This is a guest post courtesy of Lewis Love (<3 that name) that I hope you find useful.
As any small business owner knows, to leverage your efforts can produce great rewards… but it can often be tough to do on a tight budget.
Hiring international students (and actually college students in general) can be a great way to help you gain that leverage but still respect yourself and your budget in the morning.
Plus there are added perks when you go the international route that Lewis has dished on below. Enjoy and please leave any feedback in the comments section under this post.
In this article we look at some of the ways small businesses and entrepreneurs can benefit from hiring international students, leveraging the power of using business students for part-time work.
By offering students who are studying business abroad a part-time job on a fixed contract you can limit your liabilities, whilst maximising your potential.
This type of position can act as an extended interview, like an internship, and can be extremely beneficial for both parties for many reasons.
Enhance the Quality of Your Staff
Students do more than just party and sleep, sometimes they attend lectures!
International students are often very driven and self-motivated too, the process which they have to go through to achieve a place at a foreign university is rigorous, which often helps to weed out the weaker candidates.
International students are sometimes studying at postgraduate level, or converting their local degree into one that is recognised internationally.
They possess a strong knowledge of their subject area but lack the time and experience required to secure a top-paying full-time position. By employing international students, you are choosing from a pre-selected group of extremely talented individuals.
Expand Your Cultural Identity
International students bring with them more than just a current understanding of their subject choice, they bring a wealth of knowledge about their culture. This could be vital for your business, especially if you are exploring international prospects.
The Internet and globalization has broken down borders between markets and now, especially web-based businesses, are more common than ever. Every day though, sales are being lost when international buyers are offended, concerned or even scared of doing business with certain companies, unaware of other countries’ culture and customs.
Hiring an international student gives you and your business the chance to learn about the country, politics and culture of where they come from, and you may be able to pick up on their language differences and business practices too.
Certain cultures have different negotiating practices and ways of entertaining prospective clients, all of which your international student may be able to teach you about.
Improve Your Contact for the Future
The students of today are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, so by building your contacts now, you’re preparing your business for the future. Your contact at IBM or Facebook won’t be there forever.
In fact, IBM and Facebook might not be around either. The companies and individuals that replace them can probably be found in the campuses of universities and colleges all over the world right now, so by hiring an international student, you’re getting more than just a part-time employee, you’re obtaining a contact ‘on the inside’.
Whatever your business does, having student contacts now will set you in good stead for the future.
Cost Effective
Hiring an international student on a part-time basis is also cost effective. You can generally expect to pay a lot less for the work than you would if you were to hire a freelancer.
Some international students will even accept unpaid positions to enhance their resume. Creating a ‘project’ for an international student to take charge of is a great way of safeguarding your current business model, whilst testing the waters in a different area.
You could, for instance, allow them to create and manage your social media presence if you don’t already have one or charge them with creating a blog which is an excellent way to enhance your online profile.
Commercial Advantage
All of this adds up to give you and your business a real commercial advantage. Great staff at a great price should never be turned down, as it’s the people who make your business.
When the staff are also helping you ready yourself for whatever the future holds, you really shouldn’t say no.
International students can offer so much to a small business that big businesses can’t take advantage of, so celebrate, pick up the phone and call your local university.
Their careers department will be able to help you, perhaps even put an advert in the library for you, and before you know it, your business could be riding the wave, all thanks to one quick phone call.
That wraps it up BGB’ers! Hope you found the read useful and if you did please pass this post along to your pals. They will thank you and I will too! 😉