International recruiting is a tactic used by many companies for a broad selection of reasons. Perhaps your company has an international presence and needs employees who can fill those roles. Or perhaps you’re hiring for a highly-skilled role and want to consider every professional in the field, across the globe. You may be looking for people travel, relocate, or to stay in place. You may be looking for people who want international experiences or who will be your ambassadors in a new market. You may just be looking for good team members from as broad a candidate market as possible.
However, the one thing that is universally true about hiring internationally is the need for specificity.
Your international recruits need many questions answered, and so do you. The best way to streamline the process and avoid confusion or conflict is to be as specific as possible. Let’s dive into the method.
Never Assume What is Understood
In a local hiring culture, many things are left unsaid and “understood” between employer and candidate. Certain elements of the hiring culture and interview rituals are so old that we assume everyone must know how to play the game the way we play. But this isn’t true when hiring internationally. When dealing with people from other cultures, continents, and countries; it’s best not to assume.
Never assume they know what you are implying or what the process is unless you have defined it. Likewise, ask your international contacts and recruits to be precisely clear and avoid assuming that you understand something implicitly. This is the best way to avoid confusion or accidental inconsideration.
Be Precise About Skill and Experience Requirements
If you are precise in the job description, you can streamline the rest of the international recruiting process. The first element to be clear about is the required skills and experiences for the job. Job requirements are written and explained differently in different countries. The certifications might have different names, issued by unfamiliar organizations, but the skills they convey are still comparable. The roles in previous companies may have different titles than you’re familiar with, but still convey the insights and capabilities you need.
So know what you’re looking for internationally and be very precise about what you need. This will help international recruiters and candidates to respond accordingly and make the right choices before interviews begin.
Note Required Languages
Be mindful of language differences, and even dialectic differences within the same language. You want to think carefully about the languages you advertise the job in and be clear about languages required for the job. If English is required, for example, extra clarity is needed if you are advertising with non-English ads. You will also want to be specific if you need bilingual or multi-lingual candidates and which languages are required for the job.
Define the Company Culture and Schedule
Scheduling is important for international recruiting. If you’re hiring for a remote position, keep in mind that your overseas team members will be living by a completely different sunrise. You might well need an international night owl if they must be awake during continental daylight hours, or the difference might be only a slight offset that will need to be considered.
Even flexible roles where international candidates set their own schedule or stick to the local schedule will need consideration for team collaborations.
Specify Your Visa or Remote Work Policies
International recruits need a few pieces of vital information before they can commit to interviewing. They need to know where they’ll be and what their future looks like with you as an employer. If you are hiring remotely, be very clear about your remote work policies along with the compensation available.
If you are hiring to relocate an international professional, you’ll want to outline your Visa policies in the job description. This helps applicants make life plans, not just career plans, ahead of time.
Outline the Onboarding Process
Lastly, remember to mention the onboarding process. Your international recruits have no idea what will be expected of them during the training and onboarding phase so many companies do it so differently. Will they need to fly in for on-site training before remote work? Will there be two days or two months of onboarding time? Is onboarding a probationary period? Make it clear in the job description so international applicants know what they’re getting into.
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When hiring internationally, remember to be considerate and precise with your hiring methods. This way, candidates and your recruiters can get you the real best fit for the role.
