How to solve your skills gap by going global

Amanda Van Nuys

Recruitment is not getting any easier. The UK is currently undergoing a skills gap, meaning it is harder than ever to hire individuals with the requisite skills.

The record number of people in employment this year has also lowered the number of candidates looking for work. On top of this, recruiters and HR professionals are getting more technologically savvy and competitive to capture the attention of a limited talent pool. It is tough out there.

Despite this, those working in the industry are still expected to deliver strong candidates on demand. While there are a range of approaches to this challenge, one stands apart from the others: internationalisation.

The days of recruitment being a local issue are over. With the world’s economy becoming ever more intertwined and individuals moving country more than ever before, businesses cannot just look to home soil for the best and brightest: they require a global focus. It is important for recruiters to realise that sometimes the best talent lies outside of the UK’s borders.

Start the relationship off on the right foot with the right language

When you are trying to attract talent from across the world, it is vital to make candidates feel engaged and welcome. The quickest way to do this? Ensure your website displays itself in their language. If you want to connect with a foreign job applicant, then you have to literally speak their language.

Displaying a site in a potential candidate’s mother tongue also gives a local feel to the campaign. The large majority of jobseekers, and this is particularly true of Millennials, do not want to work for a faceless, global corporation. They desire a workplace that cares about its employees as individuals and a local language site is an easy way to show that your organisation is invested in local candidates and culture. A business that makes the effort to engage in local languages will be better placed to engage jobseekers from across the globe and get them to consider an international move.

Make your career site mobile and easy to use

When you are looking to contact the best and brightest from abroad, you can bet on one thing: they are likely to own a smartphone. This is a huge opportunity for recruiters. With this digital technology, you are able to connect with potential candidates quickly and easily, and it enables them to apply for a role painlessly. Never forget that mobile is global.

Preach to the passive with a strong employer brand

While the fact is that the majority of people are not currently jobseeking, they are open to hearing about great opportunities. What you need to do is ensure your business and job openings catch their eyes in these passive periods.

The key way to achieve this is through focusing on your employer brand. It is not enough to simply own a website or social media accounts; you have to use them correctly to capture the attention of passive candidates. What is it that differentiates your company from competitors? What is its core belief? What makes your business look like an attractive place to work? You need to transmit the personality of your company online and ensure that your employer brand is out in the public sphere. In LinkedIn’s 2014 Talent Trends Report, 56% of respondents listed employment brand as the most important factor in considering a new job, so make sure you make it a priority when looking to take your recruitment global.

Use the right recruiting tool to help you hire smarter

If you have followed the above steps, then you will have the foundation in place for a successful international hiring programme. Still, there will be one thing missing: an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

A modern ATS should ease the stress of scheduling interviews, automating the recruitment process and providing local language engagement for candidates while ensuring that meeting times suit participants around the globe. It can also provide metrics on how effectively different recruiting methods have worked, an essential tool in creating a successful recruitment funnel.

Over the past few decades, the world has become increasingly interconnected. This, alongside a growing skills gap, has irreversibly altered the recruitment landscape. Gone are the days when you put an advert in a local newspaper and hoped for the best – what’s required is a multi-faceted, international approach to hiring. While this might seem complex on the surface, the array of technological options available to professionals in the sector has made the process far more approachable. With careful planning and intelligent use of technology, your company can look abroad for the best talent, ensuring it thrives into the future.

Amanda Van Nuys is Senior Director of Marketing at Jobvite