Talent acquisition continues to be one of the most challenging issues for organizations, and the pressure to hire the right people has fostered a competitive recruiting environment. The Talent Development Specialist is an integral contributor to the success of talent attraction, interviewing, and selection process. The TD specialist will carry out a variety of tasks and be involved in projects including recruitment process support, candidate screening, and new hire processing. The TD specialist also analyzes recruiting metrics and related data to report on the productivity and achievement of the talent acquisition strategy. The specialist works closely with hiring managers to conduct job analyses, understand the required job competencies and skills, set up the recruiting and selection process, and oversee the project through new hire processing. The role is both strategic and tactical, requiring strong prioritization and task management skills.

The course is designed to prepare learners for the SkilledNow Certified Talent Development Specialist test and earn the designation, Certified Talent Development Specialist, SkilledNow-TDS. The goal is for the learner to be job-ready for  an entry level position as a talent development  specialist  qualified  for talent attraction and selection.

• Understand the basic concepts underlying talent development strategy.
• Understand and apply the six stages of employee recruitment and selection.
• Apply good practices for recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and hiring the best candidates.
• Facilitate effective new employee orientation.
• Use common communication skills, including active listening, asking questions, and interpreting body language.
• Embrace a customer service focus.

The talent development specialist works as an integral team player coordinating the talent attraction and selection process among hiring managers, human resources managers, and recruiting partners. They fulfill the following responsibilities for recruiting through new hire processing:

• Work with hiring managers on job opening requirements, competencies, skills, and qualifications in order to understand the job opening and fill the position with the strongest candidate.
• Work with human resources supervisors to create the job opening according to internal policy and procedure and initiate the recruiting process.
• Work with external recruiters, as needed, to fulfill the talent attraction and selection process.​
• Develop recruiting advertising and place appropriately in local media, online career sites, social media, and other recruiting channels to attract qualified candidates.
• Plan and coordinate job fairs for internal and external candidates, as assigned.
• Coordinate and conduct all applicant screening for experience, skills, and qualifications through telephone interviews, resume analysis, and pre-employment testing.
• Coordinate the interview schedule and appointments with hiring managers, HR staff, and other stakeholders in the selection process and conduct interviews as assigned.​
• Prepare job offer packages as assigned and directed by the HR Director or supervising personnel, perform reference checks, and related tasks necessary to secure candidate job acceptance and secure a starting date.
• Create and maintain records of all recruitment and selection activities
• Prepare a variety of recruitment reports and make recommendations when appropriate​
• Coordinate new hire orientation activities, benefits enrollment, payroll enrollment, technology access and security, and training during the employee orientation period, including facilitating the new employee review of personnel policies and procedures.
• Become aware of and apply employment and human rights laws that apply to hiring in the region.
• Talent Development Specialists may also support other employee-related activities such as processing employee satisfaction surveys, salary increases, transfers and promotions, terminations, benefit enrollment administration, company meetings, training, and other assigned projects.
• Recommend new approaches, policies and procedures to effect continual improvements in efficiency of the department and services performed.