Recruiting is Sales, HR is Support — And Both Need Freedom
Let’s get something straight — recruiting isn’t HR. It never was, and it never should be. Recruiting is sales. HR is support. And when you force them into the same bucket, you neuter both.
Recruiters are hunters. They’re out there making cold calls, negotiating offers, and convincing top talent to leave their cushy gigs and take a bet on your company. They’re selling the dream. They don’t have time for engagement surveys, compliance memos, or the latest corporate initiative on psychological safety. Their job is to get high-caliber talent through the door, fast.
HR, on the other hand, is about stability. They ensure the company runs smoothly, that employees are engaged, that policies are followed, and that lawsuits are avoided. They’re building long-term sustainability. It’s an essential function, but it moves at a different speed than recruiting.
Two Different Jobs, Two Different Mindsets
Picture this: you have a Formula 1 race car and a long-haul freight truck. Both are vehicles, but would you ever ask them to swap roles? Of course not. The F1 car is built for speed, precision, and risk-taking — just like recruiting. The freight truck is built for endurance, stability, and carrying heavy loads — just like HR. Merging the two? That’s how you end up with a slow-moving, bureaucratic mess of a talent function that can’t close top candidates and can’t retain the ones it does.
This confusion happens because too many companies lump recruiting under HR as an afterthought. They assume recruiters are just HR people with LinkedIn Recruiter licenses. The result? The entire hiring process gets bloated with unnecessary steps, ridiculous approval chains, and a hiring manager wondering why their “urgent” role is still open six months later.
Recruiters Need Freedom, Not Red Tape
If you want elite recruiting, you need to treat your recruiters like sales pros, not administrative clerks. Sales teams have autonomy, aggressive targets, and the tools they need to close deals. Great recruiters should operate the same way. Give them air cover, remove roadblocks, and let them do what they do best — persuade.
When you treat recruiters like HR generalists, you suffocate their ability to move fast. That rockstar engineer you wanted? Gone. The competitor moved faster. That game-changing VP you needed? They lost interest because the hiring process felt like an IRS audit. Recruiting is about speed, relationships, and strategic closing — not process for the sake of process.
HR Needs Space to Focus on What They Do Best
HR is not the enemy here. It’s a critical function that keeps the company from imploding. But its focus should be on retention, development, and compliance — not on debating which Boolean search strings recruiters should be using. HR thrives when it’s allowed to do what it does best: creating an environment where employees feel supported, engaged, and protected.
When you force recruiters and HR to share the same playbook, both sides lose. HR is frustrated because recruiters don’t “follow protocol.” Recruiters are frustrated because HR is slowing them down. And the business suffers because you end up with mediocre hires and retention problems.
Keep Them Separate, Let Them Win
The best companies understand that recruiting and HR serve different purposes. They give recruiters the freedom and resources to move like a sales team. They give HR the space to focus on culture, compliance, and engagement.
Recruiting is sales. HR is support. When you try to blend the two, you don’t get efficiency — you get a talent function that’s slow, confused, and ineffective. Separate them, empower them, and watch them thrive.
That’s how you win the talent war.
Hi, I’m Brian Fink, the author of Talk Tech To Me. If you like how I write, pick up your copy today!
