The Recruitment, Selection and Preparation of Expatriates

Abstract

For organisations and for individuals, effective recruitment, selection and preparation of new employees or employees in new circumstances are always important. This issue is exacerbated in the case of international assignments, where issues of cross-national adjustment complicate the picture. The objective of this chapter is to examine and summarise the extant research on expatriate recruitment, selection and preparation. The chapter is structured as follow. First, we discuss expatriate recruitment sources, methods, and the expatriates' motivations to work abroad. Second, we examine expatriate selection criteria, methods, and how expatriates are selected in practice. Third, we present the variety of expatriate preparation methods, discuss expatriate training effectiveness and expatriate preparation in practice. We conclude by considering future avenues of research. Overall, there is good material for researchers to build on and a growing understanding of the key issues. Nevertheless, there remains here a rich field for exciting research in the future.