Whether your organisation is suffering from a talent shortage or is simply looking to expand, hiring qualified Life Sciences candidates from overseas can be a great way to bolster your team.
Of course, hiring internationally has its difficulties, not least of which can be the lack of confidence involved with talking to and assessing individuals from countries with which you are unfamiliar.
So where do you start when it comes to recruiting from overseas?
Where to Source International Life Sciences Talent
When starting the hunt for overseas workers, it would seem that the logical place to start would be to fix up your organisation’s website and advertise on job boards in other countries. Indeed, this is the advice that is offered to many firms – ensure you have a strong website (to show off your brand) and find relevant job boards to seek the best talent.
However, in the Life Sciences industry, in particular, there is another option: INRALS.
What is INRALS?
The International Network of Recruitment Agencies in Life Sciences (INRALS) is a network of 21 specialist recruitment firms representing 59 countries in the global Life Sciences space. INRALS members are trusted around the world due to their high success rate and code of ethics, which prioritises integrity and respect as much as it does good legal compliance.
On Q Recruitment is proud to be an INRALS member, offering a world-class service to Australian firms advertising for international workers. Thanks to our connections, we have unsurpassed access to the world’s best Life Sciences candidates, as well as a network of knowledge and expertise to provide our clients with high-level guidance on navigating the waters of international recruitment.
Why Hire Candidates From Overseas?
If it seems difficult, you could be forgiven for wanting to hire locally instead of from overseas. But while you should always maintain a strong local recruitment presence here in Australia, hiring talent from other countries does have strong benefits.
1. Fill Important Skills Gaps
It’s no secret that many of the most important roles in Life Sciences are on the Australian Occupational Skills Shortage list. Hiring local talent just isn’t always possible.
This is one major benefit of looking at candidates from other nations – gaining access to a wider talent pool. With the right offer, you’ll be able to attract a perfectly qualified individual for almost any part of your business.
2. Add More Ideas
Good ideas fuel business development. Hiring overseas talent brings with it a breadth of new and varied experience to your company that could help solve problems you didn’t even know you had.
3. Promote Diversity
Diversity and business success are the same things. According to McKinsey and Co, companies with racial and gender diversity are 35% and 15% more likely, respectively, to have above-average financial returns. Meanwhile, the opposite is also true.
Adding more diverse people to your workplace – diverse cultures, diverse genders, and diverse levels of experience – can enrich company culture and broaden the horizons of your existing workers. Employees can learn from each other and grow as individuals, and your organisation benefits from having a range of experience to call upon to solve problems.
The Challenges of Hiring International People
Of course, as with all recruitment, overseas recruitment does bear with it a degree of challenge.
1. Authenticating Credentials
Without a firm grasp of what different credentials mean and how they correspond to Australia’s standards, it may prove difficult to understand whether an international applicant is right for your advertised role. Alternatively, without being able to meet this individual, you may also feel unsure about how truthful their application truly is.
To overcome this challenge, it pays to work with a specialist rather than go it alone. When you work with a firm such as On Q Recruitment we can handle the complexities of background checks and guide you on which qualifications are the most relevant to the role at hand.
2. Helping Someone Relocate
Relocating is hard, especially when you have a family. Indeed, finding a new home was cited by a third of respondents to an Allied survey in the US as the most challenging part of relocating.
As a person’s new employer, you may wish to consider offering help when it comes to their relocation – whether by directly lending a financial hand with expenses, helping them find a home in which to live, or offering as much advice as possible to help them settle in.
3. Visa Restrictions
It’s your responsibility to ensure that any candidates you hire are legally entitled to work in Australia. Are you looking to verify a visa or sponsor an overseas Life Sciences professional? The Australian Government’s website has good advice (and tools) to assist.
Of course, this is another challenge that working with On Q Recruitment can assist with, as we can guide you on all of these fronts to ensure you are getting the best talent without accidentally breaching Australian immigration law.
Summary
Hiring overseas talent to work in Life Sciences here in Australia can provide a variety of benefits to your company, including accessing greater experience and adding more diversity to your workplace. However, this comes with it a few key challenges that must be overcome in order to avoid making a mistake or breaching compliance.
