Salary for Talent Acquisition Senior positions
Hi, I am a 21yr old interested in Talent Acquisition as a career path but I am also interested in making a lot of money (50LPA+) as I progress in the field. I’ve done my research using Glassdoor & Levels.fyi but I want to hear from real people on whether such a salary is possible in Talent Acquisition specifically at Director or Sr. Manager Level? (so like 10-15 years down the line for me). I know HRBP pays more but I can’t be arsed to plan parties (employee engagement) or keep attendance trackers (performance review), I enjoy matching talented people with the right companies more.
It's possible. 50L isn't much tbh.
Specialist HR roles plateau out pretty quickly. Comp/Ben (Total Rewards) & TA specifically. ER / IR is the a lifelong speciality (& tedious AF). TM is evolving quicker than most and maybe a place where you find a logical progression from TA.
If you aim to be a CHRO or get close to that HRBP experience is essential.
Try and work for a MNC where HRBPing is more about managing talent, building leadership pipelines & OD rather than arranging Rangoli competitions.
mia
Student
8 months ago
Right right, MNCs is the end goal but will have to start with startups to build experience. Very few (or none at all) MNCs hiring for TA interns currently.
TBH, such salary levels in HR/TA functions are extremely rare without a top HR MBA. I mean, you might be able to reach a 50 LPA but it would take 10-15 years when 50 LPA would be close to nothing.
Do an MBA from XL, TISS or SCMHRD and you'll reach 50 LPA in ~<5 years
mia
Student
8 months ago
That may be in the cards. I am not sure if I want to stay in India or permanently move abroad yet so an MBA/Masters in HRM is definitely on my radar, especially if I want to work in countries like USA, Ireland etc. Thanks for the advice!
One of my ex-bosses back in the day said, HR / TA is the 6th most valuable function in a company. 5th being a Xerox machine.
I however developed a different point of view over time, be a Xerox Machine in a Xerox Shop and not at someone’s home.
You love Finance, play at Goldman / JP Morgan
You love Sales, play at Byju’s / Bajaj Finance
You love Marketing, play at Dentsu / Swiggy
You love TA, play at Michal Page or similar firms where you’ll find people with similar passion for hiring like you and you get paid accordingly.
TAs are not the most attractive / financially rewarding careers if you are hiring low pay bracket individuals who are available in large numbers.
mia
Student
7 months ago
Definitely true hahahaha. I have looked into Tech recruiting at Nvidia, MAANGA companies and they pay considerably more than HR at advertising agencies, for obvious reasons. I think I’ll land somewhere between leadership hiring (CXO Level) and tech hiring.
pixelpusher
Stealth
7 months ago
I have few HRs in my social circle and here’s quick intro for them
1. HR at MNC - 18YOE - 40+ LPA
2. HR at startup - ER/IR - 16YOE - 22LPA
3. HR at MNC - L&D - 17YOE - 30LPA
4. HR at consulting - HRBP - 9YOE - 8LPA
All this are from various backgrounds. A-lot of factors to consider for your dream life. All the best
mia
Student
7 months ago
Oh wow the variance is quite large. Thank you for sharing!
Don’t jump so soon to the conclusion. It’s very good that you are clear with what to do.
But make sure that you are also open to being a generalist. (you have mentioned that you want to get into start ups first to learn and most of the startups who give you TA position would also ask you to perform few more tasks which might make it sound more like generalist).
keep yourself open for lateral learning. And focus on building skillset for the next 3-4 years, this time frame will help you figure out whether it is TA or HRBP or EE that you actually want to do coz if you are aiming for startups then they actually pay you well so, pay scale won’t be something you’ll have to worry about.
mia
Student
8 months ago
That’s true. I am mentally shutting out roles I have not experienced before so you’re right - I’ll remain open to them! Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it!
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Gems_Bond
Stealth
8 months ago
In one of the startups I worked, Director level people including the ones in HR were paid upwards of 40LPA for 10-15 years of experience.
So yeah, the CTC you mentioned is quite reasonable and possible.
mia
Student
8 months ago
Do you mind naming the startup? I could reach out to them for a TA internship maybe? No worries if you don’t feel comfortable sharing - appreciate your input!
Gems_Bond
Stealth
8 months ago
Considering that startup's size it would be difficult to share. Apologies 😔
Head of TA here who was in Executive Search earlier. Worked in startups for over 5 years.
Talent Acquisition is a part of the overall HR function. While primarily it is a sales role, it is a the part of the overall talent management function that covers hiring to exit. It is essentially a COE function that means a company can can have a centralised TA org. Other such functions being Comp & Ben, L&D, etc.
Most of the CHROs at some point in their career have done Talent Acquisition but generally have moved on to other HR functions to gain over all experience.
Your first Head of TA role generally can come to you with about 10 years of work experience and then the career growth starts to flatten both in terms of variety and compensation unless you successfully keep on moving to large organisations. Comp can vary from 30L levels to Crore plus depending on organisation.
One of the inherent risks in this function is that it is a leading function and is first one to get impacted. If a company raises funds - they build thier TA function, if there is a downturn, usually TA folks are first to leave.
Suggest spending a few years in talent Acquisition but acquiring taste for wider HR functions for continued steep growth.
Else, suggest researching about Executive Search firms like Egon, Korn Ferry etc. These are true blue executive search firms that deal in C-level candidate placement where compensation is effort based as it would happen in any consulting organisation.
mia
Student
7 months ago
Wow, this is a treasure trove of information! Thank you so much for taking out the time to share this.
mia
Student
7 months ago
And you’re right, I’ll likely move to more generalist roles to better develop my skillset and profile so I can step into CHRO roles later. Talent Acquisition will always be my first love though bahahah.
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