How to find talent worldwide

From accessing a larger talent pool, broadening perspectives, and strengthening your network connections, to breaking into new international markets, creating a global workforce for your company has many benefits.  

Remote work has proven to be just as productive, so why not hire internationally? It will allow you to find talented individuals with diverse backgrounds and work experiences who can bring a lot of value to your projects. 

Although it can be challenging to find the right person for a role without meeting them in person, with the right approach and mindset, you can discover the perfect candidate from anywhere in the world. 

In this article, we will cover a few tips on finding talent worldwide so you can start building a global workforce for your business.

Select regions with a strong remote work culture

If you’re looking to hire an international team, you should research specific countries and locations that are already familiar with the remote work culture. 

By doing so, you can expand your search beyond a limited pool of candidates. For example, countries like Spain and Portugal have a strong remote culture with thousands of highly qualified professionals looking to integrate international teams. 

We recommend researching specific countries' job markets and selecting based on the positions you're hiring for. For example, if you’re looking for tech specifically or science professionals.

Leverage your company’s culture online

If you’d like to find talent outside your usual work locations, you must invest in your company’s online presence.

By sharing your company’s culture, events, team, and projects, you’ll reach a wider audience, and eventually, top talent will come to you instead of you having to look for them. 

We recommend leveraging your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram pages specifically, as they have proved to be the most effective channels for sharing a company’s stories and visual content like team events, projects, funny stories, and job positions. 

Depending on your industry, TikTok can also be effective for reaching younger professionals, B2C marketing experts, creatives, and content creators

Building your company's reputation will attract more international talent.

Use proper international remote work platforms

The most convenient and fast way to find talent internationally is to share your company’s global positions on specific remote work platforms. 

Some of the most popular include:

• Remote.co
• WeWorkRemotely
• Working Nomads
• Flex Jobs 
• And, of course, Linkedin

Keep in mind that you may receive a significantly higher volume of applications compared to your typical regional job postings. We advise you to put a time limit of 1 to 2 weeks or define a maximum number of applications. This way, you can narrow down the best people for the role without being overloaded with options. 

It will also help you analyze profiles better and make better-informed decisions. If you struggle with talent filtering, consider utilizing recruiting software to scan and filter through multiple resumes.

Add a spontaneous application option to your website

Your website is crucial as it represents your company's face, much like your presence on social media and other online platforms.

When looking for remote work internationally, many professionals visit the company’s website to get in-depth knowledge about the team, culture, perks, office locations, etc. 

With that said, having a careers page on your website where you display open positions and share a bit of your team’s history will help you attract worldwide talent. 

Consider adding a spontaneous application option on your website to allow potential talent to introduce themselves. This way, you can keep an HR database for when a position is open in the future, and you won’t have to spend too much time looking for a specific candidate.

Get in touch with foreign universities 

Another great way to find talent worldwide is to connect with employees from foreign universities and initiate partnerships by offering internships, thesis support, or other programs to help students gain valuable work experience.

It not only helps university students looking to kickstart their careers but will also open doors for your company to get in touch with young talent across the globe and eventually retain them.

Start by working with freelancers/contractors

If you haven’t hired internationally yet and aren’t sure if it makes sense for your company, you can start by hiring freelancers and contractors internationally for short-term projects and see how the experience goes.

These are some of the most popular freelance platforms:

• Fiverr
• Upwork 
• Toptal 
• Freelancer

Then if it makes sense for both parties and you find the ideal person to work with, you can provide them with a long-term opportunity in your company.

Partner with a nearshore company to help you

If you would like to hire internationally but don’t have the resources or the time to take care of all the bureaucracy, you can always partner with a nearshore outsourcing company that will take care of the process for you.

At HumanIT, for example, we focus specifically on helping our partners and clients find tech talent in Portugal, through our extensive database, network, and curated selection and onboarding process.

If you’re struggling to find the right nearshore partner, in a previous article, we shared some tips that might help you.