Promoting jobs online
Promoting your vacancies online is a great way to reach potential overseas applicants. The channels you choose to advertise your role - whether it's an online job board, recruiter or your own website - can depend on the position your looking to fill and the markets you're looking to recruit from.
Online jobs boards
A number of specialist New Zealand websites work with employers seeking skilled workers overseas. These sites specifically target skilled people overseas and are great places to start if you’re serious about recruiting from abroad. Depending on your industry, it is likely there are specialist websites overseas that target people with the skills you are seeking.
Mainstream job boards such as Seek and TradeMe are visited by workers offshore looking for jobs in New Zealand. These sites are very popular so they often appear near the top of searches.
Some job sites say that offshore applicants will require either New Zealand residence or a valid work visa. This is not correct. Anyone can apply for a job, however they cannot work without a valid work or residence visa.
Both you and any migrant applicants should fully understand the likely visa requirements, costs and timing, and that any employment agreement would be dependent on a successful visa application.
Your business website
Your business website is a great tool for attracting overseas candidates. It is a good idea to include a specific careers page which lists your vacancies (including detailed job descriptions). This will ensure that you receive ongoing search traffic from people looking for opportunities in your industry and also provide a good place to link to in any overseas marketing activity.
Other things you should consider including on your website include:
- A section for international applicants.
- If there are online application forms, are these suitable for offshore applications? For example is there space for a foreign address with country and zip code fields?
- Check that your site content does not exclude those people who do not have a work visa from applying.
LinkedIn is the largest global jobs marketplace for professionals. It allows you to promote your roles online and target people based on criteria such as country, age, occupation, technical skills and years of experience. You can also contribute to specialist discussion groups, which can be a great way to uncover talent, show leadership in your field, and send candidates private messages.