Why isn’t there a Recruiting Degree?
Over 20 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities this year, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. Many of them will have a firm idea of what degree program they want to enroll in while others will be undecided. There are hundreds of degree programs to choose from, including some of the most popular: Accounting, Business, Psychology, or Biology. Can you guess what degree program won’t be among those choices? That’s right: Recruiting. A majority of those students will have no idea of what recruiting actually is or picture themselves working in the industry.
Did you know that you can actually get a degree in Bagpiping from Carnegie Mellon, Puppet Arts from University of Connecticut, or even Turfgrass Science from Penn State but you can’t get a degree in recruiting? Yup. The staffing industry is an estimated $124.1 billion dollar industry that continues to grow at a rate significantly faster than the overall economy, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. However, no university or college offers a degree catered to the recruiting profession. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the bagpipes, Kermit the Frog, or a beautiful looking sports field, but come on! Why doesn’t a college or university offer a degree in recruiting?
Yes, many of us in recruiting fell into it as a career or used the profession as stepping stone to something else. None of us had a formal degree in it as a basis of our education. We all learned through experience, mentors, various training programs, etc. When hiring entry level recruiters, wouldn’t a staffing firm or a corporate recruiting department find value in such a formal degree program? If anything, from an enablement perspective, it would reduce the learning curve and time to make an impact in their first year on the job. Wouldn’t a student strongly consider a career that allows them to have a significant impact on a person’s life, the company they work for, and the customers they support? I know I would.
The most critical aspect of any business is their ability to attract and retain great talent. Without talent a company can’t sell its product/services, have customers, and will fail to innovate and grow. Period. This is why I believe there is tremendous value in creating a recruiting degree program but it can’t consist of unnecessary coursework and irrelevant classes. It has to actually prepare and teach the student for a career as a recruiter either on the agency, consulting, or corporate side. It needs to be valuable and not just an expensive piece of paper.
If I were designing a Recruiting Degree program, I would recommend it consist of at least the following 5 components:
Required Core Courses in:
- Business
- Computer Science
- Economics
- Finance/Accounting
- Marketing
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Speaking
Specific Degree Courses in the following (Not an extensive list):
- Talent Branding and Social Recruiting
- Sourcing Strategies and Techniques
- Candidate Acquisition, Evaluation, Presentation, and Development
- The Candidate Experience
- Interviewing
- Offer Presentation, Negotiation, and Close
- Hiring Manager and Recruiter Partnership
- Recruiting Strategy and Leadership
- Effective Job Descriptions
- Employment Law
- Recruiting Technology
- Talent Acquisition Data, Metrics, and Analytics
Paid Internships with Recruiting Agencies/Consulting Firms and Corporate Recruiting Departments in Junior and Senior Year (gaining “real” experience in the role of an assistant, sourcer, or junior recruiter). Interns will be given responsibilities consistent with the role and really have the opportunity learn and make an impact.
A Mentoring Program that partners with highly regarded experienced recruiting professionals to provide Juniors and Seniors with career preparation assistance. (The student can watch them in action as they “tell it like it is” and “show them the ropes”)
A recurring Guest Lecture Series with well-known recruiting professionals that discuss the latest industry landscape, trends, insights, and best practices. (In a perfect world I would have the famous host James Lipton from Inside the Actor’s Studio host it!)
The 20 million students that are expected to attend American colleges and universities this year, all have hopes and dreams of a successful career. It could be as an Accountant, a Physician, a Teacher, or an Engineer. Let’s give them another career choice to hope and dream about.
What do you think? What ideas or courses do you think should be included in a recruiting degree program?