Where to Find the Best Talent: 5 Tips for Recruiting Globally

The United States labor market is in a state of unprecedented disruption. In November 2021 alone, a staggering 4.5 million professionals resigned. Many left to start companies of their own. Others snagged more lucrative positions. The unemployment rate crept down to below the four percent mark, reaching 3.6% by March 2022.

If you’re a recruiter or hiring manager, you may have given up trying to find American workers to fill jobs. After all, the alternative sounds incredibly appealing: recruit from the global workforce. And sourcing employees from a worldwide pool certainly has its upsides.

For one, you open the doors to a wealth of talent from anywhere. You also have the opportunity to expand into new markets or build a 24/7, always-on team. Plus, your efforts to bring in people outside the country could significantly increase your diversity goals.

There’s just one stumbling block: Finding foreign candidates can be tricky. Without a comprehensive global talent acquisition roadmap, you could scramble to locate the right people for your openings. 

This isn’t to imply that global recruitment isn’t possible or worthwhile. As long as you keep a few tips in mind, it can be.

1. Recruit Talent From Countries With Strong Remote Workforces

As you might suspect, some countries make working remotely easier for their residents than others. Target your talent searches with appropriate search engine digital advertisements or local job posting sites. 

Not sure which countries are most appealing to virtual workers? Check out international payroll company Remote’s report, “The Best Destinations for Remote Work.” According to their findings, Canada, Spain, and New Zealand lead the pack. 

Think of this process as throwing a ball into a pool filled with dozens of people versus a pool with one or two swimmers. You’re more likely to get someone to toss it back in the well-occupied pool.

2. Hire Global Workers as Independent Contractors First

Quickly check freelance job boards like Upwork, DesignHill, and We Work Remotely. Notice a few—or many—foreign-based professionals who could potentially fit your needs? Consider hiring those professionals as independent contractors first. Then, you can see if they have the skills to become full-time employees.

Just be sure to speak with your lawyer to avoid misclassifying foreign workers. Misclassification can be a costly mistake, especially if you run afoul of laws in other countries. 

The way around a misclassifying mistake may be to run all your freelancers through a job board portal. The company running the portal completes all the transactions to protect your interests. You get the chance to see how well freelancers perform. Just remember that not all freelancers are interested in a full-time gig.

3. Make Sure That Your Foreign Job Postings Appeal to Foreign Workers

Professionals from other countries deserve to read job postings written for them. In other words, don’t wing it or use Google Translate. Hire a native speaker to construct your advertisements. Otherwise, you could end up having trouble getting candidates to apply.

Go beyond language and context to look at perks and benefits, too. Is the salary you’re posting going to catch the eyes of a global worker? Or will it seem far too low, especially once converted to foreign currency amounts?

It’s worth spending quite a bit of time on this part of your worldwide recruitment strategy. Your advertisements and job postings are first impressions. As such, they should shine.

4. Touch Base With Employees From Foreign Universities

Let’s say you’re interested in hiring newly minted university graduates. You’re not having success in the United States, so you want to go abroad. One place you could find emerging talent is at strong-performing universities.

Getting a talent pipeline started with a university in another world may take time. Nevertheless, it could become a valuable source of applicant leads. 

LinkedIn is a good resource for finding people who work worldwide, including in academia. It never hurts to get in touch with someone to see if their graduates might be interested in remote work.

5. Lean Into the Power of AI

AI-powered candidate-sourcing platforms aren’t perfect and may show bias. Yet they can help you identify potential global candidates suitable for your next role. 

With AI as your digital recruitment “eyes,” you have the advantage of having leads brought to you. Though you’ll have to follow up with them appropriately, you’ll save yourself the trouble of hunting for them. After all, finding foreign workers online can feel like the “needle in a haystack” experience.

In time, your AI sourcing machine could help drive names into a proprietary clearinghouse of prospective talent. When positions opened up, you could look first to the clearinghouse to find recruits from anywhere.

Growing your brand globally isn’t something you should do without forethought. At the same time, it isn’t something that only works for the largest enterprises with foreign headquarters. With the right processes and tools in place, you could assemble a powerhouse team of superstars from every corner of the globe.

Sofia Hernandez has been a senior HR executive at multiple Fortune 500 companies.

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