What does a talent manager do?
A talent manager is an individual who oversees the business dealings of various talents such as athletes, artists, and musicians. To become successful, a talent manager should be able to find good talents, understand what it takes for the talents to succeed, and establish a trust to sign clients. Some of the requirements to qualify for the position include possessing strong negotiation, scheduling, listening, and communication skills and having a bachelor's degree in management, marketing, or a related field.
Talent manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real talent manager resumes:
- Manage ATS systems and perform back grind and drug screens.
- Manage all requests for leaves of absence under FMLA, VESSA, or other applicable policies and statutes.
- Manage onsite logistics for interviews; research, evaluate and negotiate compensation packages.
- Map multiple databases in Ultipro (HRIS) to generate new reports and correct existing ones.
- Process weekly payroll, paid time off accruals using ADP and other 3rd party brokerage firms.
- Labor control: payroll via ADP, control labor vs. production; review OT daily to minimize OT
- Build strong workforce analytics utilizing current tools and identifying future tools that will effectively track current and future talent activity.
- Complete new hire paperwork including applications, tax paperwork and I-9s.
- Partner with the VPO and HRBP on succession plans.
- Complete new hire orientation/paperwork including information and the process of FMLA, ADA, vacation, sick leave and other policies.
Talent manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Talent Managers are proficient in Human Resources, Succession Planning, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Talent Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Human Resources, 12%
Partner with executive and operational team to ensure alignment of human resources objectives to support business initiatives.
- Succession Planning, 6%
Oversee employee development and satisfaction, performance management, leadership development and succession planning for division of approximately 1,500 personnel.
- Project Management, 5%
Defined sales objective using project management simulation through Excel.
- Employee Engagement, 5%
Developed, implemented and assessed employee recognition programs and its effectiveness on employee engagement and morale.
- Linkedin, 5%
Led the strategy to develop and launch the social media platforms (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn).
- EEO, 5%
Ensured compliance requirements were met; 5500 filing, audits, EEO reporting, discrimination testing, etc.
"human resources," "succession planning," and "project management" are among the most common skills that talent managers use at work. You can find even more talent manager responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a talent manager to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "human resources managers must coordinate work activities and ensure that staff complete the duties and responsibilities of their department." Talent managers often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "created integrated competency driven professional development portfolio, focusing on core knowledge, skills, and abilities for leadership success. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling talent manager duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "human resources managers must be able to prioritize tasks and manage several projects at once." According to a talent manager resume, here's how talent managers can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "conducted and facilitated various training programs, awareness sessions on organizational policies & procedures, performance improvement programs. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain talent manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a talent manager rely on this skill, as "human resources managers regularly interact with people, such as to collaborate on teams, and must develop working relationships with their colleagues." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what talent managers do: "initiated 30 additional manager/employee coaching relationships and successfully intervened in ten interpersonal conflict resolutions. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for talent manager responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of talent managers all the time, as "human resources managers need strong speaking, writing, and listening skills to give presentations and direct their staff." An excerpt from a real talent manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a talent manager does: "managed and coordinated all communication with candidates throughout the recruitment process. "
The three companies that hire the most talent managers are:
- Deloitte170 talent managers jobs
- Robert Half130 talent managers jobs
- Boston Consulting Group83 talent managers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable talent manager resume templates
Build a professional talent manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your talent manager resume.Compare different talent managers
Talent manager vs. Human resources consultant
A human resources consultant is responsible for supporting the human resources management of an organization by advising on policies and procedures for effective employee relations. Human resources consultants analyze HR programs and current processes and initiate projects to maintain stable operations. They also facilitate strategic plans to resolve HR matters and improve culture management. A human resources consultant must be highly-knowledgeable of the human resources industry, its techniques, regulations, and disciplines to help with the implementation of business advancements and achieve the organization's objectives.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a talent manager are more likely to require skills like "human resources," "linkedin," "facebook," and "data analysis." On the other hand, a job as a human resources consultant requires skills like "shared services," "customer service," "strong problem-solving," and "employment law." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Human resources consultants tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $78,879. In contrast, talent managers make the biggest average salary, $104,739, in the professional industry.On average, human resources consultants reach higher levels of education than talent managers. Human resources consultants are 8.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Talent manager vs. Human resources business partner
Human resource (HR) business partners' primary job is to ensure that business objectives are aligned with the management and employees within an organization. They typically focus more on developing HR strategy than implementing the company policies. They often work with individual business units, and their work is related to the company's current and future success. HR business partners are also responsible for providing performance management guidance, developing contract terms for new employees, transfers, and promotions, and providing advice on business units.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real talent manager resumes. While talent manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "human resources," "linkedin," "facebook," and "data analysis," human resources business partners use skills like "hrbp," "organizational development," "organizational effectiveness," and "excellent interpersonal."
Human resources business partners may earn a lower salary than talent managers, but human resources business partners earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $99,409. On the other hand, talent managers receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $104,739.In general, human resources business partners achieve higher levels of education than talent managers. They're 9.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for talent managers in the next 3-5 years?
Talent manager vs. Director of human resources
A human resources director is responsible for managing the overall operations of the human resources department, ensuring smooth operations while meeting the company's goals of successful profitability and services. Human resources directors' duties include providing staff consultation, addressing staffing concerns, managing compensation and benefits plans, reviewing plans for training and development programs, and reporting future actions to the management. A human resources director must have excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills to help lead the business to its growth and development.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, talent managers are more likely to have skills like "human resources," "project management," "linkedin," and "facebook." But a director of human resources is more likely to have skills like "payroll processing," "customer service," "workers compensation," and "labor relations."
Directors of human resources make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $105,626. On the other hand, talent managers are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $104,739.Most directors of human resources achieve a higher degree level compared to talent managers. For example, they're 6.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Talent manager vs. Recruitment director
A recruitment director is an executive professional who is responsible for directing the recruitment processes and employment programs for an organization. This director is required to assess the external labor market conditions while developing the most effective and appropriate recruiting channels and methods. The director must ensure that all their recruiting activities are following the policies and standards of the organization. This director must also maintain good relationships with all agencies that are involved with advertisement and employee recruitment.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between talent managers and recruitment directors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a talent manager might have more use for skills like "succession planning," "project management," "employee engagement," and "leadership development." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of recruitment directors require skills like "recruitment efforts," "roi," "recruitment budget," and "strategic direction. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for recruitment directors, with average annual pay of $114,999. Comparatively, the highest talent manager annual salary comes from the professional industry.recruitment directors reach similar levels of education compared to talent managers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of talent manager
Updated January 8, 2025











