Sep-2023

Recruiting skills you can learn from non-HR disciplines

Christina Pavlou

An experienced recruiter and HR professional who has transferred her expertise to insightful content to support others in HR.

Online courses can help you sharpen your recruiting skills. Instead of going back to school to brush up your recruiting knowledge, consider courses in six non-HR disciplines: sales, marketing, psychology, writing, mathematics and programming. Online courses in these subjects will provide you new perspectives to help you stand out as a recruiter.

What to consider before taking an online course

Cost. You usually need to pay subscription fees to successfully complete an online course, but fees are lower than traditional college tuition. Some online universities offer scholarships, depending on the course. Alternatively, you can choose a self-paced, free course. You’ll may have access to fewer resources and won’t get a recognized certificate, but you’ll have the opportunity to train on your own schedule and decide whether this course helps your recruiting skills.

Sources. Search online for courses that interest you. Some places to start looking include Lynda, Coursera and Edx. For more formal classes, consider online courses at well-known universities, like Harvard, Stanford and Oxford.

Here are our online course recommendations from various subjects and reasons for how they can help your recruiting career.

What you can learn from:

Sales

You often hear that you need to “sell” your position to candidates. Good salespeople have strong listening skills, problem-solving attitudes and are highly motivated by goals. Basic sales training can improve your overall recruitment skill set.

People who’ve taken Coursera’s Sales Strategies: Mastering the Selling Process explain how they found the course useful, regardless of their backgrounds:

recruitment training courses - online review

Opt for a sales course to learn how to treat candidates like customers and promote your company and its job openings.

Course	What you will learn	How it will benefit your recruiting
Winning Qualities of Inside Sales Pros	Sales tools that can double as recruiting tools How to manage sales end-to-end How to persuade reluctant customers to buy your products	Learn tips for cold calls and emails to passive candidates Learn how to manage full-cycle recruiting Learn how to make non-negotiable time for proactive tasks, like sourcing
Sales Skills Fundamentals	Common sales terms Necessary communication skills (via email and phone) How to manage sales quotas	Improve your candidate outreach Get inspired for cold calls and negotiations through role-playing examples Get help setting and measuring your recruiting targets
Sales Strategies: Mastering the Selling Process	How to master your sales skills How to create a sales toolkit How to influence your audience by telling a great story	Sharpen your persuasion and presentation skills to better communicate with candidates Interact with partners (e.g. agencies and colleges) to promote your company Build both your employer and personal brand

Marketing

Marketing techniques help you promote your job openings. Use marketing training to improve candidate experience and build a positive reputation for your company.

Course	What you will learn	How it will benefit your recruiting
Optimizing Marketing Emails	How to write effective emails How to customize your emails based on the recipient Extra tips for optimizing mobile emails	Increase your cold emails response rate Write better subject lines and personalize your messages Reach candidates through effective mobile emails
Introduction to Social Media Analytics	Which social media metrics to track How to use social media data to understand your followers’ preferences	Measure the results of your social recruiting endeavors Learn the demographics of your audience
Professional Networking	How to manage your contacts to build strong professional relationships How to host a professional event How to network online	Get the most out of recruitment events Create an online network of HR professionals Improve your online communication with potential and past candidates

Psychology

Human Resources Management is closely linked to psychology, the study of human behavior, emotions and interaction with others. These courses can help recruiters better evaluate candidates’ nonverbal behaviors during interviews or psychometric tests.

Course	What you will learn	How it will benefit your recruiting
Effective Listening	How to assess your listening skills How to stay attentive during in-person discussions Tips to ensure you understand your interlocutor	Effectively interview candidates by phone and in-person Read body language in interviews Interpret candidates’ reactions (e.g. mirroring)
Paul Ekman Group (Youtube channel)	How to read micro-expressions How to understand emotional behavior	Evaluate whether candidates answer questions honestly Become more empathetic during interviews (in-person or through video)
Leading with Emotional Intelligence	What emotional intelligence means How to understand and manage your emotions How to be empathetic toward other people’s emotions	Use emotional intelligence interview questions Avoid bias in the interview process and reach more objective hiring decisions Promote diversity in the workplace by understanding and accepting people’s differences

Writing

Strong writing skills convey professionalism. With online writing courses, you can go back to the basics: improving your written communication to woo top candidates.

Course	What you will learn	How it will benefit your recruiting
Writing in Plain English	How to simplify your writing How to get your point across	Avoid common buzzwords that turn candidates off Write clear job descriptions and policies
Write Professional Emails in English	How to approach different email types Common grammatical mistakes to avoid How culture affects your email-writing	Write effective recruiting emails Prepare email templates for different scenarios Personalize your messages
Editing and Proofreading Made Simple	How to spot spelling and grammar errors How to improve style, format and tone in your messages	Write error-free emails, job offers and guides Use the right tone to approach different people, e.g. a rejected candidate

Mathematics

Use basic math skills to understand important recruiting metrics, like the number of candidates who advance through your hiring stages, or which interviewing methods are more cost-effective. An online math course can teach you how to calculate useful recruiting KPIs, compare different metrics and keep organized records.

Course	What you will learn	How it will benefit your recruiting
Statistics Fundamentals – Part 1: Beginning	How to calculate basic statistics, like averages, medians and standard deviations How to spot misleading data	Measure important recruiting metrics, like time-to-hire, turnover rates and cost-per-hire Make decisions based on mathematical data
Introduction to Data Analysis using Excel	Basic Excel data functions and formulas How to use filtering, tables and charts	Create spreadsheets to organize your data Collaborate with the hiring team to share important metrics

Programming

Tech recruiters don’t have always the best reputation among developers. An introductory online programming course won’t teach you how to code, but it will give you a primer on basic terminology. It will also help you avoid common jargon (e.g. “ninja engineer” and “rockstar developer”) when writing job descriptions or interviewing candidates.

Course	What you will learn	How it will benefit your recruiting
Introduction to HTML and Javascript	HTML components Basic Javascript programming How to build simple HTML pages	Learn about what programmers do Write better web programmer job descriptions to attract candidates Ask targeted interview questions for web development
Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming	Fundamental programming principles How to program in Scratch	Learn what motivates and attracts software engineers Assess candidates’ answers to coding interview questions
Foundations of Programming: Fundamentals	What modules, loops and strings are Basic programming languages	Understand the differences between engineering jobs Ask better programming interview questions

Recruiting skills you can learn from non-HR disciplines

What to consider before taking an online course

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