Recruiting Intelligence

To all the friends we saw at NAFSA, I hope your week was valuable on many levels. I found this year’s conference more inspiring than the past few. Perhaps because we all have a renewed sense of purpose to prove the value of our work and our worldview.

I shared this sentiment with a colleague the other day and she sent back, “Agreed!”

There is much to consider as we move forward with our international student recruiting strategies. One thing is clear: waiting for the dust to settle is NOT AN OPTION!

When we shared our 2017 survey results with a nice-sized crowd at NAFSA this year, there were a few uncomfortable moments. The data regarding student sentiment about the US and the UK is not good news. What is important here is to take steps to mitigate the negative sentiment that is out there.

No question, international students are annoyed with US and UK foreign policy statements (to say the least). We can only imagine what it must be like to be a young person with a global mindset watching the leaders and citizens of important countries say, in effect, “We don’t want you here!”

Thanks for dashing idealism and entrepreneurialism around the world!

By making visas harder to obtain. By making customs more annoying to navigate. By reducing access to jobs and training opportunities. When posting salacious international headlines on a regular basis. The fires of discord are being stoked.

So what do we do in times like these? Read on for a subset of tips we shared at the conference. Our slides will be available next week.

This is it – NAFSA is only one week away! As we prepare to travel and present our latest research, we find ourselves reflecting on how you do all that you do. The limited resources and hectic schedules as you meet with students from around the world. As always, we’re looking for ways to help. 

This week we are considering – how can you do more, with less?  We all wish we had more – more time in a day, a bigger budget, a larger team – the list goes on. As you know too well, in international student recruiting, the ideal strategy is often out of reach due the many distractions of running a complex office, limited funding and supersized expectations from above. Not to mention the fact that the rest of the campus seems to never understand your role.

We hear this a lot from international recruitment professionals. In fact, it was one of most cited “pain points” from a recent survey we conducted with our blog readers. So, if you find yourself facing these challenges, you’re not alone.

Any solace there? Maybe a bit. Better yet, let’s look at how to proactively make your situation better and your results stronger.

Read on for recruiting tips and a list of how/where to get the best data available to guide your global recruiting program…

Each week we strive to bring unique insights in the field of international student recruitment directly to your inbox. This week we are excited to announce the release of a key industry publication.

This month, NAFSA has released the 3rd Edition of the best-selling book, NAFSA’s Guide to International Student Recruitment. This cutting-edge work brings together insights from key leaders in the field and covers topics ranging from overcoming human resource constraints, to effective use of strategic marketing and recruitment travel, to measuring return on investment in international recruitment.

Editor Jessica B. Sandberg, Director of International Admissions at Temple University, whose editorial skill and leadership brought together the insights of major industry experts into one cohesive publication, contributes her own essential insights in Chapter 12: Recruiting International Students at U.S. High Schools.

Read on to purchase your copy from NAFSA.

Did you catch our presentation at NAFSA 2016? Our loyal readers, and those who were unable to attend (we missed you!), can now access our slides below!