How To Become A Senior Talent Acquisition Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior talent acquisition manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Rachel Raymond

Senior talent acquisition managers are responsible for overseeing the process of recruiting prospective employees to an organization. Their goal is to find the highest potential in these workers and they are involved in all steps of the process, from sourcing prospective employees and attracting them to the organization to interviewing and even training them.

Some of the tasks that they perform in this capacity include supervising daily recruitment activities, meeting with hiring managers, evaluating current systems and suggesting improvements, and developing and implementing new sourcing strategies. Specific duties of the position may involve working with internal teams and hiring managers, developing recruitment strategies, managing recruitment programs, using social media and other specialized technical methods for sourcing candidates, and developing talent pools. As this is a competitive field, a bachelor's or master's degree in business, human resources, or a related field and years of prior experience are generally required by employers.

The average hourly salary for the position is $45.19, which equates to $94,005 annually. In addition, the career is projected to grow in the near future and create new opportunities across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a senior talent acquisition manager?

Rachel Raymond

Strategic talent acquisition sr. manager, Jack Henry & Associates

Entering the workforce for 2020 graduates will be more difficult this year, given the higher unemployment numbers we see across the US. With the uncertainty of Covid-19, companies will be more conservative in increasing headcount across their organizations. Graduates need to think strategically about identifying jobs that are in industries more likely to thrive by the current economic conditions: digital services, remote learning, online gaming, healthcare, remote call centers, delivery and transit (Amazon, Postmates, Instacart), and collaboration technology (Zoom, Citrix), are just a few.

Many graduates will be competing for positions against experienced professionals willing to apply to entry-level jobs. Don't discount internships and apprenticeships as they frequently lead to full-time employment and help graduates gain additional experience for their resume. Through the selection and interview process, hiring managers will interview self-starters who are comfortable embracing a work-life integration mindset, and who can be agile and flexible with the new, remote, working environment. Onboarding and training have become increasingly difficult for many organizations, so new hires need to understand those challenges. Recent graduates have a proven record of successfully navigating new technology and working in any environment - coffee shops, trains, traveling, etc.- so be sure to highlight those traits through the interview process.

ScoreSenior Talent Acquisition ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $110,326

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 5.71%

Black or African American 7.65%

Hispanic or Latino 11.14%

Unknown 5.09%

White 70.01%

Gender

female 50.56%

male 49.44%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior talent acquisition manager

Explore senior talent acquisition manager education requirements

Most common senior talent acquisition manager degrees

Bachelor's

77.6 %

Master's

11.7 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific senior talent acquisition manager skills

Skills	Percentages
TA	14.05%
Applicant Tracking Systems	12.38%
Human Resources	9.81%
Recruitment Strategies	5.98%
SR	5.56%

Research senior talent acquisition manager duties and responsibilities

Implement and manage the iCIMS applicant tracking system.
Establish and manage a pipeline of qualify linguists, screen candidates for the DoD and other government offices.
Manage the scheduling and logistics of all interviews between candidates and hiring managers including post-interview calibration/feedback with interview teams.
Ensure ADA, OFCCP and EEO compliance.

Get senior talent acquisition manager experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior talent acquisition manager. The most common roles before becoming a senior talent acquisition manager include recruiter, senior recruiter team lead and recruitment manager.

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