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
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
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
Pro Tip
Stakeholder engagement and relationship building are vital skills for any Talent Acquisition Specialist. Be sure to include behavioral questions with a focus on these skills during the interview stage.
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
Pro Tip
In building your candidate profile, remember you’ve already identified what skills are needed to succeed in the role. Here’s where to list your “must-have” skills and maybe a couple of “nice-to-have” skills. For example, a Talent Acquisition Specialist should have exceptional written and verbal communication skills. They should also have well developed interpersonal and social skills, as this role is people-centric.
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.
Talent Acquisition Specialist Salary 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.
Talent Acquisition Specialist Salary 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.
Source: Payscale
Talent Acquisition Specialist Salary Australia
Talent Acquisition Specialist salaries in Australia range from $81,900 – $117,788 (AUD). Talent Acquisition Specialist salaries usually depend on career experience and industry.
Source: Talent.com
