Exciting Opportunities In Talent Acquisition

Who makes a good talent acquisition specialist?

New to the HR field and thinking about talent acquisition? Let us begin with exactly how talent acquisition differs from recruiting.
 

Thinking of HR’s role in bringing new people into the organization as a telescope, recruiting is zeroed in on filling the role at hand. When there is a role that needs to be filled, a recruiter will field the proper person and do what it takes to fill the role.

In comparison, talent acquisition has its figurative finger on the pulse of the organization. They are more strategic in finding not just a person to fill the role, but a strategy to find the right leaders and executives to lead the organization. And they are thinking bigger. They are anticipating where there may be employee turnover, collaborating with leaders and managers to learn where there needs to be more support, and establishing when that will happen.

Cultivating the Skills

What kind of person makes a good talent acquisition specialist? First and foremost, the ability to listen and learn. Recalling that talent acquisition is a bigger picture than just filling an immediate role, it will take some work to learn the organization and to see its bigger vision. The second is relationship-building skills.

A great talent acquisition specialist gets to know people within the organization and even outside. Being active in the field and canvassing places, like LinkedIn, where they can familiarize with people in the industry they are working in and network for when positions open up.

However, traditional HR skills cannot be forgotten. Excellent analytical skills, people skills like empathy and social skills are invaluable. Honing the best communication skills to be able to read between the lines, infer what people are not saying and see beyond the words are vital to this type of people-centric role.

Forty-seven percent of employees who applied for a new job in 2021 rated the applicant experience as poor, with 20 percent saying that they did not hear back from the employer. Great communication matters. Potential employees, even ones who are not chosen, may be current or potential customers. Word of mouth via social media is very real and should always be assumed.

A company’s reputation toward potential employees speaks volumes about the perceived treatment of current employees. A positive interaction with HR representatives should be of the utmost importance. HR is the face of the company.

Developing a Rich Career

It is fair to think of a role as a talent acquisition specialist as a growth move in the career of an HR representative or generalist. The skills needed come from years of hands-on learning that cannot be duplicated in a class, a book, or an online course.

Years of working in the field contribute to growth in social and relational skills and they must be cultivated organically. More formal education never hurts and pursuing a master’s degree in human resources or human resource management is absolutely beneficial, but it is not the sole contributor to stepping into a role in talent acquisition.

Talent Acquisition Positions as a Company Asset

Major organizations are seeing the benefit of moving from a reactive recruiter to hiring and making use of talent acquisition specialists. Shifting HR teams into more strategic business decision-makers is a trend that many companies are jumping on. After all, having a strategic plan benefits not only the company, but also managers, employees and potential employees.

Companies are often on the edge of HR technology with people analytics. These new technologies allow HR to anticipate where spots will potentially open up, where there is churn and other sourcing information from data that the company already uses. Machine learning is able to take the data and turn it into very usable and easily digestible graphs and charts that business leaders use to make savvy talent decisions. A talent acquisition specialist is just the person to put this into motion.

Great Companies Make Great Careers

However, do not feel like looking outside the organization is the only way to become a talent acquisition specialist. Knowing a company and contacts within is an invaluable asset that can help make the move into a talent acquisition role when it opens. Even without the title, having talent acquisition responsibilities usually comes with a promotion and pay increase.

Speaking up when a process is not working and giving managers feedback based on expertise moves the organization forward as a whole.  Getting involved and having a true stake in the business shows initiative for more responsibility.

Author Bio

Dustin Stipanovich is VP of Engagement and Talent Acquisition at isolved.