The War On Recruiters: A Qualitative Exploration of Identifying Stress Factors in Talent Acquisition

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.)

Department

Organization Development

First Advisor

Michael Zickar (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

Carol Heckman (Other)

Third Advisor

Margaret Brooks (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Jeanelle Sears (Committee Chair)

Abstract

The field of talent acquisition, often referred to as “recruitment,” is pivotal in shaping the success of any organization that identifies, hires, and onboards talent. In today’s ever-changing employment landscape, selecting the right employer to work for is crucial for job seekers. Talent acquisition professionals or recruiters, play a significant role in connecting job seekers with meaningful career opportunities despite a competitive job market. Recruiters are tasked with attracting, hiring, and onboarding talent and are often the very first individual a job seeker is introduced at any given company. Despite research on recruiters’ characteristics and their impact in the selection process, there is limited literature that investigates the stress factors associated with this occupation. The competition to recruit top talent, while navigating employment landscape changes such as the Covid-19 Pandemic, The Great Resignation, and unexpected layoffs, may impact the stress levels of recruiters. Although there are stressors that are known for working in the human resources field, little is known about the specific sources and stress elements within the recruiting profession. In this qualitative research, I conducted a series of interviews with recruiters to determine the factors that contribute to job-related stress and ultimately how they cope with it. The research was guided by a thematic-analysis approach to highlight the experiences working within the recruitment field and discover themes and patterns that emerge from the semi-structured interviews. By identifying stress factors in the recruiter role, this research provided insight into the recruiter occupation and provide resources and recommendations to help enhance the recruitment practices, promote recruiter well-bring and improve the effectiveness of the talent acquisition process.

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