Recruiter.com recently shared findings from Career Advisory Board's (CAB) Job Preparedness Index (JPI.) The report said that 75% of Recruiters and Hiring Managers wouldn't hire outside of their local geographical area. Additionally, the report found that only 7% of those surveyed reported that "nearly all" or "most" job seekers have the right combination of skills required. If so few Hiring Managers and Recruiters feel there's enough qualified talent in their area, why are they still recruiting in their own backyard?

Some of CAB's survey respondents said that they recruit locally because they don't want to go through the trouble of arranging transportation for a candidate who is not from their area. In 2015, it's easier than ever to meet with candidates outside of your region. Video interviews allow you to easily connect with candidates from all over. Technology has also made it more common for people to telecommute, meaning you can have a physical office in one location and employees in other states or countries while connecting seamlessly. As long as candidates meet your requirements why exclude them from your candidate pipeline?

Alexandra Levit, cofounder of CAB, says that hiring managers and recruiters think that they will be able to find local talent. She warns, "That isn't going to be the case for many industries very, very shortly."

We've now entered a candidate-driven market, where the candidates you are competing for may have other or better options. This will make sourcing talent even more difficult. Additionally, by limiting your talent pool geographically, you're missing out on having the best talent you could possibly have, which could result in lower productivity, less revenue, and missed opportunities.

To demonstrate the importance of expanding your recruiting landscape, we compared local (US) markets vs. global ones by using hiring demand and talent supply data from WANTED Analytics. We specifically examined hiring trends for Information Technology Project Managers. In the US, there are about 5 candidates in the current workforce per unique IT Project Manager job ad. Because of the shortage of talent in this field, this occupation scores a 92 on our Hiring Scale indicating very challenging recruiting conditions. Our Hiring Scale ranges from 1 to 99, with 99 denoting hardest-to-fill.

Hiring Scale and Demand Pressure for IT Project Managers in the US

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

However, in Canada, the labor market for this position is different. There are about 25 candidates per unique job opening. IT Project Managers score a 50 on our Hiring Scale, indicating moderate difficulty. This is because the competition for talent is not as intense as it is in the US and the current labor supply is somewhat balanced with demand in Canada. 

Hiring Scale and Demand Pressure for IT Project Managers in Canada

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Some other countries are also experiencing difficulty finding this talent. IT Project Managers score an 87 in the UK and a 92 in Australia, which is just as difficult as it is in the US. Recruiters can beat other countries and their competition to talent by sourcing for IT Project Managers in Canada or other countries where the candidate supply exceeds demand. For a competitive advantage, consider sourcing talent globally.  Levit from CAB also suggests there are other ways to source talent from overseas, including contract work and outsourcing.

Hiring Scale for IT Project Managers in the UK

Hiring Scale for IT Project Managers in Australia

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Would you consider sourcing talent globally?