What is a Talent Manager? – Everything you need to know!

When it comes to being a Talent Manager it can be a little confusing as to what it actually is. Are they hired to just recruit and manage talent?

Well, it’s a little more complex than that.

A talent manager is someone whose job role is to retain and attract new talent within their company or organisation.

The aim of a talent manager is to hire “talent”, doing their best to select individuals who are the relevant fit and offer the right skills, for the job role they’re being hired for.

What does a Talent Manager do?

A talent manager does many roles and has many responsibilities, including:

• Hiring new staff
• Organising onboarding programs
• Identifying ways to attract talent in novel ways
• Preparing job descriptions
• Briefing candidates on job opportunities
• Arranging interviews
• Coaching managers and staff
• Working closely with HR
• Facilitate other events e.g wellbeing events
• And more!

Job responsibilities on a day to day basis will vary from company to company but this gives an outline of some of the core responsibilities that are to be expected.

How to become a Talent Manager?

There is no official “talent manager” qualification, but companies will require extensive experience within recruitment and  talent acquisition before giving you this role. This could come from in-house roles or working for a recruitment agency.

Although a degree is not essential, degrees related to business, business management, people management or something similar may give you a better chance of being hired.

However, in some cases, those with the right skill set have been able to secure jobs without a degree and only the relevant skills.

Some of the skills required to be a talent manager include:

• Good communication
• Ability to build strong relationships
• Growth mindset
• Problem solving attitude
• Excellent listener
• Positive attitude
• Enthusiastic
• Keen networker
• Innovative
• Comfortable with change
• Sales & Negotiation skills
• And more!

Having these skills will aid you in the process of securing a job in this industry.

How to be a good Talent Manager?

Being a good Talent Manager requires many skills. A good Talent Manager will have a strong belief in relationship building. This is especially important when engaging with  talent;  having a great relationship with your candidates will help you to understand their needs as best as possible and match them to the best job for them and the company. . Communication is key!

Having great listening skills will contribute to being a good at this job. Those who listen carefully and take on board what is said to them are often able to form greater relationships with individuals.

Having good listening skills and understanding hiring managers expectations will help you to find the best people for the company. Which only contributes to you being a good Talent Manager.

Having a growth mindset and a positive outlook on work and life is another skill that contributes to being a good Talent Manager. Nobody wants to communicate with a “Negative Nancy” and maintaining a positive attitude helps to ensure you’re communicating with the relevant people in a way that doesn’t hinder progression.

After all, who wants to work in a company where the person hiring them is being grumpy and moody?

Having a thorough understanding of the business needs and the commitment to keep learning what the business needs as time goes on is essential.

Proactively working with business leaders and team managers to identify the right talent will only aid you in being a good at you job.

How much does a Talent Manager get paid?

Salaries vary depending on the industry and the company. If you’re in the UK, you can expect to earn somewhere between £35/40k and £70k depending on the seniority of the job role. On average, a Talent manager in the UK can be expected to earn approximately £45,000.

However, in the US you can be expected to earn between $50,000 and $120,000 with the average salary being approximately $79,000

How to get a Talent Manager job?

Job sites such as reed or indeed are great places to start looking but there are a host of other sites that you may find useful. You can find a job site list here.

Applying for Talent Manager jobs and showing that you have the relevant skillset and experience puts you at an advantage when it comes to securing a job.

It may also be beneficial to write a strong cover letter. In some instances, companies will ask for a cover letter so make sure that it demonstrates that you’ve got the relevant skills. However, in many cases, cover letters aren’t always necessary.

Showing strong headhunting skills, building a talent attraction strategy and demonstrating different ways to source candidates are other great ways to increase your chances of getting a job in this field.

What is a Talent manager Job description?

Job descriptions vary from organisation to organisation. However, a typical job description will look something like below.

Talent manager job description

As a talent manager, your job role will require you to have the responsibility of hiring new members of staff and managing the hiring process.

Working closely with all departments across the company to ensure departments are adequately staffed. You will communicate with HR and people development to develop programs and strategies to support and nurture the company employees.

Roles and responsibilities include:

• Reviewing talent needed
• Hiring new talent
• Managing hiring campaigns
• Organising internal programs
• Helping HR to support staff wellbeing
• Coaching staff

The successful candidate will have:

• A bachelor degree or equivalent
• Relevant experience
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Strong listening skills
• Comfortable managing multiple campaigns
• Growth mindset
• Positive and proactive
• Ability to inspire and lead others
• Familiar with sourcing candidates using LinkedIn and other sources

If you’re a talent manager or looking to become one. Why not check out our blog on staff wellbeing to see creative ways you can support the health and wellbeing of employees, to increase your chances of retaining talent.