A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment which is the solicitation of individuals to fill jobs or positions within any group such as a sports team or corporation. Recruiters can be divided into 2 groups: those working internally for one organization, and those working for multiple clients in a 3rd-party broker relationship, sometimes called headhunters.

An internal recruiter is member of a company or organization, and typically works in human resources (HR), which in the past was known as the Personnel Office, or just Personnel. Internal recruiters may be multi-functional, serving in an HR generalist role (hiring, firing, exit interviews, employee disputes, contracts, benefits, recruiting, etc.) or in a specific role focusing all their time on the activity of recruiting. They can be permanent employees or hired as contractors for this purpose. Contract recruiters tend to move around between multiple companies working at each one for a short stint as needed for specific hiring purposes.

Third party recruiters make their income through sales commissions generated from the fees that they collect from their clients. Some recruiters also receive a base salary or a draw against future commissions.