What is the difference between IT recruiting and non IT recruiting?

Answer 1

IT Recruiting only differs in that the recruiter should have more knowledge in the Information Technology arena and therefore should be able to screen technical candidates regarding specifics in their arena of expertise. That being said, a 'non it' recruiter usually has areas of expertise too. I would not ask a manufacturing recruiter to recruit attorneys just as I would not have a recruiter that specializes in recruiting Windows Server Administrators to recruit Ruby Software Engineers.

Best technical recruiters should have relationships in their arenas of specialties and preferably have enough experience in the arena to screen candidates properly. Another key factor is that a recruiter that specializes in a specific arena will gain more confidence of the Hiring Manager. This helps a lot because the Hiring Manager needs to be comfortable in excepting the opinions of the recruiter. If a non-it recruiter says that a certain Ruby Developer is the best candidate for the position - a Hiring Manager would have a lot of doubt unless the recruiter has experience vetting Ruby Developers specifically.

Can a recruiter cross over between IT and non-it recruiting? I certainly think so but usually it's a career preference to go in one direction or the other. Mostly this occurs because of the value of time. If you can only recruit so many people in a given time period - it's better to stick with an arena that you are comfortable with and can keep up with.