For any growing company, the employees — especially executive-level ones — are key to scaling successfully. This is even more important for European companies looking to expand their businesses into the US market.
As one of the leading executive search firms in Boston, DSML is proud to have been invited to speak on this panel hosted by French Tech Boston and the French American Chamber of Commerce New England. Myriam Le Cannellier, co-founder of DSML Executive Recruiting, spoke alongside other industry experts to delineate these 8 best practices for attracting and hiring talent in today’s candidate-driven market.
Cultivate an online presence. Showcase your company, its values, and its mission. These details depict your company well, showing that you have vision: you know who you are, what you stand for, and where you’re headed. The better you can depict your vision online, the more successful you will be in hiring. A key part of your online presence is your website.
Have a website, but a US website. Invest in your website and tailor it to speak to an American audience. This investment may mean working with a US agency. Make sure that your prospective candidates can find everything they need to know about your business, its values, and its mission easily. This will help your company not lose candidates in your executive search recruitment along the way.
Not only do you have to have a website — a regularly updated one — but take time to invest in social media platforms as well. Build your company’s presence on LinkedIn. Encourage existing executives to build their personal brand on the platform as well: a strong presence can communicate passion for the company, as well as make its culture and mission more desirable.
Maintain an inclusive mindset. There is no such thing as a “perfect fit”: that is not inclusive. If you’re using ads to promote open roles, understand that by definition, advertisements are exclusive, as you’ll be asked to target potential applicants based on specific criteria. Determine what are must-haves versus nice-to-haves. Focus on satisfying the most important elements first, then you can consider the secondary, bonus features.
Make your job descriptions intentional and inclusive. When looking to attract American candidates to aid in the expansion of your business into the US, craft your job descriptions thoughtfully. Make them inclusive to avoid losing high-quality, highly-skilled applicants before they even enter the funnel, especially if you’re hoping to recruit diversity in tech when recruiting for European companies in the USA.
Actually call references. Candidates — especially executive-level or C-suite candidates — source references from multiple years and areas of experience. Speaking to these elected few will give a unique insight into the attributes and qualities that really drive the candidate being considered.
Have a fast and established process. Streamline it by limiting the number of interviews. For upper management roles, this should consist of no more than 4 to 5 rounds. But middle management or individual contributor roles should have a maximum of 2 to 3 rounds. To capitalize on these, always have multiple interviewers in one session.
Be prepared with a strong benefits package. For smaller companies or those who may be establishing themselves in the US for the first time, have programs such as health and 401ks in place before you aim to expand your team. In the wake of the Great Resignation, these are an essential part of any package right now.
If you spearhead hiring for a European company expanding into the US and are seeking executive search firms in Boston, Chicago, or throughout the US, contact DSML today. With over 15 years of proven results, DSML can create customized strategies to help implement hiring best practices.