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Recruiting in Europe

a guide for employers

European Commission

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 A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.

It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu).

© European Communities, 2007

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2007

ISBN 978-92-79-07174-4

Printed in Belgium

PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission may be held responsible for

the use that may be made of the information contained in this publication.

© photos: istockphoto.com (cover, pp. 1, 7), European Commission (p. 2), Brand Support (pp. 3, 6, 9)

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 Increase innovation and

competitiveness of your business. 

Mobile workers bring along a solid

background of educational and

professional experience that can help your

business grow. Furthermore they can help

you to establish new business contacts intheir country of origin.

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Recruiting across

Europe can take your

business further

 You want your business to be prepared for

today’s challenges of globalisation and rapid

technical innovation. But can you find the

right personnel for jobs in your country? You

may also consider recruiting beyond the

border – in Europe.

 The European Union’s Principle of Free

Movement of Workers allows you to recruit

staff from all EU Member States as well as

from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (also

known as the EEA countries) and Switzerland.

Recruiting from abroad has, amongst others,

the following advantages:

 Find the right person for the right job.

Looking abroad offers you the attractivepossibility of finding the skilled staff you are

looking for.

Discover the motivation of mobile

workers. They are ready to start working

for you, often on short notice, are very

flexible and willing to adapt to a new

work environment.

This guide will

introduce you to thenecessary steps for

recruiting abroad.

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Once you have decided to recruit abroad, there

are various helpful sources for information,

advice and support:

 EURES, the European Jobs Network

covering all EU/EEA countries and

Switzerland, facilitates your job search and

puts some efficient recruitment tools at

your disposal that are free of charge:

• The EURES website, 

http://eures.europa.eu, allows you

to search for jobseekers in 31

European countries.

• Efficient human network. More than 700 EURES Advisers are

in daily contact with thousands of

 jobseekers and employers across

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Who can help you to recruit abroad?

Europe. Our advisers are specialised

in practical, legal and administrative

matters related to mobility at national

and cross-border levels.

• Trustworthy partners. Public

employment services provide you with

comprehensive and detailed information

on a jobseeker’s profile and related

matters of interest. They also offer a

wide range of comprehensive services

to meet the particular needs of each

employer. Access to them is only a few

web clicks away.

 Professional recruitment agencies can

offer a wide range of information about

hiring staff from abroad. They will guide you

through the registration procedure, provide

you with their database of jobseekers and

help you understand the legal requirements

connected to relocating staff.

Job search engines and related

websites are useful tools for yourindependent recruitment process. You can

check the CVs of available jobseekers and

post your job ad online.

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Denmark’s low unemployment rate of

only 3.3% has created an acute labour

 shortage in key sectors.

 Arriva Skandinavien , one of Europe’s largest transport service companies,

decided to look for drivers and mobile

 plant operators abroad.

In the autumn of 2007, Arriva’s Danish

 headquarters were looking for more

than 400 bus drivers and expected to

 need up to 1,600 during the following

two years.

The company contacted EURES

Denmark - just one week before the

employment service launched an

Info Bus Tour through Poland and

Germany.

On short notice, Arriva received

 more than 500 applications during

 and just after the start of the tour, and selected around 40 candidates

for interviews.

To overcome the language barrier,

 Arriva proposed a four-month

 language induction period for its

foreign employees.

While still attending intensive Danish

courses, the newly arrived workers

 had already begun their job as drivers

 – wearing badges saying “Sorry, I do

 not speak Danish”.

 

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Recruiting abroad  provides a checklist of

steps to consider before, during and after

hiring from abroad. You can also read

about the experience of employers who

have already employed mobile workers.

 Advertise a job explains how you can

post a job on the EURES portal.

Create a MY EURES account enables

you to receive CVs by email, and to

select and organise them automatically.

Statistics provides up-to-date

information on the number of CVs of

 jobseekers (per home country and per

sector) and of vacancies registered on

the EURES portal.

Living & Working contains practical, legal

and administrative information. The Labour

Market Information sub-section informsabout current trends in the European

labour market by country, region and

sector. Upcoming events for employers

in the country or region selected can be

found in the Events Calendar.

The EURES job portal

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Key sections:

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Contact a EURES Adviser  to guide you

by country or cross-border partnership.

Related links connects you with the

Public Employment Services, EURESmembers and partner offices in the

EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and

Liechtenstein.

 Take notes

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How to recruit with EURES’ help?

 There are several aspects you need to take into

account before recruiting staff from abroad.

 Your EURES Adviser will provide comprehensive

information on the following details.

Steps to take before the

recruitment process

Counselling and planning.  Your local

public employment service will discuss

your recruitment needs, prepare

a candidate profile and produce a

recruitment plan, which clearly outlines

the objectives, benefits, risks and costs ofrecruiting abroad.

Practical arrangements. It is important

to consider the practical steps for a new

foreign employee to settle and to find

accommodation, etc.

Linguistic, academic and cultural

 requirements. Consider the level

of language skills requested fromyour candidates to be sure you can

communicate with them. In the case of

 regulated professions, employers should

check if they need to register foreign

workers with the appropriate authority to

ensure their qualifications are recognised.

 You can consult www.enic-naric.net for

more details. Bear in mind that cultural

differences could explain why applicants

may be different to what you are used to.

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Steps to take during the

recruitment process

Vacancy notification. To advertise your

vacancy on the EURES portal you need

to place it with your local employmentservice. Refer to the link How to advertise

 a vacancy on the EURES portal.

 EURES CV search. EURES has a

database of 300,000 jobseekers looking

for jobs abroad. Register today for the CV

Online tool on the EURES portal. It is quick

and easy to use.

 EURES Events Calendar. Find details ofrecruitment events throughout Europe and

participate in EURES job fairs abroad.

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 Company presentation. Consider

preparing a presentation for candidates

to promote the company and outline

available relocation support. Case studies

can bring your job opportunities to life. It

helps to involve successfully integrated

migrant workers.

 Evaluation. Collecting feedback from

your recruitment partner and candidates

will help you assess the strengths and

weaknesses of the project and improve

future recruitment activity abroad. We

also recommend giving feedback to your

candidates and recruitment partners.

Steps to take after the

recruitment process

 Integration of workers. A welcome pack,

including information on the local area

such as transport links, directions to the

workplace, a map and details of nearby

facilities, is a useful addition to your formal

induction procedure.

Legal and administrative formalities. 

Workers who need to register with the

authorities may require time-out from their

 jobs. Make allowances for the time it will

take to apply for a social security number,

registration document or other required

bureaucratic formalities.

 Family and accomodation issues.

Do consider your employees’

circumstances and the time they may

need to look for housing, visit schools orsupport their family.

 Preparing resident workers. 

Involve your current staff as much as

possible in the recruitment process.

Explain to them what you are doing and

why. A social event will help your workers

get to know each other.

Want to know more? Go to the subsection

Employers on the EURES website, where

you can find a practical checklist for

recruiting from abroad.

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Where can you find EURES

across Europe?

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Go to http://eures.europa.eu

 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,

France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the

Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

 EEA countries: EU-27 + Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein

Switzerland

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Employer

”What we appreciate about EURES, compared with other

employment services, is the ‘human aspect’, the chance to

have direct contact with the local EURES Advisers.”

Frank Thomsen, factory director, Broby Staal ApS, Denmark 

Endorsements

Employee

“I would like to thank everyone working at the EURES service

in Sicily, who gave me a chance. It helped start my journey

across Europe, which is not over yet. I do believe that this kind of

experience gives you the opportunity to grow. The only advice I can

give to anyone who is considering moving abroad is...go for it!“

Luca Lazzara, commercial airline pilot, Italy 

EURES 

“Free counselling and placement abroad is what makes EURESstand out from other networks facilitating work mobility.”

Gabriela Drobota, EURES Adviser, Romania

Want to know more? Click http://eures.europa.eu

European Commission

Recruiting in Europe - a guide for employers

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2007 - 9 pp. - 14,8 x 21 cm

ISBN 978-92-79-07174-4

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