Best Practices for International Recruitment

Planning and research make all the difference

Prepare, prepare, prepare - international recruitment preparation is more than simply understanding pay expectations or translating job adverts into different languages. The best recruiters make sure their entire hiring strategy is aligned with:

• Specific market expectations.
• Cultures.
• Legal requirements and compliance.
• GDPR.
• Local rights to work.
• Competition and SWOT analysis.

Understanding that talent is available in emerging or new markets is one thing, but being able to approach said candidates with a full understanding of hiring specifics and cultural expectations of work (especially international work) is vital if you want to hire the best.

Don’t be afraid to lean on specialists in new markets

Sometimes even the best-planned efforts can hit snags in the road, so our advice is never be afraid of leaning on local recruitment stakeholders, talent representatives and specific market hiring leaders to perfect your international talent search.

Embrace the new market in its entirety - sometimes you need an on-the-ground viewpoint to get a better handle on job seeking and talent sourcing in new markets.

Revamp interviews to prioritize test tasks

Interviews are, of course, incredibly effective tools for vetting the right staff for a tech role. But when factoring in an international element to talent sourcing, we vouch for prioritizing skills testing earlier in the hiring timeline.

This is purely as an administrative/budget benefit - the costs for interviewing and vetting rise exponentially the more people you bring in and the more time you spend on video calls, plus the cost of making the wrong hire is stratospheric when you’ve relocated them.

• So we urge you to nail skills testing to make sure interviewed staff are already pre-vetted as ideal for the job prior to any long-form shortlisting.

Be prepared for a hyper-competitive hiring environment

Good talent is good talent no matter where they are, and you can be sure if you’re dipping into international markets to find staff, so are other companies.

• So prepare for a hyper-competitive hiring environment, and remember that speed, cultural alignment and communication of relocation benefits are of the essence if you want to connect with - and hire - the best talent.

Tourism is a rich vein of talent opportunity

Here’s something you may not know about - tourism is a rich vein of talent magnetism and should be factored into your domestic hiring needs.

How many times have you heard “Oh I’d love to live here!” whilst on holiday? You may have even said it when visiting a beautiful new city or area.

It’s never been easier to work remotely, therefore it’s never (technically) been easier to connect with employers in a region you’re visiting. A simple Google search can throw up opportunities in geofenced areas - so if you’re an employer in a region with high tourism you can be sure talent will be surfing for a “what if” job…don’t you want to be top of that list?

• So factor international hiring opportunities into your domestic hiring strategies - simple things like adjusting your job ad copy to say “we accept international applicants!” is a start, and if potential talent is already in-country you can strike fast and invite them into the office immediately!

Be adaptable

Lastly, adapt your recruitment strategies. We cannot vouch for this enough, and this is especially relevant to industries suffering from extreme talent shortages like tech.

The international talent market is forever in flux. Areas become saturated with attention and investment, and new areas of talent emerge all the time. As these changes occur (for example, eventually talent markets reach full employment and attention needs to pivot to new markets), you need to be prepared to shift recruitment immediately and ahead of the competition to take advantage of new markets, new talent pools and new opportunities to connect with brilliant people.