Are you struggling to find domestic, qualified talent to add to your business? Are you looking to expand your company to other global markets or add a multicultural perspective to your workforce?
Your company’s ability to reach the next level of growth and success could be dependent on your ability to find and recruit international talent. However, even with unprecedented levels of technology allowing for instantaneous communication and extensive research, locating international recruits for your company can be a daunting prospect. It’s a big world, after all. Where do you start?
Below we’ve listed four tips that can help you effectively locate and acquire the international recruits you need to achieve your business goals.
1. Know the culture
If you want to effectively recruit an international market, then you need to understand the ins and outs of that market. If you want to understand the ins and outs, you or your recruiters must become experts on your target market’s culture.
Cultural barriers and misunderstandings can be the biggest roadblocks preventing you from accessing a country’s talent pool, but if you can put yourself in the shoes of your potential recruits and be sensitive to their cultural needs, that can put your company head and shoulders above other competitors in the eyes of your international candidates.
Make use of current employees who originate from or have expertise in the culture of your target market. Have them help you understand any subtleties of which you might be ignorant. Have them reach out to potential candidates about their experiences with your company. You could also seek out other expatriates in your area from your target region and interview them about their experience with immigrating to the US as well as any special considerations you should take in your recruiting efforts.
2. Recruit in up-and-coming, emerging markets
Success in business is often all about being ahead of the curve and beating competitors to the punch. International employee recruitment is no exception.
Traditional emerging markets of the recent past have included China and India, and though these countries’ large populations mean you could could still find qualified talent there, it is now safe to say that these markets have transitioned from “emerging” to “established.”
In 2005, Goldman Sachs identified eleven countries based on criteria such as macroeconomic stability, political maturity, and quality of education that were primed for major economic growth in the near future. These markets have been dubbed the Next 11 (N11), and include major up-and-coming players like Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Turkey. If you want to avoid market saturation and be a recruiting leader rather than just making white noise with your efforts, look to less commonly sought-after international markets with high potential for new talent.
3. Social Media
Social media is an international phenomenon. Hopefully you already know how useful it can be here in the United States, but the desire for social interaction and connections extends far beyond our borders.
In your cultural research from tip one of this blog, make sure you also research the most prominent social networks in the country from which you would like to recruit. Facebook and LinkedIn could go a long way in some countries outside the US, but you need to make sure you are doing your international social media recruiting on the applications and networks most widely used in that market.
4. Know the law
There are an incredible amount of legal considerations you must take when recruiting international talent. Your company cannot afford to miss out on top recruits because you were ignorant of immigration laws. Your best bet here is to hire an experienced and knowledgeable immigration lawyer to help ensure that you remain compliant with all laws and regulations in your international recruiting strategies.
If you’re interested and expanding your talent pool to those from other parts of the world besides the United States, give us a call and let us help you start building a strategy and locating the best employees the world has to offer. For additional information about H-1B visas, I-9 Compliance and more, visit our Resources page.
