Intake a job opportunity to initiate recruitment

If a pitch is successful, an employer will indicate their interest in moving ahead with a recruitment process. Employer-facing organizations play an important role in confirming that the job and employer are eligible for international recruitment, as well as collecting all the information that actors around the globe will need to find the best-suited candidates for the employer.

Employer agreement

Before your team spends considerable time identifying suitable candidates for an employer, it’s a good idea to make sure the employer is interested in hiring displaced talent.

Following a successful pitch, employer-facing organizations can send their contact a non-binding memorandum of understanding that outlines the key points covered throughout the pitch process. The MOU should make clear what the employer takes responsibility for, and what the managing organizations (employer-facing and/or talent-facing) take responsibility for. Putting this down in writing early can help avoid miscommunication further along in the process. 

The finer points of the agreement will need to be tailored to your organization’s processes. But it’s most basic, an agreement can cover the following. See resources for a general MOU template.

Employer commitments

• Provide a suitable role(s) that they would like to recruit for, including a detailed job description
• Consider candidates put forward by the managing organizations
• Share the expected steps in the recruitment process so the candidates can prepare accordingly
• Provide interview feedback for all candidates assessed,  to support their continuous improvement
• Support the visa application for the successful candidates, including any associated costs

The agreement should make clear that the employer is under no obligation to hire if a suitable candidate is not found. It may also include any agreements the employer makes to promote or champion displaced talent mobility in the event of a successful hire.

Managing organizations (employer-facing and/or talent-facing) commitments 

• Identify and propose suitable candidates based on the job description shared
• Facilitate interviews and communications with candidates of interest
• Assist in preparing the candidates for each round of recruitment
• Support candidates to make an informed decision about their employment and migration in the case of a job offer 
• Support the successful candidates with their visa applications
• Assist in the coordination of the relocation and settlement planning process 
• Provide ongoing updates on the timelines for recruitment and arrival

The agreement should specify that all decisions are ultimately the employer and candidate’s and that the managing organizations play a facilitation role.

Cost estimates

To avoid any confusion about cost coverage at a later date, an initial agreement can lay out which costs the employer will be expected to cover, and which will be covered by the job applicant through in-kind support, or other means. For more information on cost coverage, visit our article on supporting displaced talent to finance migration.

Confirm eligibility of job and employer for international recruitment

Once an agreement with an employer has been signed, they can send over the role for which they are seeking to recruit. Your organization should ask for a detailed job description as well as any contextual information that may be missing from the official posting. 

Not all employers are eligible to recruit talent from abroad. Some programs have requirements around the size of the business and financial health to determine whether a business can sponsor workers from talent. Before beginning the recruitment process, employer-facing organizations should evaluate the eligibility of the role and the employer for international recruitment. Legal service providers are well-equipped to make this assessment.

Fill out a Job Opportunity Intake form on the Talent Catalog

Once your organization is confident that the employer will most likely be able to recruit for their selected role, it is time to initiate the recruitment process. The first step is to fill out a Job Opportunity Intake form on the Talent Catalog. The Job Opportunity Intake form is designed to solicit all of the information that other members of your team or members of another talent-facing organization will need to identify candidates who are 1) suitable for the proposed job and 2) eligible for the proposed pathway. Return to the employer to clarify any needed information.

Once ready, Job Opportunity Intake Forms can be shared with talent-facing organizations for candidate search.