Talent acquisition specialists are human resources (HR) professionals who develop and implement recruitment strategies and help hiring managers to find qualified candidates for vacant positions. Someone wishing to become a talent acquisition specialist must typically complete a college degree program and gain some experience in the HR field. Specialists employed by some firms may also need to have second language skills.
Many acquisition specialists are employed by recruiting agencies that work with employers on a contractual basis. Some major firms employ in-house specialists who work alongside other HR employees to manage the firm's recruitment system. Anyone wishing to become a talent acquisition specialist at either type of firm should complete a college degree in business management or administration. Some universities also offer advanced degrees in HR management and similar topics and completing such a program may enable an individual to obtain a talent acquisition job.
Both small and large companies employ HR recruiters who are tasked with reviewing job applications, conducting interviews and pre-screening job candidates. Typically, firms require acquisition specialists to have prior experience as recruiters. Additionally, since acquisitions specialists oversee the entire recruiting process many employers require job applicants to have gained experience as HR supervisors or departmental managers.
While recruiters attempt to fill vacant positions, acquisitions specialists must develop recruitment strategies which involves managing recruitment budgets and deciding how to advertise job openings. Individuals filling these roles should have some prior experience with managing departmental budgets since they must decide how best to use the firm's resources to promote job openings. Additionally, these individuals have to work closely with departmental managers to produce job requisitions. Therefore, someone wishing to become a talent acquisition specialist must have good inter-personal and administrative skills.
Entry-level jobs are typically easier to fill than positions that require particular skill sets because people filling these roles do not have to have any prior experience or academic credentials. Therefore, acquisition specialists tend to focus on developing strategies to find candidates for complex jobs rather than entry-level roles. Information technology (IT) firms, medical companies and other types of businesses often prefer talent acquisition specialists to have industry relevant experience or to have completed a degree course that relates to the firm's primary business.
Only a small number of people have the necessary skills to take on certain kinds of engineering, medical or science related jobs and employers often have to conduct global searches to find suitable candidates for these roles. Specialists often have to conduct interviews and obtain references from individual based overseas who are only able to speak in foreign languages. Consequently, someone wishing to become a talent acquisition specialist may have to complete a degree course or a non-degree college program in a second language.