growth.

As a Certified Public Accountant, Honey started her career in public practice, gaining a strong foundation in audit, tax, and regulatory advisory. She later transitioned into corporate finance, where she broadened her impact by managing end-to-end finance functions—from daily operations and payroll to high-level budgeting and forecasting.

She joined Curran Daly & Associates as Financial Controller, where she plays a critical role in financial leadership, systems transformation, and business process optimization. Beyond financial reporting, Honey partners closely with operational and executive teams to strengthen internal controls, drive cost efficiency, and support long-term planning.

Throughout her career, she has developed a strong reputation for operational excellence, collaborative leadership, and unwavering integrity. She brings both discipline and heart to her work—mentoring and empowering stakeholders with clear, actionable financial insights.

Honey holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy and is a licensed CPA in the Philippines. She is passionate about continuous improvement and upholding financial excellence in a rapidly changing business environment.

 

James Kopp

Regional Director

Trusted recruitment partner for senior roles in CX, Sales, Operations, and Transformation across Southeast Asia and ANZ.

Areas of Expertise
Specialising in retained search assignments for senior and executive level leadership roles.

James Kopp began his executive search career in 1996 with de Jager Executive Search in Sydney, specializing in Automotive and Technology markets.

He later held leadership roles at Interim Technology, Spherion, and Korn Ferry Futurestep, before establishing Curran & Associates Melbourne in 2005.

For over 20 years, James has been Director of Executive Search at Curran & Associates, focusing on IT, Sales, Operations, and CX senior appointments across Australia and Asia.

He recently joined sister company Curran Daly & Associates to support executive search across the APAC region.

Previously, James spent 15 years at Toyota Motor Corporation Australia, leading regional and national divisions, including Lexus and Customer Relations. He holds qualifications in business and human resources and is a certified EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 practitioner.

 

Cess Rañola

General Manager, Recruitment

Passionate advocate of Human Resources with more than a decade of bringing people and opportunities together.
Areas of Expertise
  • Executive Search in FMCG,
  • Renewable Energy,
  • Industrial Manufacturing,
  • Infrastructure,
  • Semiconductor,
  • Real Estate & Construction,
  • 3PLs and Hospitality

Princess “Cess” Rañola has been bringing people and opportunities together for more than a decade as a Talent Acquisition Leader and Strategist for both internal and external firms, including Fortune 500 and local conglomerate companies. Throughout her career, she has skillfully combined her business sense, strong people skills, business growth, and strategic approach that impacts all of her stakeholders.


She joined Curran Daly as one of its transformation leaders in 2023, responsible for overseeing the recruitment operations in the Philippines—all while performing senior management and executive-level assignments in a variety of industries. Cess has a strong reputation and a good eye for finding the right candidates for every role— with a successful track record recruiting top talents from entry-level positions to C-suite executive leadership roles in a wide range of industries, including but not limited to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Renewable Energy, Industrial Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Semiconductor, Real Estate & Construction, 3PLs, and Hospitality. She also advised start-ups and non-engineering companies with notable key leadership placements in the BPO, IT, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industries.


Cess holds MBA credits from Singapore Business School, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from De La Salle University-Lipa. She is a Certified DDI Behavioral, a Certified Targeted Selection® Recruiter, and a Certified Social Sourcing Recruiter (CSSR).

Margaret Agustin

PRACTICE LEAD

Talent matchmaking success through strategic sourcing approach and dependable client and candidate partnership.

Meg brings 19 years of total experience in talent acquisition, including 11 years in executive search with Curran Daly and Associates. She currently serves as Practice Lead for the BPO and Shared Services Tower, where she leads a specialized recruitment team delivering end-to-end hiring solutions for companies across the sector.

Her practice partners with BPO and Shared Services companies of all shapes and sizes—from established market leaders to start-ups, as well as organizations scaling rapidly or launching new teams in the Philippines for the first time. Meg and her team support both niche volume hiring and senior leadership searches across all major job families, with deep expertise in Finance, Operations, and Human Resources.

Meg has extensive experience managing retained search and project-based assignments, with a strong track record of successfully closing leadership roles from manager level through to C-suite. She is particularly effective in reviving aging or difficult-to-fill roles, leveraging her extensive market network and long-standing relationships to unlock talent that is not readily accessible through traditional channels.

Her key strengths lie in relationship-driven recruitment—building trusted partnerships with both clients and candidates to ensure alignment beyond skills alone, and consistently delivering the right long-term fit for complex and business-critical hires.

Paula Piala

PRACTICE LEAD

Areas of Expertise
  • Sales and Marketing (Mid to C-Suite level)
  • FMCG (Food and Non-Food), Retail (Luxury, Fast Fashion, Automotive), Healthcare (Ethical Pharma, Consumer Healthcare, Lifesciences, Medical Devices, Healthcare Services)
Paula is a seasoned recruitment professional with seven years of experience, bringing a wealth of expertise in technical recruitment, client management, and strategic hiring practices across multiple industries.
  Her career began after university when she joined a global financial technology company as an internal technical recruiter, gaining a deep understanding of the nuances of technical recruitment. Seeking broader exposure, Paula joined a global recruitment consulting firm, where she spent five years growing her career. There, she became a Consultant for the Sales and Marketing team, specializing in recruitment within the FMCG, retail, professional services, and healthcare sectors.
  Throughout her career, Paula has consistently demonstrated her ability to excel in client and account management, business development, and strategic recruitment planning. She has successfully placed high-caliber candidates in a range of roles across local and global FMCG companies, fast-fashion retailers, ethical and consumer healthcare organizations, and the financial services industry.
  Paula is also a passionate advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I). She believes in creating equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of gender, age, or nationality, fostering inclusive work environments. For her, recruitment is not just a profession but a platform for building long-term, meaningful relationships that drive success for both candidates and clients.
  Her dedication, industry expertise, and commitment to ED&I make Paula a trusted partner for any organization looking to find and nurture top talent.

Fab Javier

PRACTICE LEAD

Areas of Expertise
  • Technical Roles (developers – CTO level)
  • Commercial (finance, sales, accounting)
  • Industry expertise: IT/technical, start-up, banking, fintech & insurance
Fab has more than 7 years of experience in recruitment, including 2 years in a leadership role. She is skilled at aligning technical talent with business goals across various industries, including IT, BFSI, FMCG, and global markets.
  She began her career as a technical recruiter at an IT consulting company. After 2 years, she moved to an HK-based recruitment firm, followed by 2 years at a local recruitment firm. She then returned to an IT consulting firm before joining Curran Daly as a Practice Lead. Fab has a proven track record of recruiting top talent for both technical and non-technical roles, including IT Business Analysts, Solutions Architects, Developers (Java, iOS, Android, etc.), IT Project Managers, and Solutions Designers. She also has experience recruiting for executive positions such as CTO and CISO.
  With her extensive experience in recruitment, Fab is confident that she can deliver results while ensuring good relationships with her clients and candidates.

Aya Manzon

SENIOR CONSULTANT

Areas of Expertise
  • Technical Hiring (Engineering, Construction, & Infrastructure)
  • Technology Hiring (IT Managers, Cloud/Infra/Development)
  • Support Functions (Sales, HR, Accounting & Finance)

Aya is a skilled HR and Recruitment professional with over 7 years of experience, beginning her career in HR Administration before discovering her passion for Recruitment. She started with Compensation & Benefits and Payroll but transitioned to Recruitment, where she has excelled for the past 6 years.
Her recruitment expertise spans PH Executive Search across industries such as Engineering, Construction, Infrastructure, Fintech, Shared Services, BPO, Logistics, Start-ups, Technology, Industrial Manufacturing, and Healthcare. She has successfully placed talent in diverse functions—including Engineering, IT/Technology, Finance & Accounting, HR, and Sales & Marketing—covering roles from management to C-level executives.
She is highly proficient in Full Cycle Recruitment, Account Management, and Business Development, with a proven ability to deliver exceptional results. Aya’s additional skills include Process Improvement, Recruitment Marketing, Talent Mapping, Niche and Volume Hiring, and Negotiations.
Passionate about fostering meaningful connections, Aya understands the importance of aligning organizational culture and values with candidate skills and career goals. Her approach ensures long-term success for both clients and candidates, focusing on building strong relationships that drive growth and achieve mutual goals.

Karen Magat

PRACTICE LEAD

Bringing world-class talents to every organization by glorifying his name through my lifelong mission of providing jobs for EveryJUAN.
  • Areas of Expertise
  • Leadership to Rank and File Hiring and Volume Hiring
  • Commercial (Finance and Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, Business Development, Operations)
    Supply Chain and Logistics
  • Technical Engineering for Manufacturing and Industrial
  • Industry Expertise/Exposure: Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Industrial, Semiconductor, QSR, Hospitality, Retail, Life Science, Supply Chain and Logistics and Start-Ups
Karen brings with her a decade of experience in the Human Resources and Recruitment field, she took a leap of faith when she started an HR role for a manufacturing company, after working for 2 years in the Hospitality Industry and eventually began her recruitment journey in a local manpower firm, catering to clients across various service-oriented industries and gaining exposure to both volume and mass hiring.
  After her tenure in the local manpower industry, she transitioned to become a full-time HR Practitioner and showcasing her skills by taking impactful roles, focusing on Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, and Employee Relations. This enabled her to develop into an effective communicator and a trusted business partner with the service-oriented companies she worked with.
  In 2021, Karen reunited with her ‘first love’ (Recruitment) by joining one of the country’s largest executive search firms as a Senior Recruiter. She was part of the top-notch recruitment team, supporting clients from diverse industries and fostering strong, harmonious professional relationships. As a recruitment business partner, she consistently provided the best talents suitable for both our internal and external stakeholders’ organizations. Karen steadily progressed to the role of Executive Search Manager, consistently exceeding her targets, and successfully filling roles across different industries.
  Leveraging her extensive HR experience, Karen is also passionate about leading learning and development, employee engagement, values formation, and corporate social responsibility projects. She is now part of CDA’s core leadership team and pioneered the Consumer Goods, Hospitality, Retail, Life Sciences, and 3PL tower.

Margarita Morelos

PRACTICE LEAD

Empowering Careers and Businesses with Top Talent, Connecting People to Opportunities for Growth and Success.
Margarita brings over a decade of expertise in IT and corporate recruitment. Her career journey reflects a steadfast commitment to fostering a collaborative and equitable work environment, with a strong focus on consistent results.
  Margarita Morelos has a proven track record of recruiting top talent across a diverse range of industries, successfully placing candidates in roles from associates to C-suite executives. Her expertise is particularly strong in the Information Technology (IT) sector, where she has filled key positions such as CIO, CTO, and VP of Data Analytics, as well as roles in software development and system architecture.
  Additionally, Margarita has achieved significant placements in both local and international companies, ranging from start-ups to large conglomerates, as well as within the banking and financial services sector, recruiting key leadership roles. She has also been successful in placing corporate leaders, including CFOs, HR heads, and general managers, in various industries such as renewable energy, industrial manufacturing, and real estate.
  Her strategic approach to sourcing, along with her extensive industry network, enables her to meet the unique recruitment needs of each client, ensuring successful placements and fostering lasting partnerships.

Leigh Teo

Associate Director, Executive Search

Helping organizations find their next stars through data-driven insights and human-centered strategies. Let’s connect and redefine talent acquisition together.
Areas of Expertise
  • Sales and Marketing (Management, Operations, Research and Development)
  • Legal Practice (Corporate/Commercial Law, Regulatory and Compliance, Contract Management, Taxation)
Leigh is an industry expert with more than 11 years of successful experience in full life cycle experience in recruitment covering in-house and recruitment firm set up for volume, entry, and executive-level positions. She has proven ability to foster relationships for industries like Consumer, Life Science, Technology, Industrial, and Business Process Outsourcing opportunities.
  Leigh began her career in recruiting at a top Business Process Outsourcing Company in Cebu, Philippines as Recruitment Officer for 5 years. In 2013, she moved to Manila to join Curran Daly and Associates, initially as a Recruitment Consultant before being promoted to Senior Consultant in a role where she was responsible for middle management and senior-level assignments for roles across Southeast Asia. Leigh rejoined Curran Daly in 2021 after spending some time with a Singapore-based executive search firm dedicated to supporting Asia Pacific requisitions.
  Leigh knows that people hire people, not resumes. Companies are not just looking for a set of qualifications that match a job description. She is most fulfilled when helping people to grow professionally. Her vision and ability to nurture relationships lead to long-term solutions and success.

Kevin Fitzgerald

Director, Executive Search

My clients and my candidates are one and the same, I strive to deliver quality candidates to my clients and a quality service to my candidates.
Areas of Expertise
  • Senior and Executive Operations
  • Finance
  • Project Management
Kevin spent more than 20 years working in procurement and project/finance management, predominantly in an international development environment. His career has taken him all over the world, enjoying both short and long-term working assignments in a variety of countries, from Angola to Uzbekistan, taking in the likes of Bolivia, Egypt, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, and Zambia along the way.
  He arrived in the Philippines in 2008, initially managing Japanese government-funded development projects around the country, before joining Curran Daly as a Senior Management Consultant in 2015.
  Kevin became a Director of the company in 2017 from which point he managed Senior Management and Executive level assignments across various industries notably in the areas of Operations, Finance, and Project Management.
  Kevin has a thorough/process-driven approach to his work, leaving no rock unturned, an approach warmly received by both his clients and his candidates which has in no small part led to him building a strong network of Senior/Executive level business contacts across the region.

Geoff Curan

MANAGING DIRECTOR, AUSTRALIA

Keep fit, love my family, sport and the Italian language.

Areas of Expertise
Executive Search in Sales, Service, Analytics, and, BPO – Australia, Philippines

Geoff Curran has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Western Australia and over twenty years experience as a specialist recruitment practitioner. During that time he has worked with organizations to secure talent at the middle and senior levels.

Geoff began his recruitment career in Perth in the early 1980s. After several years with a national management consulting firm, he joined Arthur Andersen & Co. to establish its executive recruitment division.

In 1989, Geoff moved to Sydney and at Morgan and Banks specialized in recruiting for accounting and finance. He then spent two years in London, further developing his skills in this field. He returned to Sydney in 1994 and joined Margot Davis and Company, a recruitment consultancy which specialized in marketing, advertising, and marketing communications. He subsequently became a shareholder and a director in said business.

Geoff established Curran + Associates in 1998. His approach to executive recruitment and search is founded on several basic principles: knowledge gained through specialization, being relevant to both clients and candidates, and delivering outcomes quickly and efficiently. In 2009, he started a business in the Philippines, this time focused on executive appointments to the BPO sector. In 2014, it became what is now known as Curran Daly & Associates.

Geoff Daly

Managing Director, South East Asia

Rugby and cricket tragic, scuba diver, and traveller!
With over eighteen years in senior HR roles, Geoff has enjoyed a successful HR career “assisting business leaders with solutions to their people issues.” Working across several industry sectors, Geoff has had a long career in international HR with assignments in Eastern Europe and East Africa, first having worked in China and Hong Kong back in 1996. Geoff’s strength is being able to create rapport with business leaders of all backgrounds and understanding the way to get the best performance from a multi-cultural workforce.
  Since 2007, Geoff has been providing HR consulting services into the Philippines, relocating permanently to said Southeast Asian country in early 2009. This in-country experience has given Geoff a unique understanding of Philippine culture as well as issues that impact the sourcing of outstanding people for clients.
  Geoff joined Curran Daly & Associates in 2009. Geoff holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Business in HR. Back in Sydney, he was an active surf lifesaver, spending over ten years patrolling Coogee Beach. Geoff is also a passionate rugby and cricket tragic, and in more recent years has fashioned himself into an avid global traveler and keen scuba diver.