Talent Acquisition Specialist

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Talent Acquisition Specialist hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

HOW TO HIRE A TALENT ACQUISITION SPECIALIST

What does a Talent Acquisition Specialist do?

A Talent Acquisition Specialist focuses on end-to-end recruitment, often for specialized positions that have an extended hiring period, such as niche IT roles or executive positions.

A Talent Acquisition Specialist is responsible for sourcing, attracting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding employees in a company. They factor in the long-term goals of an organization and acknowledge that people play a huge role in a company’s future success.

Put simply, a Talent Acquisition Specialist has the organizational task of finding the most suitable person for a position.

Day to day tasks of a Talent Acquisition Specialist

Assisting with the onboarding process
Conducting phone screens/interviews
Resume reviewing
Proactively sourcing candidates
Scheduling interviews between candidates and hiring managers
Preparing candidates for interviews
Collaborating with hiring managers
Extending offers to successful candidates

Recruitment guide role overview illustration

TALENT ACQUISITION SPECIALIST DEFINITION

A Talent Acquisition Specialist focuses on end-to-end recruitment, and is responsible for sourcing, attracting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding employees in a company. They factor in the long-term goals of an organization and have the organizational task of finding the most suitable person for a position.

HIRING PROCESS

Talent Acquisition Specialist Hiring Process

1
STEP 1
2
STEP 2
3
STEP 3
4
STEP 4
5
STEP 5

STEP 1

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

STEP 2

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

STEP 3

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

STEP 4

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

STEP 5

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.

BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Skills needed for a Talent Acquisition Specialist

A Talent Acquisition Specialist must have a focus on relationship building and engagement with stakeholders, a clear understanding of company strategy, and high-level communication skills. They must be able to interpret the needs of each hiring manager and role and be able to find the right candidate for a position.

Communication
Strategy
Relationship Building

WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS

How to write a Talent Acquisition Specialist job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Talent Acquisition Specialist job description:

Job Title: What position are you hiring for?
Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer

Use our sample Talent Acquisition Specialist job description

SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Sample skill tests for a Talent Acquisition Specialist

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Question 1

Communication

Question Type: Audio

Please record an audio of yourself rejecting a candidate that has interviewed for a role and was not successful.

Question 2

Relationship Building

Question Type: Video

Establishing hiring managers' trust plays a big role in Talent Acquisition.Outline some ways of how you would establish and maintain trust with hiring managers and why you think it's important. Feel free to use previous experiences as examples.

Question 3

Strategy

Question Type: Text

It is vital to always have a healthy talent pool when recruiting. List some 'out the box' ways in which you could source potential candidates, to increase your talent pool.

INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS

How to interview a Talent Acquisition Specialist

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

MAKING AN OFFER

How much does it cost to hire a Talent Acquisition Specialist?

The US average for a Talent Acquisition Specialist is $57,815 according to Payscale.com while the reported average salary on Glassdoor amounts to $57,000. 90% of Talent Acquisition Specialists earn up to $69,000 with 75% receiving less than $65,000. The lowest-paid 10% is paid up to $44,000.

United States

Talent Acquisition Specialist salaries in the United States range from $44,000 - $78,000 (USD). Talent Acquisition Specialist salaries in the US vary a lot depending on career experience.

Source: Source: Payscale

United Kingdom

Talent Acquisition Specialist salaries in the United Kingdom range from £22,000 - £49,000 (GBP). Talent Acquisition Specialist salaries in the UK vary largely based on career experience.