Corporate recruiters score highest in job satisfaction, Glassdoor reports

Dive Brief:

Corporate recruiters have the highest job satisfaction of any other position on Glassdoor's list of 50 Best Jobs in America for 2020. The rankings are based on a combination of satisfaction, available opportunities and salary. Based on Glassdoor data, corporate recruiters make a median base salary of $65,607; that, combined with openings and satisfaction put the job in the list's No. 37 spot.
HR managers ranked higher overall, earning the No. 12 spot with a salary of $83,190 and more job openings. The job ranked lower in satisfaction however, with a score of 4.1 out of a possible 5 (compared to recruiters' 4.4).
Front end engineer took the top spot, replacing data scientist, which was No. 1 for four years but slipped to No. 3. The research also noted that January is the favored month for finding a new job, based on a 22% increase in applications on Glassdoor.

Dive Insight:

As business leaders increasingly recognize the role of labor in organizational planning and success, talent pros are more often being viewed as strategic business partners. And when employees can see the value in their work, satisfaction increases, research shows, perhaps explaining recruiters' high marks.

The work of human capital leaders often gets them into the C-suite, and it's not hard to see the value in the work, Shannon Schuyler, chief purpose and inclusion officer, PwC previously told HR Dive; "You're not only talking about your people, which is an invaluable asset, but you're talking about the purpose of the organization, and that spreads through everything that you do," including investments, policy and government affairs, procurement and revenue streams, she said.

The challenge for talent pros, then, may be to help others find that meaning. Some say the key lies in connecting everyone's day-to-day work to the employer's broader goals. "Purpose can be so gigantic, you never get there," Steve Van Valin, founder and CEO of Culturology, previously told HR Dive. "Really smart leaders bring purpose down to daily discipline."