Hiring employees abroad is one of the biggest operational challenges in international expansion, and most companies get it wrong from day one.

In this episode, executive search expert Andriy Strekhaliuk shares a full international hiring strategy.

Andriy is the founder of Astra Plus and brings 14+ years of experience in global recruitment, including senior roles at DuPont EMEA and Mondelez International across 11 countries.

What you'll learn:

The #1 mistake companies make when hiring in a foreign country

How to build your employer value proposition when no one knows your brand

EOR (Employer of Record) vs. freelancer vs. legal entity, which model to use

The €45,000 legal trap when misclassifying foreign employees

How to benchmark international salaries (Mercer, Hays, Glassdoor, local boards)

How to localise, not just translate, your job descriptions

90-day onboarding goals and exit strategy planning

Chapters:

00:00 Intro. The cost of a wrong international hire

00:57 Andriy's background: Executive search, DuPont, Mondelez, & Astra+

04:13 Mistake #1: Copying your domestic hiring playbook abroad

05:57 Sales psychology: Treating recruitment as a partnership value proposition

07:31 The Brand-Zero Strategy: Attracting talent when no one knows your company

12:44 Step-by-step roadmap: Internal capacity vs. hiring agencies

18:13 Legal entities vs. Employer of Record (EOR) vs. Freelancers

19:49 The compliance reality: The €45,000 independent contractor risk

20:47 Beyond the offer: Onboarding, cultural adaptation, & 30-60-90 day metrics

24:24 Digital footprint: Localizing JDs and maintaining marketing consistency

26:19 Salary benchmarking: Navigating generic data vs. real-time verification (Mercer, Hays, Glassdoor)

About the guest: Andriy Strekhaliuk is founder and CEO of Astra+ (astraplus.io), an executive search agency specialising in senior and international roles. He is a visiting lecturer at UCU Business School and brings 14+ years of experience in global talent acquisition across technology, FMCG, and industrial sectors.

LinkedIn profiles:

Host, Dmytro Shvets: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dshvets/

Guest, Andriy Strekhaliuk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andriystrekhaliuk/

About Start Global Insights: The podcast for companies looking to expand internationally. Every episode features local experts and global sales leaders sharing actionable insights on market entry, B2B global sales and international business culture.

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