In our globalized context, there is without a doubt no shortage of candidates for international positions. The challenge, however, lies in recruiting candidates that are appropriately qualified for the job. Whether it is specific language requirements or the ability to work effectively in multicultural environments, international companies have to expand their horizons to find the perfect match for a job opening.
Focus on international campuses
To find talent that is suited to an international environment, companies must look to campuses that fall outside their local perimeter. International campuses provide a first gateway to build relationships and target potential recruits. "At Bloomberg, we have a regional recruitment strategy in order to target students who speak the right languages for a particular position. The advantage of an international campus is that it provides us with access to multiple languages.
For example, at Grenoble Ecole de Management we interact not only with French-speaking students but also with many students who speak other European languages such as Spanish or Italian. This allows us to fill a variety of positions on the same campus." explains Anne Charvonia, EMEA Sales & Analytics Campus Recruiter at Bloomberg.
Multicultural learning environments
In addition to language barriers, international companies seek talent capable of working in a multicultural setting. Lisa-Jane Perraud, in charge of employer relations at Grenoble Ecole de Management highlights: "Whether it's case studies or classroom interactions, our students have to collaborate with people from many different cultures."
Anne adds that "international campuses offer a wide diversity of student profiles. It's where we recruit some of our most energetic, practical and interesting students."
Improve brand visibility
Expanding to recruit on international campuses is a first step towards improving student awareness of recruitment opportunities at your company. "Our career fair welcomes many international companies, which this year included Bloomberg, Nissan, Nike, Salesforce, TJX Europe and Google. These companies target career fairs on international campuses such as Grenoble Ecole de Management because our diverse students have strong linguistic and cultural abilities." says Lisa-Jane.
"The importance of the traditional career fair may sometimes seem a bit passé. But in Europe in particular, they're still of great importance." highlights Anne. "It's important to underline the fact that fairs allow us to target talent that might not be considering our company as a potential employer. Yet sometimes, all it takes is a discussion during an event to spark an interest and develop a potential recruit."
Mix-up your recruitment events
To encourage further interactions between recruiters and international profiles, it is important to seek out channels that go beyond the formal settings of a career fair. Bloomberg regularly organizes company visits in their London offices for Grenoble Ecole de Management students. As Anne explains: "Bloomberg culture is best felt in our offices. It's difficult to share it during a conversation or an interview, so the best solution is to come in and visit."
Another option is to mix formal presentations and skill sessions with informal dinners. "We had a skill session focused on interviews and job applications for selected international profiles in Grenoble. This was a great opportunity to share our expectations for future recruits and at the same time provide students with advice on how to successfully navigate their job applications. When a school is closely connected to its students, they can be of great help to efficiently target interesting profiles." concludes Anne. Following their skill session, Bloomberg invited the students to dinner where the relaxed setting of a restaurant encouraged informal discussions and networking.