The talent acquisition process has many steps including lead generation, interviewing qualified candidates, interrogating resumes. contacting references, hiring, and onboarding. While talent acquisition sometimes falls under the HR department, some organizations might have an entirely separate talent acquisition department that works closely with the HR team. Also important to note, is that recruiting is not synonymous with talent acquisition. While there is a lot of overlap, recruiting focuses on filling roles while talent acquisition professionals have additional considerations. Talent acquisition professionals create a strategy for the long-term human resources needs and goals of an organization and hire accordingly. They are also focused on the entire cycle of incoming employees from recruitment to onboarding.
Most talent acquisition professionals will be required to at least have a bachelor’s degree; preferably in a talent-acquisition-related field such as human resources or business. Other business-related majors would also be looked at well. If your bachelor’s degree is not very related to talent acquisition, getting a master’s degree in the field would be a huge benefit. In addition, you will be expected to have a strong understanding of the employment and human resources laws of the country or state you are applying in.
Outside of a strong educational background, talent acquisition professionals must be very skilled and effective communicators and collaborators so highlighting communication or collaboration successes in your resume would most definitely help in attracting recruiters.
Jump to a template:
Jump to a resource:
Get advice on each section of your resume:
A talent acquisition specialist engages in the entire cycle of recruiting. You will source talent, interview them, and handle the hiring and onboarding process. In essence, you will be a representative of the company and its culture to candidates. So your ability to effectively communicate and be engaging is very important.
Recruiters will be looking for experienced applicants, so make sure to document how many people you have interviewed or positions you have hired for. You will also want to clearly state any relevant educational background and certification. Anything more than a bachelor’s degree will help impress the recruiters. This sample resume does both effectively.
As previously mentioned, talent acquisition specialists are not only concerned with hiring individuals but are concerned with long-term hires and company culture. So while you should quantify how many applicants you have interviewed or hired, quantifying your hire retention rate and any other efficiencies you accomplished in previous positions would help you easily impress recruiters and stand out from the crowd.
Because you will be sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding talent, be sure to list all the skills you use and the technology you are familiar with. A recruiter can get a good sense of your process and capabilities from this list. To align yourself with the company you wish to work for, try and find out what technology or processes they use and list them on your resume. If you aren’t familiar with their technology, do a crash course on how to use the technology before including it on your resume.
A talent acquisition lead, also known as a talent acquisition manager, is, as the name suggests, responsible for managing a talent acquisition team. Your tasks would include participating in the talent acquisition cycle yourself by sourcing, recruiting, retaining candidates, developing talent acquisition strategy and processes, and providing leadership and support for your team.
A strong talent acquisition resume should speak to your management skills and successes. So highlight your team’s successes under your leadership and the size of the teams you have led; as this resume has done. This resume also positively highlights the applicant’s expertise in the laws and regulations that guide recruitment and employment. This is necessary knowledge for all professionals in talent acquisition and especially for the leaders of talent acquisition teams.
Because your tasks may still include sourcing and hiring talent, showing that you began in a position where those were your main roles, will show your capability to still complete those tasks and will also enhance your ability to lead professionals tasked with those roles. Career progression also indicates your competency and excellence to recruiters.
Any leadership position, and especially one in a department like talent acquisition, requires very strong communication and collaboration skills. If you speak any extra languages or have experience training people, be sure to add these to your resume.
The executive talent acquisition analyst could be called the support system for the talent acquisition team and leadership. Some of the tasks you can expect include, but are not limited to, scheduling interviews, conducting background checks, providing administrative support, etc. This role requires the ability to multitask and requires great attention to detail. You must also be an especially skilled communicator and collaborator.
Like this sample resume, an executive talent acquisition analyst's resume should show previous experience that details a large variety of tasks that the applicant has completed. You will also want to quantify your successes and value addition to previous employers.
Because this role will require providing a lot of logistical and administrative support for the talent acquisition team and leadership, be sure to include any previous administrative experience in related fields. Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience in talent acquisition.
Because you will be doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes tasks, quantify any successes you have had in making the behind-the-scenes tasks run more efficiently. So if you have saved your previous employers some time or money by streamlining processes, be sure to include those successes in your resume.
A chief talent officer (or CTO) is a highly experienced, senior-level human resources professional. A CTO will oversee the talent acquisition and/or HR department within the organization. They help to plan strategies around successful recruitment and staff retention. The chief talent officer is involved in a variety of tasks, including assessing hiring strategies, implementing and optimizing screening procedures, overseeing employee development and retention, and more.
To land a job as a chief talent officer, you’ll need the right combination of relevant skills and experience. A bachelor’s degree in a related field such as human resources, psychology, or communications is ideal. Hiring managers will be looking for someone with a robust HR or recruiting background. Hiring managers will want to hire candidates with managerial experience, strong interpersonal skills, and superb organizational skills.
A chief talent officer may need to use certain tools and software to conduct a successful recruiting initiative. Experience using applicant tracking software is just one example of several tools a CTO may need to leverage to take control of a company’s recruiting process and optimize its effectiveness. You should highlight any experience with HR or recruiting software (even better - highlight how you have used these tools to make impactful change).
We spoke with hiring managers at top companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to gather their best tips for creating a strong talent acquisition resume. They emphasized the importance of showcasing your ability to find and hire top talent, as well as your experience with various recruiting tools and techniques. Here are some key tips to keep in mind as you craft your resume:
Recruiters at top companies want to see that you have a proven track record of finding and attracting top talent. Be sure to include specific examples of how you've successfully sourced candidates in the past, such as:
A resume summary for a talent acquisition role is optional, but it can be a great way to provide context and highlight your most relevant skills and experience. As a talent acquisition professional, your resume should already showcase your ability to attract, screen, and hire top talent. However, a well-crafted summary can help you stand out from other candidates and quickly convey your value to potential employers.
When writing your summary, focus on your key strengths and accomplishments that align with the job requirements. Avoid using generic buzzwords or simply restating information that's already in your resume. Instead, use specific examples and metrics to demonstrate your impact in previous roles.
The work experience section is the most important part of your talent acquisition resume. It's where you show hiring managers how you've applied your skills to real-world situations and made an impact for your previous employers. Use the following tips to write a compelling work experience section that will grab the attention of hiring managers and showcase your talent acquisition expertise.
Your education section should be short but impactful. It's a chance to show that you have the knowledge and skills to succeed in a talent acquisition role. Here are some key tips to keep in mind when writing your education section.
Strong action verbs tell a recruiter your role in a specific accomplishment. Talent acquisition resumes should use action verbs that are relevant to the recruitment cycle. Action verbs like "Recruited", "Interviewed" or “Strategized" are strong action verbs that effectively showcase talent acquisition skill sets.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
When writing your resume for a talent acquisition position, you need to include all skills relevant to the recruiting process. So think of the skills, techniques, and technologies you use when sourcing talent, recruiting, interviewing talent, onboarding, and retaining talent.
Here are some hard skills suggestions from talent acquisition postings.
Add these skills to the skills section on your resume.
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Talent Acquisition job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
