Talent Acquisition (TA) Specialists are an integral component of a company’s hiring team and recruitment process. Often as members of the Human Resources (HR) team, they are responsible for identifying, attracting and recruiting top talent for an organization.
These individuals strive to implement a company’s talent acquisition strategy while working alongside hiring managers to ensure their strategic goals are met. TA Specialists aim to understand the various needs of an organization in order to attract suitable candidates for each position. By doing so, the company often gains a competitive advantage through recruiting individuals who aspire to achieve key objectives.
Through this blog we will discuss the primary duties and responsibilities of TA Specialists, necessary skills required to pursue a career within this field as well as highlight key differences between TA Specialists and Recruiters. So whether you are looking to become a Talent Acquisition Specialist yourself or just simply want to expand your knowledge on this role this blog is for you!
Let’s take a look at the essential roles and responsibilities of a Talent Acquisition Specialist.
A Talent Acquisition Specialist often begins with analyzing the company’s key goals to then develop an ideal candidate profile. This profile consists of specific skills and qualifications that must be present in order to efficiently achieve strategic and organizational objectives.
With this profile, TA Specialists can then determine possible recruitment platforms that can be used to attract the ideal candidate. This could include a mix of traditional job postings, social media campaigns and networking events to cast a diverse and skilled applicant pool.
Another critical component of a TA Specialist’s role is to actively search for candidates based on their ideal profile created earlier. Job portals, LinkedIn and other professional networking sites are often helpful resources for these specialists.
Once a wide pool of candidates have been identified, the next step is to evaluate resumes and conduct interviews with potential employees. This process may include phone, video or in-person interviews to better determine the candidate’s interpersonal skills such as communication and collaboration as well as determine their suitability to the company culture.
TA Specialists act as a bridge between candidates and hiring managers. It's crucial for TA Specialists to remain in constant communication with hiring managers to ensure their understanding of the job requirements are consistent. They work alongside hiring managers to choose the best candidate(s) for the job opening during and after the interview process.
Once the best candidate is selected by both the specialist and the hiring manager, a competitive offer is made by negotiating the salary and other terms of employment. This offer should align with the company’s budget and policies as well as the candidate’s expectations. TA Specialists collaborate with HR to organize orientation events to ensure a smooth transition into the organization.
For engaging and organized onboarding support, check out Litespace. Litespace provides automatic scheduling as well as an array of interactive activities to welcome a new employee into the organization.
A key difference is that TA Specialists are focused on long-term HR planning as they seek to fulfill strategic objectives within an organization by building a sustainable workforce. However, recruiters often aim to fill vacant positions as they come as quickly as they can, without considering long-term aspects of the hiring decision.
The TA Specialist role consists of a wider range of duties including employer branding, relationships with potential future candidates and involvement in the onboarding process. On the other hand, recruiters are focused on the immediate placement of candidates and are not frequently part of long-term employee engagement.
TA Specialists are required to thoroughly understand the strategic needs of the business and build their ideal candidate portfolios based on these findings. This allows them to hire candidates who are best suited for long-term goal achievement. Recruiters have a more operational role as they are heavily focused on filling positions promptly with an emphasis of efficiency.
TA Specialists are consistently involved in the employee engagement process whether it be with past applicants or future candidates. As a result they remain prepared for future job openings as well. Recruiters typically only interact with candidates during the hiring process and do not continue to engage with those who are hired or future applicants.
Litespace is a great tool for effective employee engagement. Check out Litespace’s coffee chat and team activities tools aimed to strengthen the corporate culture within an organization.
Talent Acquisition Specialists play a critical role in shaping the workforce as they integrate traditional and non-traditional hiring practices with the strategic needs of a business, resulting in a competitive edge. They strive to foster long-term relationships with past and future candidates which is essential for sustainability and growth within the organization.
Diving deeper into this role reveals that it's not just about hiring the right person for the job today, but also about building the foundation for tomorrow's successes.
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Tiana Parikh is a Marketing & Content Intern at Litespace with a background in business management and marketing. She strives to incorporate her passion for digital marketing and creativity with Litespace’s HRTech platform to foster productivity and a sense of community.
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