Searching for the next great employee for your business tends to draw applicant interest from within New Zealand and overseas. When considering overseas applicants, the aspiration is they might bring a different skillset with a good level of competency that is equal to, or better than the New Zealand grown skillset.

Many of the New Zealand recruitment sites are scanned by overseas applicants wanting to work in New Zealand for a multitude of reasons that may or may not be related to the work they are applying for.

Assessing the validity of the overseas applicant for the role and the business can be tricky, as interviewing is generally completed online and experience is more difficult to verify through references, whilst credentials from other countries are more difficult to compare with the same credentials in New Zealand.

Here are a few tips that can assist you with more accurately assessing the criteria of an overseas applicant.

1.       Ask the applicant to explain their answers rather than accepting one word responses. It may be that their English communication skills are low.

2.       Inquire as to where the applicant has traveled previously for work. If the applicant has not left their homeland previously, it may be a challenge for them to relocate.

3.       It’s difficult to identify why the applicant may be leaving their current position, yet it’s helpful to ask why they are leaving and applying for the available position. It could be that they have applied for the position simply to come to NZ rather than the available role itself, which is not necessarily helpful for the business. 

4.       When discussing the applicant’s experience, ask the applicant to provide some detail around the key elements of the role they’ve been involved in. If the applicant looks away often or is continually distracted, they could be repeating third party information.  

5.       It’s helpful to discuss the applicant’s family environment, as the family traveling to NZ will have an impact on visa applications and visa application timeframes.

6.       It’s good to know what the applicant’s employment aspirations are, as it may be that the available role is more of a stepping-stone to them, which may not fit the expectations of the business.

7.       Check that the applicant has a current driver’s license, as having a driver’s license in other countries may not be as important as in NZ with its geographical spread.

8.       It’s helpful to know if the applicant has any infringements or health issues that may prevent them from obtaining a work visa, as the applicant may not understand the importance of adverse conditions.

9.       Check that the recruitment process and the employment agreement meets the current conditions of NZ immigration criteria and employment law, otherwise you may have to start the recruitment process again.

For further details on ‘The Challenges of Overseas Recruitment', please contact me through www.activebss.co.nz or get my latest book "Getting back to business" through amazon on the link here: https://amzn.asia/d/0a82hjxu