The first step in finding great overseas candidates is to use immigration labor advertising. But once they’re in the pool, how do you keep them there? It’s a seller’s market when it comes to employment right now, but that’s no excuse to offer a sub-par experience to your candidates. If you want to impress top talent from overseas and convince them to relocate, you need to provide a best-in-class experience during recruitment.
Here’s how to impress them at every step of the way, from first impression to signing the contract.
Immigration Ads that Stand Out
Let’s talk about first impressions. Whether or not the candidate has already heard of your company, their official first impression for this job listing will be the ad you place. It’s absolutely critical that you invest in highly skilled graphic designers, marketing experts, and copywriters to ensure that your company is putting its best foot forward. It’s not acceptable to put out sloppy advertising and hope that your company’s reputation attracts the right people.
Instead, focus your resources on creating impressive immigration ads. Candidates should be immediately attracted to the visual style and message of the campaign. Not only that, but your design should speak directly to the type of person you are hoping to recruit. It’s important to balance this. Your ad should represent your company’s vision and culture while also representing the style of your dream candidates. Speak to a marketing expert about typography, color palettes, and more to make sure you get this first step right.
The First Email Response
Congrats! You are getting applications from highly qualified candidates. Now, it’s your job to respond to them and let them know you received their applications. It might seem insignificant, but that first email communication is key. It’s your first opportunity to speak directly with the candidate. Even if it’s an auto-response generated by software, it’s important to craft this message so it represents your company well. If possible, you should try to personalize this message so that each candidate receives a meaningful communication from the company. Ideally, a real person from the company or the hiring team would reach out to thank them for their application and let them know about next steps.
To really impress them, this email should be cordial and enthusiastic in tone. Include additional resources to get to know the company, such as a video tour of the office or a special password-protected page on the website for candidates. Let them know what to expect next and you’ll keep them interested until you’re ready for interviews.
Interview #1
Now that you’re planning an interview, you know that your immigration advertising worked. They know what your company stands for and your company is interested in adding this person to the team. The first interview is a powerful opportunity to set the tone for the rest of your relationship with this candidate. From the organization and timeliness of your emails to the quality of your web camera and the lag time of your bandwidth, the first interview can make or break your company’s reputation.
Of course, it’s to be expected that there will be SNAFUs. But it’s important that your entire hiring team is prepared to handle these incidents gracefully and confidently. Nothing turns off a top candidate more than an insecure and ill-prepared recruitment manager who doesn’t understand the technology and gets flustered. Make sure your interview team is well prepared to impress the candidate in this phase.
Staying in Touch
While you continue to evaluate other candidates, it is absolutely critical that you stay in close communication with your prospective employees. If they’re skilled enough to be considered for your company, you can bet they are being courted by other employers. To prevent your competitors from snatching top talent, direct your hiring manager to continually reach out to these candidates. Ask them to confirm their continuing interest in the role. At the very least, ask them if anything has changed. For instance, they might be experiencing resistance from a spouse about relocating overseas. A child might be sick. They might have a competing offer and want to ask for a higher salary.
Don’t only ask about their situation. Be forthcoming about your company’s situation. Let them know that they were one of your top candidates and that you’d like to complete the scheduled interviews before moving onto the next stage. It’s okay to be honest about how much you like them, and it’s also okay to let them know that you’re still speaking with other candidates. If they really want to work at your company, they’ll make it work.
Making the Offer
Finally, it’s time to make the offer. How can you impress candidates during this final stage in the recruitment process? Many people think that the courting phase is over once the offer is made. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the job offer phase is when most of the fancy negotiations happen. Your candidate is now in a powerful position. They know you want them and they may have other offers on the table. Now it’s their turn to grill you about what you can offer them.
Think ahead about what your company can provide in a job offer that will make you stand out from other candidates. If you’re speaking with overseas talent, you should have a relocation package that no one can beat. You should offer to find schools for their children and top-notch health care. You should offer to cover their flights and housing as well as work from home equipment for the next six months.
Don’t miss out on any of these opportunities to impress (and retain) top talent. Recruitment is a continuous negotiation, and it’s on the company to continually provide value to entice overseas candidates.
