How to Find the Best Candidate Resumes When Hiring Globally

As technology continues to make our world a smaller place, businesses have many more recruiting opportunities than ever before - so much so that 48% of recruitment decision makers say they are super-optimistic about the future of hiring for their organisations. Remote working means that managers can cherry-pick talent from across the globe,  But as with so much else, there are also challenges, and many businesses fall at the first hurdle - resumes.



A resume is, of course, a vital tool that allows recruiters to check out a candidate’s credentials and, while this is all well and good when they’re all coming from the same country, the waters get a bit muddied when you have applicants from overseas. Different countries have different systems and terminologies which can often prove confusing for hiring staff, who may not adhere to applicant tracking systems (ATS). In this article, we’re looking at how recruiters can select resumes and build top-tier teams while taking into account new global parameters, cross-cultural competence and standards of compliance for remote working.

Cultural Fluency And Diversity

When hiring globally, there are some specific things to look out for - particularly within the tech and finance sectors which, together, make up over over 50% of remote employees. For a start, you want to keep an eye out for international resumes which speak to diverse audiences as well as their own local norms as this indicates an awareness of the world outside of their own territory. This is what we refer to as cultural fluency as it shows that the applicant is able to navigate a variety of workplace standards.



You will also, of course, need to ensure that the candidate’s skills and experience tick all the right boxes; even if these are worded slightly differently. As a recruiter, it’s important to recognise that other cultures work differently than your own - for example; candidates from some regions may include personal information such as age and marital status while others will be all business with concise summaries of their skills. Understanding these differences is essential in assessing resumes and finding a good fit.

Must-have elements in global resumes

While it’s good to be all vive la difference with your recruiting, there are some things that should be non-negotiable and we’ll be looking at some of these in this section:

• Layout - A winning resume should be clear and organised with, ideally, a reverse-chronological format that allows you to easily trace his or her experience and work history. This is particularly important with overseas candidates in clarifying the trajectory of their career.
• Expertise - The applicant's experience and skill in a particular area such as coding or campaign management should be highlighted for easy reference. An example of this might be a marketing candidate who highlights a 30% increase in leads with evidence - something that will set them head and shoulders above other hopefuls.
• Languages - It should go without saying (but we’re going to anyway) that multilingual candidates are extremely valuable so always look for this on a resume.
• Soft skills - Characteristics such as great time-keeping, adaptability and motivation can be just as important as those necessary skills and therefore should never be disregarded.

Why compliance matters in global hiring

Your favourite candidate may have more skills and experience than you can shake a stick at - but this is all academic if they don’t tick all the practical compliance boxes. In order to make this work, both the company and the employee need to be able to navigate cross-border laws including data privacy.



Companies often rely on third-party vendors for this which, although convenient, can lead to security challenges such as data leaks. One way of getting around this is to use Employer of Record services which are a dab hand at handling payroll, taxes and legal requirements across borders. If this doesn’t float your boat, you can go down the route of setting up local entities however - spoiler alert - this can take up a ton of time and resources as you traverse the learning curve of local laws and compliance; which you can entirely avoid when using EOR services.

Spotting red flags and bias risks

OK, in an ideal world a candidate’s resume would be a “what you see is what you get” deal but this isn’t always the case (hands up those who have never “embellished” their skills or experience on their resume). The problem here is that job-hunters are now hiring professional writers to polish their profiles (which is fine) and hide gaps in their experience (not quite so fine). Because of this, recruiters need to be prepared to fact-check resumes in order to root out any porkies.



Similarly, recruiters need to be adept at spotting resumes that have been churned out by AI. This is fairly straightforward for the most part as red flags will include numerous buzzwords, expertise without examples and words and phrases which seem to be nothing more than fillers to plump up the document.

Finally, it’s important to beat the bias that can sneak into hiring. A 2025 Upwork report revealed that a significant number of recruiters commit the sin (often inadvertently) of being biased by familiar triggers such as hometown, school or even companies. To help make sure that you’re not swayed by these things, blind hiring can help. Also known as blind resume reviews, this is all about stripping out all details apart from skills and experience in order to level the field.

Beyond the basics to make a great impression

As a recruiter, ploughing your way through a load of text-heavy resumes is rarely any fun and, in the modern age, candidates really should be able to do better. Look out for applications that show a bit of innovation such as those with video introductions and portfolios with interactive mock-ups. These show you that not only is the candidate keen, he or she also knows their way around technology; which is pretty important for remote working.



When hiring for tech roles, always focus on resumes that include links to social profiles or work portfolios as this allows for a quick and easy verification that they can do what they say they can; as well as adding depth to the document.

Searching For The Perfect Candidate

Is there such a creature? Absolutely! Not only that but finding them is easier than you might think. Focus on resumes which are thoughtfully crafted with clean, ATS-compatible layouts that highlight specific skills and tangible achievements. These are the bare bones of your perfect candidate.

Next, narrow down to those who demonstrate a strong ability to solve global problems and extras like brief video introductions and portfolio links. These things tend to show that the applicant is ready to hit the ground running and start to immediately add value to your team.



As we’ve shown in this article, the world is your oyster when building your team and, by looking beyond simple qualifications, you can make sure that your business goes from strength to strength through a talented and diverse workforce.