Hiring Manager series: The most important quality in a TA person working with me

This is part of a series of articles aimed at getting frank and unbiased feedback from Hiring Managers. Check out the second part here and the third part here.

As the saying goes – know thy enemy know thyself. Well, this is not to say Hiring Managers are enemies with Talent Acquisition (TA), but getting frank and unbiased feedback from them certainly is one of the best ways for us to become better at what we do. That is what this Hiring Manager series aims to achieve.

This week, we find out what Hiring Managers believe are the most important qualities a TA person should possess. What do you think? Use the comment section to share your thoughts!


Arti Brown
General Manager at Commonwealth Bank

Honesty – someone who is completely and utterly happy to call it as it is. That is a huge asset in any organisation, especially for one in the position of hiring or advising hiring in the finance sector.

Having someone who is capable of articulating the honest truth with some constructive solutions or perspective is a real asset.


John Kennedy
Engineering Manager at BAE Systems

The key for me is tenacity and persistence. That ability to sift through CVs, filtering down to the credible candidates, booking interviews for the ones we want to talk to, conduct follow up engagement, and doing these all over again if it doesn’t work out first time.

The good TAs don’t give up.


Troy King
NSW/ACT State Operations Manager at StarTrack

My ideal would be to have a TA business partner that is very close to my business, one that is almost able to anticipate what may happen next because of their familiarity with my day-to-day operations.

This person should be able to analyse the attrition rate that we have in different parts of my business and plan contingencies for that. Almost like an Uber app where I can open and straightaway know the state of my current workforce strength and see the pool of Talent that I can draw from.


Bill Skelton
Enrolment Manager at RMIT Online

Nobody is the median people leader. Everybody is unique. I think the most important ability a TA person can have is to identify the unique parts of me and find Talent that will “plug in” to my team and I.

A candidate that may work well with another manager may not work well with me, and vice versa. 

Check out the rest of the Hiring Manager series – see second part here and the third part here.

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