Talent Acquisition teaches how organizations build a skilled workforce through planning, recruiting, selecting and onboarding employees.
It is a 3 competency unit course in term 3 of WGU's B.S. Human Resource Management standard path. WGU describes talent acquisition as a top skill for HR professionals.
Students often treat hiring as filling a vacancy. The course asks for more: forecasting needs, writing accurate job requirements, and designing selection and onboarding that predict and support success.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Course | D354 Talent Acquisition |
| Level | Undergraduate, 3 competency units |
| Program | B.S. Human Resource Management (term 3) |
| Subject area | Workforce planning, recruitment, selection, onboarding |
| Typical work | Forecast and job description analysis, recruiting plans, selection strategies |
What D354 Covers
WGU's three competencies follow the hiring cycle:
| Competency (summarized) | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Evaluate capacity forecasts, job requirements and job descriptions | Workforce planning, job analysis, accurate descriptions |
| Develop a plan for recruiting qualified employees | Sources, employer brand, timelines, budget, metrics |
| Develop a strategy for selecting and onboarding employees | Screening, interviews, assessments, offers, first-90-day plans |
Key Concepts Explained
Capacity Forecasting
Forecasting compares the workforce the organization will need with the workforce it will have, after turnover and retirements. The gap drives the recruiting plan.
Example: A clinic expects to open a new site needing 12 medical assistants next year. It currently employs 40 and loses about 5 a year to turnover. It therefore needs to hire roughly 17: 12 for growth and 5 for replacement. If internal promotions will move 2 assistants into other roles, the target rises to 19.
Job Analysis and Job Descriptions
Job analysis identifies the tasks, knowledge, skills and abilities a role needs. The job description communicates them. Requirements that are not genuinely needed can shrink the applicant pool and create legal risk.
Structured Selection
Structured interviews ask every candidate the same job-related questions and score answers against agreed criteria. They are fairer and generally more predictive than unstructured conversations.
Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them
| Task type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Forecast and job description review | Evaluating planning documents | Check the numbers, then whether requirements match the job |
| Recruiting plan | Strategic sourcing | Match sources to the role and set measurable targets |
| Selection strategy | Valid, fair choices | Combine methods and explain what each measures |
| Onboarding plan | Retention and early performance | Cover the first day, first month and first 90 days |
Measuring Recruiting Success
A recruiting plan should say how success will be judged. Common measures include time to fill, cost per hire, quality of hire (for example performance ratings after a set period), applicant source effectiveness and new-hire retention.
Choose measures that fit the goal. If the problem is early turnover, new-hire retention and onboarding feedback matter more than speed. State the measure, the target and when it will be reviewed.
Recruiting Sources Compared
The recruiting plan competency asks you to choose sources that fit the role. A comparison helps justify the choice:
| Source | Strengths | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Internal postings and promotion | Known performers, motivates staff | Creates a new vacancy; limits fresh ideas |
| Employee referrals | Good cultural knowledge, often faster | Can reduce diversity of applicants |
| Job boards and career site | Wide reach | High volume of unqualified applicants |
| Colleges and apprenticeships | Early-career pipeline | Longer development time |
| Recruitment agencies | Specialist or senior roles | Cost |
Strong plans combine sources and explain why each suits the role, budget and timeline.
What a Good Onboarding Plan Includes
The selection and onboarding competency treats onboarding as part of acquiring talent, because a hire who leaves in the first months is a failed hire. A simple staged plan works well in assignments:
| Stage | Focus |
|---|---|
| Before day one | Paperwork, equipment, a welcome message and a clear first-week schedule |
| First week | Introductions, a buddy or mentor, role expectations, key systems |
| First 30 days | Early goals, regular check-ins with the manager |
| Up to 90 days | Performance feedback, development plan, feedback on the onboarding itself |
Link each stage to a measure, such as new-hire retention at 90 days, so the plan can be evaluated.
Where Students Get Stuck
- Skipping the forecast. A plan without numbers looks like guesswork.
- Inflated requirements. Check every requirement is job-related.
- Interviews only. Combine methods such as work samples or skills tests.
- Onboarding as paperwork. Good onboarding covers relationships, expectations and culture.
Study Tips for D354
- Practice simple forecast calculations with turnover and growth.
- Rewrite a real job advert to separate essential from preferred qualifications.
- Draft three structured interview questions with scoring guides for one role.
- Use D352 notes to check selection methods for legal risk.
How We Help with D354
Send the task, scenario, rubric and feedback. An HR writer prepares a model recruiting and selection plan, explains forecasting and structured selection, or reviews your draft. Our human resources assignment help guide covers our wider HR support.
GradeEssays is independent of Western Governors University. Our work is a study aid; you write and submit your own work under WGU's academic integrity rules. Every order is written from scratch, plagiarism-checked and covered by free revisions within the scope of your original request.
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Frequently Asked Questions
WGU's standard path places Talent Acquisition in term 3 of the B.S. Human Resource Management.
WGU lists it at 3 competency units.
Capacity forecasts, job requirements and descriptions, recruiting plans, and selection and onboarding strategies.
Only simple calculations, such as working out hiring needs from growth and turnover.
Job-related, structured methods applied consistently to every candidate, with clear scoring.
No. We prepare custom plans and feedback so you can write your own.