An international employee will have experience in a different market from the one your business operates — and there are huge advantages to this.
Sometimes the best talent isn’t local. If you’re new to the world of recruiting international employees, the learning curve can be quite steep. There are numerous hurdles including immigration and visas as well as supporting a new employee through the logistics of relocating. But these hurdles aren’t insurmountable, and you might just find yourself the candidate you had been hoping for.
Here we break down our top tips for recruiting international employees.
Before you begin advertising the opportunity, it’s important you understand how your business can sponsor or hire a worker. Sponsorship and hiring options will differ depending on your geographical location in Australia – regional areas will have more sponsorship pathways available to them – as well as the size and speciality of your business. You want to ensure that you have a thorough understanding so you can correctly market the opportunity and all things are above board legally.
You can learn more about visa options for skilled sponsored workers here. It’s also worthwhile consulting your legal team or a recruiter who has experience recruiting international employees.
While SEEK and LinkedIn may reign supreme in Australia, this is not the case globally. Reed and Monster are popular in the UK while Stepstone and Jobrapido are used in Germany. If you don’t complete adequate research and use the right channels, your job ad will not be seen by the audience you seek.
When advertising a position, refrain from using slang or colloquialisms that are region-specific. Not only could be confusing and unclear if you’re not familiar with the terms, but such an informal job ad, to some readers, will be a deterrent. Consider your audience.
There are numerous benefits to hiring employees from different parts of the world.
An international employee will have experience in a different market from the one your business operates. There are huge advantages to this. If recruiting from the US or UK, they will have experienced The Great Resignation before it hit Australian shores and they might understand the effects of inflation. If you’re hoping to enter a new global market, your new international hire may be able to provide insights into the purchasing patterns or motivations of your intended buyers.
This one is a no-brainer. When you remove geographical restrictions and cast a wide net, the talent pool you are recruiting from will grow significantly. With a larger pool, the more likely you will find a candidate that ticks most, if not all, of your non-negotiables. You will not have to make the same concessions as you would in a candidate-short market (however, you will still have to provide incentives to sweeten the deal).
If you successfully recruit international employees, this will give your business a certain level of credibility. It shows that your business is successful and growing and that your offering is enticing enough to tempt international talent. It also might open the door for you to open an office in an international location.
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