How much does a recruitment consultant earn in Australia?
Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes
Every job market needs recruitment consultants – specialists who provide the crucial link between those looking to hire and those looking for a job.
Becoming a recruiter can be a rewarding career move. Helping people find a job they enjoy or one that helps them better support their family is emotionally fulfilling. And the role is also financially rewarding for recruiters with excellent communication skills, a great work ethic, and who enjoy building relationships and solving problems.
Which brings up a common question: “How much does a recruitment consultant earn in Australia?”
The good news is, recruiters earn a base salary plus commission. This means their earning potential is directly tied to their success in placing candidates with hiring companies.
Let’s look at how to make the most of the opportunities in Australia’s recruitment industry.
How do Australian recruitment consultants get paid?
As with other sales-based roles, recruitment consultants earn a base salary plus an agreed commission.
A commission is a type of compensation paid to the recruiter based on a percentage of the revenue generated by the number of sales made. Don’t forget, these commission earnings are on top of a guaranteed base salary.
This payment structure rewards those recruitment consultants who work harder, as it leads to both more sales for the company and more commission for the consultant.
Best of all, with no upper limits on the commission, you can maximise your earnings as a recruitment consultant based on your capabilities.
What salary ranges can you expect as a recruitment consultant?
The latest 2023 research indicates that entry-level recruitment consultant positions in Australia start at $70K per year.
Experienced recruiters can earn more than $115K per year.
However, it’s important to note that most figures reported in surveys such as these combine both base salary and commission earnings.
For a clearer picture, Glassdoor breaks these totals down.
Their research shows the national average base salary for recruiters is $70K per year in Australia. Plus, an additional average compensation of $20K is earned through commission payments (based on a range of $5,500 – $80,000).
In other words, the amount recruitment consultants earn in Australia varies significantly based on:
- the time you put in,
- the strength of the relationships you establish with candidates and client companies,
- and your ability to build trusted networks.
The reality is that successful people in the recruitment industry thrive due to their positive ethics and hard work. They put in the time and effort required to earn their trustworthy status.
Though, there’s more to the story.
As recruitment is closely linked to the state of our economy, it means that recruitment consultants need to be adaptable.
Will you be capable at handling the good times, and also persevere when times are more difficult?
Related: Find out if becoming a recruitment consultant might be a good career for you.
What additional earning potential do recruitment consultants have in Australia?
Most recruiters have one thing in common: they thrive in entrepreneurial roles where the rewards are based on merit, not tasks.
Being a recruitment consultant can be a very lucrative profession.
Clinton Marks, a tenured consultant with Robert Half, reflects on how he built a successful career at Robert Half over the past 16 years:
“I’ve been lucky enough to work in several roles – starting as a recruitment consultant and now managing a region. My advice to anyone interested in our industry is to not look at it as a traditional job. The role is very much a meritocracy, meaning your base wage and commissions increase as part of your journey, and are dependent on your work ethic and ability to build long-term relationships.”
“The biggest common factor with our most successful recruiters is tenure – the amount of time they’ve invested in their role. While people in typical task-based jobs, such as accountants and teachers, often fulfil the same duties and earn relatively similar wages. In the world of recruitment, however, the differences between employee earnings can be quite stark.
“Therefore, if you thrive on hard work, can create lasting relationships based on trust, learn to define yourself by your actions (not just results), and have a strong growth mindset, then there’s really no upper limit on your earnings. If anything, it’s limited only by the time you have to apply yourself.”
“Above all, you must be in it for the long term to really make it work. But our product is people – which makes the role interesting and meaningful if crafted with others at the centre. That’s why many tenured recruitment consultants enjoy high incomes at Robert Half, because it’s a byproduct of enjoying the process.”
What are the benefits of becoming a recruitment consultant at Robert Half?
Besides the financial rewards of being a recruitment consultant, it's worth considering our range of non-monetary employee benefits.
You will enjoy benefits such as:
- Wellness programs
- Generous and progressive leave allowances
- Subsidised private health insurance
- Employee assistance programs and network groups
Here at Robert Half, we want you to feel rewarded for your work.
That’s why we recognise your value and offer an industry-leading compensation and benefits package, including both financial and non-monetary benefits.
Related: Intrigued? Read more about Robert Half employee benefits
Furthermore, our dedicated recruitment consultants enjoy career progression and recognition opportunities by becoming senior consultants (specialist consultants in a specific area) or managers.
If career advancement is part of your plan, you could start out like Tyson Old:
“I've been working at Robert Half for just over two years. Initially an Associate Consultant, my role was to concentrate solely on the candidate side and develop contacts with candidates to support them with their job hunt. I’ve now advanced into a Principal Consultant position, which means I oversee every aspect of a role in recruitment.”
“In my opinion, building enduring relationships with both clients and applicants, plus good old-fashioned hard work, are the keys to success in this role. If you can perform these things, your prospective earnings are far higher than a base salary.”
Ultimately, a job in recruitment is very different from most roles in the market – because it’s true that the more you put in, the more you get out.”
The next step is up to you
Do you have a passion for helping people, outstanding communication skills, a great work ethic, and experience in the recruitment industry?
Now that you know how much a recruitment consultant earns in Australia, it may be just the career move you’ve been searching for.
Why not get in touch with our Robert Half recruitment team today and check out our LinkedIn page?
