Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paige Remington on September 2, 2008 at 10:49am

I recruited for roles in the UK and The Netherlands for a few years. I found it was fairly similar recruiting in a country that has English as the primary language. Recruiting in a country with a different language as it's primary is a little more difficult. The blogs and web sites are all in the other language for the most part, so unless you happen to be able to speak/read some of the language, there are some challenges. I think many Europeans I worked with were open to working with an American company and many of the tools were the same if you are not relying on the job boards. I think the language is the only barrier to doing internet based sourcing in other countries.

Permalink Reply by Joshua Letourneau on September 2, 2008 at 11:04am

Bill, good afternoon and thank you for posting this question. Personally, I take on a few searches each year that are international . . . however, I limit myself to the EU and Hong Kong. These areas have proved to be the most fertile ground.

I did work only one project for a GM (VP of a given business unit) in Japan, however that search turned out to be an unsuccessful one as my point of contact was HR . . . and the HR rep had little to zero hiring manager control. You might get a laugh: I had a super candidate running operations for a large competitor in Tokyo . . . and he had some specific questions about the role (that went beyond the vanilla job description).

To those questions, HR offered responses such as:

Q: "What growth are you looking to achieve in your APAC target markets?"
A: "A lot."

Q: "How many employees do you have at your locations in Japan?"
A: "Quite a few."

I did not provide these answers to the candidate, but instead communicated that doing so would hinder the attraction/allure process . . . but at that point, I could tell I fell into the "pushy recruiter category." However, what became evident was that the feedback loop between the recruiter and hiring manager was weak - as a result, the recruiter attempted to answer questions from a high-level candidate . . . completely not understanding that the responses would be an important touchpoint in the process. Questions lead to sales.

I mention this not to concern anyone with a particular search, but to prove a point that if the core fundamentals in the relationship are strong, we can recruit anywhere on the Earth (given we speak the indigenous language and understand some of the cultural nuances of the markets we recruit within.)

Permalink Reply by Mike Beller on September 2, 2008 at 11:09am

Ditto to Paige. Very similar process and receptive clients. Of course, not being an internet recruiter, I would add the time-zone differences as another challenge for any direct contact. But when you consider all of the upside, it's a largely insignificant factor...

Permalink Reply by Ron Kronen on September 2, 2008 at 1:00pm

Hi Bill,

I have worked on international assignments in UK/Belgium/Nederland’s and Switzerland. Some of the major differences is TIME. Think of the recruiting business in Europe, like a siesta after eating a big lunch. Things move much slower on both the client side as well as the candidates side. Relocation is also a big issue to most. I found single non married candidates without property ownership, make for a more serious candidate. I personally stay away from home owners unless of course it’s a local opportunity.

I am constantly on the prowl looking for new opportunities, so anyone out there knows of some international recruiting assignments, please don’t hesitate to ping me

Cheers;
Ron Kronen
360 455 4800
www.ronkronen.com