One of the requests we often hear when we’re helping tech companies with recruitment is “We want to hire a rock star candidate from the US,” and it is interesting that there is still a perception in Europe that America is the real hot bed of technology talent.

Back in 2004, we helped find a new CMO for Skype and the founders straight away picked out the US as the place their ideal candidate would be. At that time this was a little unusual as European tech start-ups tended to focus on the European talent pool but Skype had global ambitions so wanted to hire the very best talent in the world.

As an executive search team, it was a surprisingly tricky opportunity to sell and responses from US candidates ranged from “What’s Skype?” to “Why would I leave Silicon Valley?” so quickly became clear that most people simply didn’t believe that a major tech company could emerge from Europe.

Times have changed however, and ten years on the number of requests by European clients to recruit US candidates have increased exponentially, reflecting the growing ambitions of European companies.

"Wherever you are in the world, the best candidates will always want to work for the best companies"

First of all, we always urge European companies to consider whether a US candidate is necessarily right for them, especially given the additional complexity and associated costs to bring someone in from overseas. Generally, the best reason to look abroad is if the supply of suitable talent in your local market is limited, but relocating talent from the US to Europe inevitably makes the recruitment process longer and more complex.

How to go about attracting the best US tech talent:

Ok, so you have established that the US really is the best place to find that talented individual who will help you to fulfill your strategic goals, but how do you go about attracting the right person? This is a challenge we have been through for clients like Tesco, Criteo, Wonga, Soundcloud and King, so we have picked up a few tips to help you to successfully do the same:

Sell your business’ ambition

Wherever you are in the world, the best candidates will always want to work for the best companies. Arguably, most of the best companies are still located in the US, which makes many US candidates blinkered to even considering opportunities outside of their home market.

This is beginning to change as more and more European companies establish global reputations and companies like King.com, Criteo, Spotify, TransferWise, Klarna and Zalando are leading the way, so ride on the huge waves that European companies are making and persuade candidates that your business can grow to similarly exciting levels.

Prioritise candidates already linked to Europe

Candidates with European heritage, partners or who have studied in Europe are much more likely to relocate. Many of these people will have previously worked in Europe and would often jump at another exciting ex-pat adventure, so it can really pay to research the backgrounds of the US-based talent you identify to gauge how likely that are to want to spend time working in a foreign country.

Recruit the whole family

Relocating a candidate who is ‘single’ is much easier, as very few attached candidates will make a decision about a career move without consulting their partner, or considering the wellbeing of their children first. If you want to bring in someone from overseas you will also need to persuade the candidate’s ‘family’, so you may want to invite the partner of the candidate to visit the country and offices and meet your team.

Don’t underestimate the value of being familiar on a more personal level and try to offer them some friendly reassurance about things like their own career, schooling, cost of living, tax, housing and the kind of vibrant, exciting lifestyle the area can offer.

Time kills deals

As with so many things in business it is important to ensure everything is set up to move fast once you have identified your ideal candidate. If they really are as talented as you believe, it is likely that you’re not the only one pursuing them so prepare employment contracts, stock plans, visa applications and whatever support is required so you can act quickly.

Talking to top technology companies in the US and across Europe every day, it has been interesting to observe how the global perceptions of European tech businesses have changed over the last 15 years.

There has been a lot to learn about successfully securing US-based candidates, but as European technology companies continue to make bigger and bigger waves, there is no doubt that the movement of talent between US and Europe will become even more of a two-way street.