Expanding into the US can be a tangle of webs.

There are similar traits which are comparable to the Australian recruitment market and the US recruitment market. Such things as employee expectations. From an experienced Headhunter/ recruiter, here is my list of the key areas I would recommend you be aware of:

Employee expectations

Similar to Australia, a significant % of employees have expectations of working either from home or within a Hybrid work environment. Many businesses cannot offer this due to onsite needs; these industries include Construction, Manufacturing and Zoological environments.  Hi Bob’s blog “Hiring? Here are the 2025’s big recruiting Challenges” (link at the bottom of this blog.) states that 80% of the workers in the US expect to work hybrid or remotely.

How do you compare to businesses offering this? Many senior executives in the US are offering reskilling or proactive training courses with a plan for the long-term development of their employees to engage in the long-term rather than short-term needs.

Litigious in nature.  

Unlike Australia, the US employee market seems keen to initiate litigation. As an employer, you must understand the local legal environment. There are many complexities, such as the concept of “At-will” employment, wrongful termination claims, and discrimination lawsuits.

This can be difficult given the speed needed to employ within the US. Similar to Australia, the employee will interview with many companies simultaneously, and the anticipated recruitment timescale can be as low as 10 days. If your structured recruitment process is longer than that, you risk losing the best candidates.

With our successful candidate engagement/ information packs, we ensure the candidate is engaged and has a knowledge of the employer and their business focus. This allows the candidates to find companies that have similar life views and sustainability.

Medicare v’s the US Healthcare system

When seeking a benefit for your employees, understand the private healthcare options. These could be expensive, especially compared to Australia’s Medicare and private insurance options. However, the majority of employees in the US expect healthcare to be a benefit while working for a company.

Both countries have specific regulations; one difference could be state by state.

Seek professional advice for the different regulatory conditions for local, state, and federal government requirements. This could include Tax, Payroll, Intellectual Property, Immigration, Privacy, etc.

In summary,

Using an experienced international search company could benefit your structured recruitment process by navigating the local, national and international search needs:

• Our job to market is speedy, using our extensive marketing campaigns and business mapping services. This ensures that the time needed to find the best candidates is shorter. We assess their qualifications and previous experience during a two-stage interview process.

• With a shorter than Australian candidate expectation of the recruitment process, we are fully equipped to manage the process on behalf of our clients. This would include organising and driving Client / Candidate interviews, Psychometric testing, reference checking and offer management (including verbal and written contracts)

• Similar to understanding an Australian cultural fit for a potential employee, we have the international experience to assess whether candidates align with the US market and your company’s culture.

• With our retained Executive Search campaigns, our marketing team creates an eye-catching information pack (an example is included) that includes the company’s branding, values, and vision. This pack would also include the full position description and information about the team, the company’s successes, and long-term plans. Let us create the narrative and sell your company branding.

• We provide experienced negotiation skills developed over 15 years of recruitment and Headhunting experience. Let us be the middle person to engage and build the hype before we offer the financial package.

https://www.hibob.com/blog/hiring-challenges/