HomeEvents & ResourcesHR BlogsHow to become a Great Talent Acquisition Manager? [6 Steps, 10 Skills]

How to become a Great Talent Acquisition Manager? [6 Steps, 10 Skills]

Due to the dynamic corporate environment and rapid technological advancements the story of talent acquisition is changing. Due to the constantly evolving workforce and workplace the position of Talent Acquisition Manager becomes increasingly important. To succeed as a Great Acquisition Manager, you must acquire the necessary abilities. This post examines the ten essential competencies a talent acquisition specialist should have to effectively drive company success in 2022 and beyond.

The acquisition manager is the expert that uses talent acquisition techniques to develop and execute solutions enhancing the caliber, efficacy and efficiency of the talent acquisition umbrella.

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A fresh approach to hiring is necessary due to the current workplace’s growing competitiveness, employee personality changes and an increase in the diversity of the workforce in terms of gender and generation. Therefore, acquisition managers need to learn a particular set of skills to plan strategies to draw in such talent. Here are the abilities acquisition managers need to develop as 2022 alters every job’s environment and character.

What is a talent acquisition manager?

Managers of talent acquisition recruit, develop and keep individuals within a company. To find top talent and guarantee that employees are happy and productive, professionals in this role must have good interpersonal, organizational and communication abilities.

An acquisition manager’s duties:

  • Establish predictions and identifying current personnel needs
  • Create hiring plans and talent acquisition methods
  • Coordinate strategies for employment branding
  • Use sourcing tools to find candidates for open roles and foresee requirements later on
  • Arrange and carry out hiring and selection procedures (interviews, screening calls, etc.)
  • Take action to guarantee a good candidate experience
  • Help with employee growth and retention
  • Control hiring of workers
  • Arrange career fairs, testing facilities or other events and/or participate in them
  • Create reports using metrics to pinpoint areas that need improvement

Talent Acquisition Manager salary

Payscale.com indicates that the US average income for a talent acquisition manager is $76,450, but Glassdoor reports that the average compensation is $87,550.

21% of talent acquisition managers make less than $88,000, while 68% make up to $121,000. The 11% with the lowest pay receive up to $46,500.

How to become a talent acquisition manager?

A talent acquisition manager needs a mixture of education and experience. Although there isn’t a set route you must take to become a talent acquisition manager, there are certain typical stages you can follow to support a good career start. Take into account the following career path if you decide to become a talent acquisition manager.

#1 Educational Requirements for a Talent Acquisition Specialist

To become a talent acquisition manager, most firms consider a bachelor’s degree the minimum need. Human resources and business are two of the most valuable majors for people looking to work in talent acquisition. Still, before starting classes, it’s crucial to know your interests and what each degree includes. Other business-related disciplines, including marketing or finance, can also be beneficial. But if selecting one of those, obtaining a certification or graduate degree is also helpful.

#2 To become Talent Acquisition Manager, some demand you to fulfill a master’s program.

Some organizations demand a master’s degree in the industry for senior-level employment like talent acquisition experts. When a bachelor’s degree may not be directly related to talent acquisition, a master’s degree can be highly beneficial. A master’s degree in organizational development or human resource management is a standard course of study for people who want to work in talent acquisition.

#3 Obtain a certificate – The SHRM Talent Acquisition Specialty Credential

For the position, very few employers require a certification. However, deliberately pursuing a certification might assist your resume and show potential employers how committed you are to your job. Numerous helpful credentials are available in various sectors, including project management and hiring.

When searching for certification programs, consider those emphasizing crucial talent acquisition competencies like customer satisfaction, talent identification and candidate experience optimization. To determine which qualifications could be most beneficial for you, it’s also a good idea to examine the specific requirements for the industry or firm where you intend to work.

#4 Attend a Talent Acquisition – Recruitment Network

Active HR and recruitment communities

  1. Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)
  2. In House Recruitment
  3. HR Open Source
  4. Human Capital Institute (HCI)
  5. The Recruitment Society
  6. The Recruitment Network
  7. American Staffing Association (ASA)
  8. Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals (ATAP)
  9. SPHR Network

By joining professional groups, you can network with people in your industry or career. You can expand your network by establishing connections with other talent acquisition specialists. Additionally, try to meet people through developing relationships with members of your professional organization.

Networking with people with experience in talent acquisition might aid in finding a mentor. That mentor can advise you on your career, assist you in finding jobs in the field and provide feedback on your work so you can improve as your career develops.

#5 Acquire working experience

The majority of employers favor having seasoned professionals as managers and senior-level personnel. Although the typical minimum is between one and two years of experience, each business has distinct requirements. Finding entry-level jobs on talent acquisition and recruitment teams can help you obtain the experiences you need to develop in your career if you’re looking to become a manager.

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Additionally, it’s advantageous if you obtain expertise in the sector where you want to become a Great Talent Acquisition Manager. Consider joining a team specialized in discovering technologically inclined personnel if you’re going to run a talent recruitment team for a budding tech company.

#6 Show your management skills

Your path to management may be aided if you demonstrate your leadership skills while working in talent acquisition, as well as your ability to assign tasks and manage teams. You can gain experience in a leadership position by asking your boss if you can oversee a project at work. Consistently doing so may help you advance in your company or give you the experience to add to your CV as you look to succeed in your profession.

Key Skills for the Talent Acquisition Manager in 2022

When attempting to comprehend the characteristics and competencies needed to carry out a particular function, a quick browse through employment portals is always beneficial. At the same time, this gives insight into what businesses are seeking.

The job description and skill criteria above must highlight the essential talents necessary for a talent acquisition specialist to help that person thrive in their profession. However, this list simply provides a brief overview of some of the talents that employers look for. But becoming a future-proof Great Talent Acquisition Manager there are more requirements. Gaining these abilities will provide you with a competitive advantage as a professional preparation for the future and assist you in coping with the unpredictable future that all enterprises are moving toward.

#1 Effective communication for Talent Acquisition

This ability is necessary for success in any position, but it is essential for talent acquisition professionals. This is primarily due to the role’s emphasis on people. It’s crucial to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing.

It is constructive for creating exciting job postings, interacting with the target talent audience on social media and communicating with applicants and hiring managers via various channels. An acquisition manager must communicate effectively, negotiate and mediate since they are the organization’s and the candidate’s point of contact.

To become a good talent acquisition manager, it is better to regulate overt behavior and gain insight into the behavior of others. Specialists must comprehend the significance of body language and implicit nonverbal indicators. There is more to communication than what we can verbally express.

This capacity for seeing beyond words is a precious asset while conducting interviews. With the development of social media recruiting, mobile-focused hiring procedures, gamified tests and virtual presence tools, the avenues for communicating and engaging with candidates have grown and diversified.

As a result, the clever talent acquisition specialist of 2022 must understand multichannel communication.


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#2 Ability to multitask

A future-proof talent acquisition expert must be able to adjust to the shifting needs of the workforce because of the significant changes that have been made to the nature and perspective of work, employees and the workplace.

For instance, the size and appeal of the remote workforce are expanding, younger generations are joining the labor market and the character of human-AI cooperation is changing every day.

To become a future-proof Talent Acquisition manager, you will therefore need to be able to manage expectations from several points of contact while multitasking. Full-cycle recruitment management requires the best tools and an acquisition manager with the necessary skill set and mentality.

For the potential acquisition manager to manage and enhance concurrent processes while reaching what the business represents and the bigger goals, they must be able to multitask and organize time between many sub-roles successfully.

#3 Planning skills for Recruiting Managers

Your capacity to plan more intelligently grows dramatically as you practice active listening and make better judgment calls. Understanding the broader picture is a crucial precondition for efficient planning. According to Gestalt’s ideas, the complete picture is greater than the sum of each part, and big-picture vision makes skilled attention on the whole. Future talent acquisition experts cannot be managed narrow-mindedly.

While concentrating on a current position, you also need to create an active talent pipeline. A succession planning approach would also involve a firm understanding of long-term objectives and a comprehensive organizational vision. A specialist who works in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) workplace must be able to look beyond the present duties in the broader picture.

#4 Why do Talent Acquisition managers need Listening skills?

Even though listening is essential to communication, active listening must be seen as a sophisticated talent. Since we have many more platforms and avenues to share ideas now than ten years ago, this makes even more sense.

To become a talent acquisition specialist or manager, you must listen carefully. This also applies to steps where there is genuine face-to-face engagement beyond the telephonic or first interview. A good acquisition manager should be able to focus on more than just what is being stated.

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Today’s candidates have a varied online presence. It takes attentive listening to piece together a candidate’s profile from all the bits and pieces of data to look beyond social media.

The human touch will always be important, even though there are many tools in the market to help develop a thorough picture of a candidate. It is a prerequisite for making more intelligent choices since active listening assumes a general curiosity about different viewpoints and views and enables one to combine the most delicate information from all sources.

#5 Learning skills for Talent Acquisition Specialist

While a solid desire to study and a natural curiosity are typically inborn qualities, these qualities can also be fostered. Effective learning requires the capacity to break thinking and habitual loops and to rethink problems from new angles.

One of the most prevalent practices of highly effective talent acquisition leaders is this one. A future-proof acquisition manager  must be an active learner, who is prepared to adjust to novel circumstances and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

In a world where the notion of talent itself is being redefined, the emphasis needs to be on rethinking workplace processes, altering how we hire and promoting the development of talent acquisition techniques. See how traicie can help you to become great Talent Acquisition Leaders.

#6 Social abilities and sensitivity

While empathy is a natural gift that must be developed along with social skills to become a successful acquisition manager in the future, it is true.

It is no mere fad to say that EQ is the new IQ. In every IQ-testable skill; algorithms, computers and other technological advancements have surpassed humanity in the world we live in. But technology still has some catching up to do when it relates to emotional intelligence.

Therefore, developing social skills and empathy will be essential for the socially and mentally intelligent talent acquisition specialist. Since it demonstrates to the applicant that you genuinely comprehend their difficulties, motives, and emotions, empathy can also greatly improve the candidate’s experience.

7# Analyzing ability

Our world is reliant on data. Thus organizations must be data-driven if they are to flourish. You must enhance your data literacy to succeed as an acquisition manager in 2022 and beyond.

Being able to interpret, evaluate and utilize data to better people’s processes goes beyond simply being capable of comprehending it. Developing analytical abilities, which can then be applied to successful acquisition marketing and employer branding strategies, requires a healthy dependence on data.

The acquisition manager can better seek, screen, negotiate and prepare for people if they have strong analytical skills.

8# Interpersonal abilities needed to become Talent Acquisition Leader

The efficacy of talent acquisition methods largely hinges on the candidate’s experience. The candidate’s journey must come first for the acquisition manager of the future. Already, this movement is gaining momentum. Several businesses, like SmashFly, Yello, and Talemetry are working to change how enterprises see candidate relationship management.

An increased focus will be placed on relationship capabilities and the capacity to sustainably engage with applicants, supervisors, consultants. Additionally, even distributors who support your recruitment process.

As a result, in 2022 and beyond, networking and interaction management abilities will be crucial for any talent acquisition professional. An increasing need to embrace human features, characteristics that set us apart from AI, and skills that are currently hard to fully imitate is also a result of recent breakthroughs in AI. Thus, the necessity of networking abilities and the capacity to interact with others on a human level will only increase.

9# Technical Competency to become Talent Acquisition Manager

Future-proof talent acquisition specialists will be technologically adept and willing to adopt new technologies. Every day, new recruiting technologies are being created and improved. It will be significantly valued to be able to apply them effectively.

Additionally, TA experts require training from qualified coaches. These mentors could be leaders within the company who have demonstrated a faster rate of technological adaptation, or they could be outside specialists. As an acquisition manager, you must also know that utilizing the most recent developments rather than solely relying on technology is the key to success.

The way talent is obtained is changing due to applicant tracking systems (ATS), quality administration systems, and human capital management (HCM) suites; therefore, recruitment specialists and TA experts must quickly adapt before the trends alter.

Talent acquisition professionals will benefit from having technology adaptability skills as they develop candidate confidence, mainly when recruiting for technical professions. After all, a candidate’s impression of the company brand is related to your technological knowledge.

10# Social media expertise

New-age talent acquisition professionals must learn the art of attracting applicants across these social media platforms as the use of social media for recruitment is on the rise.

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In addition, social media brings up a range of communities and platforms that open up a lot of opportunities. The brand image of the firm may be efficiently promoted. Discussions about the workplace culture can be initiated. And most importantly, prospective employees can be directly contacted. As mentioned before, evaluating a candidate’s social media presence is crucial because it may help you match the candidate’s personality that you are aiming to attract with the individual’s social media persona.

Finally, what does it take to become a significant talent acquisition manager?

Today’s and tomorrow’s talent acquisition specialists must embrace their responsibilities as customer service representatives for applicants and employees in various ways. Like an acquisition administrator, you will rely on these pillars to protect your firm’s reputation; thus, engaging in skill enhancement is essential. Even though it seems like the most obvious thing to do, investing in your development is frequently pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities.

These steps toward growth require dedication and time. They ought to be taken to prepare you for the future. Here there is a myriad of options. Try enrolling in relevant courses on one of the numerous online learning platforms. Locate a mentor who can offer advice. Attend meetings and events that can keep you informed of changes.

Paying attention, will help you notice opportunities to advance your skills as you search the landscape for the ideal blend of abilities and character qualities to suit current and forthcoming jobs in your business. In 2022 and beyond, the only method for remaining ahead of the trend is constantly refining your skill set as you pick up new ones.

Do you know that traicie’s sourcing tools for recruiters can help the hiring team with culture-based hiring but also in the strategic, operational value of the recruiting process :

  1. Cost of a job board – Reduce annual spending on job boards
  2. Cost of HR tools – Reduce the cost of surveys and assessment tools
  3. Recruitment costs – Reduce selection costs
  4. Internal mobility – Fill more skilled jobs with internal staff
  5. Time to hire – Reduce the number of days a role goes unfilled
  6. Salary costs – Reduce overall salary costs
  7. Attrition – Reduce the rate of turnover
  8. Recruitment cost – Reduce the general recruitment cost

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