One in four businesses make a senior leader their first international hire, new data from Teamed shows

One in four businesses (25%) making their first international hire in 2025-26 recruited a senior leader, up from just 11% in 2022, according to new data from the Employer of Record experts at Teamed.

The findings also reveal a shift in the roles businesses recruit internationally: sales and business development accounted for 22% of Europe-based international hires in 2026, up from 5% in 2022, while software and engineering fell from 36% to 19%.

The data suggests international hiring is becoming about more than just filling technical skills gaps, with businesses increasingly using overseas recruitment to build commercial capabilities, and bring in senior expertise from the outset.

Key findings:

• Businesses start with senior talent: One in four businesses making their first international hire in 2025-26 started with a head, director, VP or C-suite role, up from 11% in 2022.
• Sales overtakes engineering: Sales and business development roles rose from 5% of Europe-based international hires in 2022 to 22% in 2026, while software and engineering fell from 36% to 19%.
• Spain becomes the leading talent source: Spain accounted for 12.8% of international hires in 2026, ahead of South Africa at 7.9%.

Businesses now recruit across almost twice as many countries as they did four years ago

The data from Teamed reveals that businesses are recruiting across almost twice as many countries as they did in 2022. This suggests international hiring is becoming a broader part of workforce planning, rather than being concentrated in a smaller number of established talent markets.

The findings also show that international hiring can become an established part of a business's recruitment strategy. Some 71% of international hires in 2026 came from businesses that had hired internationally before, up from 31% in 2024.

Businesses are making their first international hire a senior one

Businesses are also taking a different approach to building international teams, with senior leadership increasingly featuring in their first overseas appointment. One in four businesses (25%) making their first international hire in 2025-26 recruited a head, director, VP, or C-suite professional, compared with just 11% in 2022.

The trend was particularly evident among smaller businesses, where 23% made a senior leader their first international hire, compared with 13% of large businesses. This highlights that international recruitment is not always being used to fill individual specialist vacancies or build teams incrementally.

Tom Price-Daniel, Co-founder at Teamed, says: "What I find particularly interesting is that businesses aren't necessarily waiting until they've established themselves in a new market to bring in senior leadership. They're bringing that expertise in from the start. For smaller businesses especially, this could be a way to gain the experience and direction they need to grow internationally without having to build an entire team first.

"But there's a less comfortable side to this, too. Hiring internationally can look like a straightforward way to access talent, but it doesn't automatically make a business better at operating across borders. You still need the right structure behind the hire. The interesting question is whether companies are getting better at building international businesses, or simply getting quicker at hiring people in other countries. Those aren't necessarily the same thing."

Sales overtakes software engineering as hiring priorities shift

Sales and business development roles have overtaken software engineering as the most common type of international hire in 2026. Sales roles accounted for 22% of Europe-based international hires in 2026, up from just 5% in 2022, whilst software and engineering roles fell from 36% to 19%.

Businesses making their first few international hires have played an important role in this shift. Nevertheless, engineering remained a significant part of international recruitment over the wider period, accounting for 26% of Europe-based hires in 2024-25. The latest figures therefore point to sales gaining ground and overtaking engineering, rather than a wholesale decline in demand for technical talent.

He adds: "Four years ago, if a business hired abroad, it was usually hiring an engineer. Now it's more likely to be someone who sells. Our data can't tell you why, but frankly I'd be amazed if AI wasn't a big part of it. A small team with decent AI tools can now build what used to take a whole floor of developers. What AI can't do is sit across the table from a buyer in Madrid and win their trust. Building the product got cheaper, selling it in a new country didn't, and that's where the hiring's gone. The end of the tech hiring boom plays a part too, mind."

UK-based employers account for a smaller share of international hires

The data also points to a change in the countries employers are hiring from internationally. UK-based employers accounted for 79% of international hires in 2022, but this share fell to 46% in 2025-26.

This shift suggests that international hiring is becoming less concentrated among UK-based employers, with businesses elsewhere in Europe increasingly represented in the data. It points to a broader change in how companies are approaching international recruitment, as hiring across borders becomes part of workforce planning for a wider range of businesses.

On the changing geographical spread of hiring, Price-Daniel says: "What stands out to me here is how much less concentrated international hiring appears to be. If businesses are recruiting from a wider range of countries, it shows that they're looking beyond the markets they've traditionally relied on. That could open up more opportunities to find the right skills and experience, but it also means businesses need to think more carefully about how they manage people across different countries. Hiring internationally becomes a very different proposition when it's no longer just one hire in one other market."

Spain emerges as a key source of international talent

Spain has become an important destination for businesses making international hires, accounting for 12.8% of international hires in 2026, ahead of South Africa at 7.9%. The country also featured prominently as a starting point for international expansion. Some 15% of businesses made their first international hire in Spain, putting it among the leading destinations for an initial overseas appointment. Germany also accounted for 15%, followed by South Africa at 12%.

The findings highlight the importance of European markets in businesses' early international hiring strategies, particularly among smaller organisations. While employers are increasingly recruiting across a wider range of countries, Europe continues to play a central role in how businesses begin building international teams.

Reflecting on Spain's position, Price-Daniel says: "I think Spain's position is interesting because it shows that international hiring doesn't necessarily mean looking as far afield as possible. Businesses can find valuable talent in markets that are relatively close to home, both geographically and in terms of how they operate. For companies making their first international hire, that can be an appealing place to start. But what's really interesting is that there isn't one obvious route into international hiring; businesses seem to be finding different markets that work for their needs."

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Notes to editors:

• The analysis is based on Teamed's internal employment contract data from 2022 to 2026, with year-on-year comparisons for 2026, covering January to September.
• All figures come from Teamed's internal employment contracts data, extracted 20/10/2026 and anonymised before analysis.