The quick answer to the question ‘do military recruiters get a commission? is NO. However, in a more detailed sense, this does not mean that recruiters don’t get bonuses or financial incentives for their recruitment efforts.
It may get confusing at this point, but don’t worry, we’ll get into detail as we go on.
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General Understanding of Commission and Incentives
Looking through the lenses of the sales industry, it’s not surprising to think that things work the same way when it comes to military recruitment. However, an important distinction lies between the terms commission and incentives/bonuses.
Commission is most closely tied up to a percentage income as a result of a successful sale. Incentive on the other hand works more like a performance reward and may in numerous contexts, come in monetary and nonmonetary forms.
To help you contextualize, think of military recruiters as salaried military personnel tasked to, on top of their military duties, carry out the military recruitment process, including information dissemination, screening and testing, selection and training of all recruits for all branches of the military.
It is in their job description to scout eligible individuals to serve in the military and they literally get paid to recruit these individuals.
With this understanding, it is now easier to understand that the recruiters don’t get commission per hire. Rather than commission, what recruiters receive is something similar to a pay incentive, as compensation for their added training and workload related to recruitment efforts.
Ways to Compensate Military Recruiters
As mentioned, recruiters are not paid in a piece-rate fashion or per recruit successfully signed into the service. Instead, different military branches have a way to incentivize successful recruitment.
Navy recruiters, for example, are awarded non-monetary incentives such as individual awards and extra liberty. Army recruiters, on the other hand, get cash incentives for high-quality recruits, thus this incentive works as added compensation to the basic army recruiter salary.
Air force recruiters have it harder with its well-documented retention and recruitment struggles over the years. Because experience is very much needed in this branch of the military, a recruiting incentive currently offered is a USD 10,000 bonus for previously enlisted Airmen who are willing to sign on for three years in the Reserve.
Marine recruiters are uniquely part of a Recruit the Recruiter Campaign that awards volunteer recruiters with the benefit of choosing their recruiting station location. Currently, only top-performing recruiters are rewarded with incentives.
Military Recruiters vs. Regular Military Personnel
Regular military personnel are paid their basic salary on a flat rate basis, according to their rank and tenure. Military recruiters, on the other hand, receive additional incentives and bonuses (as discussed in the previous section), depending on their branch of military service, for recruitment milestones and achievements.
All in all, military personnel are continuously encouraged to get deployed on recruitment assignments with the promise of rewarding them with different incentive packages. However, what really are the benefits of recruiters, outside of the additional incentives the assignment comes with?
Benefits of Being a Military Recruiter
Outside of the incentives, you may wonder what there is to becoming a military recruiter. Most recruiters agree that a sense of fulfillment is one of the greatest takeaways of becoming a recruiter.
Having the chance to meet young recruits and gaining the opportunity to inspire and guide these recruits along their military career is nothing short of fulfilling; the incentives and bonuses are simply the sweet icing on top.
Recruiters are also very much involved in designing and executing programs targeted at strengthening retention and achieving job enrichment within the military, so this is also an interesting aspect of the career.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do military recruiters make?
Pay is always according to the branch of service and rank of the individual. A recruiter earns the same but receives extra bonuses or non-monetary rewards for carrying out recruitment efforts.
What are the usual army recruiter pay and benefits?
An army recruiter receives a standardized pay grade but receives cash incentives for high quality recruits. A “high-quality” recruit refers to recruits who score between 93 and 99 (in a 1 to 99-point scale) in the Armed Forces Qualification Entry Test.
Recruiters are however eligible for this incentive only when they exceed their recruit quota.
Conclusion
Do military recruiters get a commission? With better understanding, now you know that they in fact don’t receive commission the same way salesmen do, but they receive different incentive packages for their recruitment efforts.
With the military currently facing recruitment and retention struggles, this article aims to shed light and pique interest to those who consider a military career for themselves. Why not approach recruiters for more information if so?
Hopefully this article was an informative read. Til’ the next one!
Logan Miller, the founder of Safecallnow, is responsible for providing expert guidance on police equipment. He can give officers with credible knowledge on how to employ enhanced safety measures and police equipment to ensure the highest level of safety and efficiency. He can provide specialist assistance regarding the selection of apparel, duty gear, first aid supplies, tools, and training equipment for homeland security and law enforcement.