If your client is reluctant to hire candidates from other countries, here are four reasons to help change their minds:
1. Consider the skills gap. Your clients want to hire the best candidates available, right? More and more, those candidates are not being found in the USA. Multiple studies points out that we are producing fewer college graduates in the critical STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines than are needed. Clients and recruiters alike bemoan the dearth of qualified candidates. Yet, few will consider hiring international candidates. It just doesn’t make sense. By opening the talent pool to a larger population of candidates, employers are more likely to find the right candidate for their job.
2. International candidates may be more committed long-term. Sometimes clients are leery of hiring international candidates due to the costs associated with sponsorship and work visas. However, it’s not all that easy to transfer a work visa to a different employer once it’s been obtained. Furthermore, candidates who move to a new country for a job opportunity have likely thought long and hard about what that means. They’re not going to accept an offer they feel ambivalent about. Employers may just find that international candidates are much more likely to stick around long-term.
3. Video interviewing makes it easier. It’s expensive to fly international candidates in for interviews. Expecting candidates to foot the bill themselves will probably result in those candidates bowing out. Phone interviews are good for initial screening, but just aren’t the same as a face-to-face visit. Live video interviewing can offer most of the same “personal connections” as a face-to-face setting. Using pre-recorded video interviews can help employers cast a wider net, more efficiently (and more economically), further increasing the chances of hiring success.
4. Competitors are already doing it. That’s right. Your clients’ competitors are already hiring international candidates. They, too, are suffering from the skills gap and can’t find the talent they need domestically. Applications for the H-1B visa can be submitted beginning April 1st this year with the cap of 65,000 expected to be met within the first week. Staying ahead of the competition means, in part, having better employees. Don’t let your competitors hire the candidates you need to drive success!
Are your clients hiring international candidates? Comment below!
