Everyone’s aware of the Great Resignation, and how it’s made hiring much more difficult for many companies. But did you know that you are likely making it even harder for yourself to find talent?
Immigrants face significantly more barriers to entry in the labour market. Due to these barriers, your company may be missing out on some great talent for your team. Here is where you may be losing out on some top talent for your jobs and how you can approach fixing it.
Lack of Acknowledgement of Non-Native Credentials
Immigrants are overlooked because most (if not all) of their experience is from another country. Despite all their talents, they get brushed off and don’t receive the credibility for their skills. Immigrant candidates can be more technically qualified than their native counterparts, but lose the job position to them because they don’t receive the recognition because of their credentials aren’t from the country they’re in now.
The biggest thing here is to keep an open mind. It’s best to have a chat with these candidates to get to know them and what their work experience has been like. They could surprise you with what they can bring to the table.
Communication and Cultural Barriers
For many immigrants, English is not their first language. This can make it significantly harder for them to communicate their skills. Immigrants may struggle to write a strong resume that best displays their skills and abilities. They also may not have access to the proper resources to help them out with this. If your company wants to ensure that they are hiring the best talent from their pool, it’s crucial that you give each candidate a fair chance despite what preconceived ideas you may have of them based on their resume.
Another key thing to keep in mind are the cultural differences that exist in the professional world across different cultures. Some cultures highly value humility. Western countries, such as Canada and the USA, believe that it’s acceptable to be proud of individual achievements. Thus, those coming from the cultures where humility is valued will likely not be “bragging” about all their personal accomplishments on their resumes. Since the cultural values here are different, recruiters may not perceive it as humility but rather a lack of achievements.
Help Knock Down these Barriers
The best way to help immigrants overcome these types of barriers to entry is to focus less on the resume and more on the person themself. Resumes are an outdated way to screen candidates. Plus, their prominence in the screening process contribute towards the difficulties immigrants face getting hired. Instead, incorporate video interviews in your screening process. This way, you can get to meet your candidates and have the opportunity to chat with them and get to know them better. You can learn so much more about their skills and what they have to offer that they may not have been able to portray through their resume writing.
Hellohire offers a hiring platform that can make your hiring practices more accessible. Ensure that you’re not missing out on any great talents, and are making the most of your talent pool! Learn more about it on our website or book a free demo today.