One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a business is choosing the employees you’re hiring for the specific roles in your company. If you get the right people for the job, you can take your business to unprecedented heights of success and prosperity. However, choose the wrong people and, well, it’s the complete opposite.
While you might be used to hiring people and familiar with posting your job advertising on forums and job boards and then waiting for people to come in for applications and interviews, not many businesses will consider the potentially beneficial impact that can come from hiring foreign workers.
Be clear; this isn’t about cheap labor or merely filling manual roles, such as the impression in a lot of countries. This is about getting the right people for the job. Whether you’re looking for manual laborers or individual with a doctorate and university education, a worker is still classed as foreign if they come from another country.
So, with this in mind, today we’re going to take a detailed look at the differences between hiring foreign workers as opposed to domestic workers, as well as sharing some of the top tips to help you have the best recruitment experience.
Choosing the Right Channels
As we spoke briefly about in the introduction, for typical jobs you’ll be posting on job boards and perhaps in your local area, but if you’re looking to hire people abroad, they’re not going to find your vacancies here, which means you’ll need to look, and post, in different places.
Most commonly for hiring foreign workers, you’re going to want to look into a headhunting agency. This is where people who are looking to work abroad can be put in contact with you if the agency thinks they’re a good fit, which means you’ll want to make sure you’re choosing a good agency.
On the other hand, you may want to advertise on your own website. There are plenty of larger companies who post their worldwide job vacancies online for the world to see. Of course, you can also utilize your social media profiles in the same way.
Of course, the channels you choose will also depend on the nature of the job you’re filling. If you’re looking for seasonal workings, perhaps backpackers who are looking to travel and work, but you only need them seasonally, there are dedicated websites and platforms set up to cater to this niche.
Write a Universal job Description
The job description is perhaps the most important part of your job vacancy because this will define what people think of the job role and whether they want to apply or not. Get the job description wrong, and you’ll get a whole bunch of people who simply aren’t suitable for the job, and this is just referring to a wrong description when hiring domestically.
When you’re looking to hire foreigners, there are a few things you’re going to want to think about. Firstly, you’ll need to include that you’re actually hiring people abroad. Regardless of the channel, you’re advertising on; you’ll want to make sure everyone is clear as to whether they can apply or not.
You’ll also want to make it extremely clear what you’re looking for in the job role, as well as expected duties, qualifications (or relevant qualifications), and the objectives of the job role you’re hiring for. While this should all be standard for a job description, it’s even more necessary when hiring foreign workers.
While you might not be a professional writer, that doesn’t mean you can’t write a professional description that works well with all readers. If you’re stuck, or you want to guarantee your quality, you can use online tools to help, such as;
WriteMYX/ Brit Student– Use these copywriting tools to help you craft your job description to ensure its perfect for finding the right candidate.
Next Coursework– Use this online tool to generate titles for your job description, as well as catchy and findable keywords and phrases.
Australia2Write/ 1Day2Write– These are two professional online editing tools to help you structure and format your job description to ensure it’s finished to a professional level.
Attracting Foreign Workers
Of course, one of the processes you’ll need to go through when hiring someone is actually attracting them in the first place. Whether you’re hiring someone because you want the top talent, you’re getting someone to move, or you’re hiring them remotely, you need to attract that preferred individual to apply to your job in the first place, and there are three main ways this happens.
Increased Salary
Easily one of the biggest draws for someone working for a foreign company is the salary you’re paying them. If the money is good and the job is doable, many people will be drawn to working for a foreign company if you’re paying them.
Of course, if you’re expecting someone to move to a new country for the role as an expat, salary here will be a big concern, so you’ll want to think about making sure the role you’re advertising is worthwhile to potential applicants.
The Experience
Some people might be happy to start working for a foreign company because they want the experience. They also enjoy the language and culture side of things and would love to explore it and would also want to indulge in the competition of trying to prove themselves that they can do it.
With this in mind, you’ll want to prove to potential candidates that you’re a friendly and professional employee that is there for them, and you want them to succeed as much as you want to succeed yourself as a business. This needs to be clear in the job description, so you get the right people applying.
The Right Career Path
The final aspect that will get people to want to apply for the job role you’re offering, despite being a foreign company, is the fact that the job is right for the person who’s applying. Some people will look far and wide for the job they want and the job that best suits them in terms of their career, and therefore this is one of the best ways to attract them.
By advertising yourself as a business who is actively looking to help their employees achieve best and grow as individuals, both personally and as professionals, you can attract the top talent, no matter where they are in the world.
As you can see and probably guess, you’ll want to use a combination of all three of these aspects when writing your job description and advertising your vacancies to secure the top talent.
Think About the Legality
Depending on where you are in the world, there are going to be some legal aspects and elements to consider when hiring someone abroad and in a foreign country. This will also depend on whether you’re hiring the person who is then moving to the country you’re in, or whether you’re hiring them as a remote worker, or on a freelance basis.
The best thing to do here is simply to check the laws and regulations of your country with a government official, or by using the official website. You may need to look into visas and work permits for the employee.
While it’s important for the employee to check this themselves, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of what’s going on, so you know what they need to be legal, as well as judging accurately how long the recruitment process is going to take.
Making Life Easy for Everyone
While employing someone from another country might seem like a long and overwhelming process, it doesn’t have to be as long as you’re well organized, well-informed, and aware of what help and assistance there is out there. If you’re smart, this process can be incredibly productive.
For example, take advantage of video calling software, such as Skype or Google Hangouts, to hold interviews and to get to know the employees before making any big decisions. This way, you’ll get to know the individual a lot better than if you were simply communicating via email or text.
While on this note, you’ll want to make sure everybody is communicating throughout the process as effectively as possible. This means making sure you reply promptly to emails asking questions and pay attention to any problems that may arise.
The better you both communicate with each other, and the more you work together with the potential candidates, the more effortless the entire process will be.
Special thanks to Katrina Hatchett for providing valuable content for this article.
Katrina Hatchett, a lifestyle blogger at Academic Brits and writer for Origin Writings, is involved in many business projects. She enjoys identifying recruitment problems and find solutions for these, and her goal is to improve the effectiveness of our communication. She also writes for PhD Kingdom blog.
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