The Best Engineers
The right engineer can make or break a project. It’s crucial that you recruit the best person for the job every time. As a result, you’ll have someone who can carry your vision forward and help you achieve all of your goals.
How do you find the top engineers? You have many considerations and steps to follow. In this article, you’ll see some of the best tips to help you find the most talented engineers for your needs. Additionally, if you’re an upcoming engineer that’s looking for work, then pay attention to all the things listed below. If you understand how companies hire engineers, then you can alter your approach to appease them.
On that note, here’s how you find the best talent:
Build A Strong Brand Image
The hiring process starts from within. Engineering is an interesting industry in that there are so many businesses looking for different engineers. As such, qualified and talented engineers are in demand. This means that you may struggle to get people to apply for jobs or to work for your company as they may have better job offers from elsewhere.
So, you have to build a strong company image. Create a brand that engineers can identify with. Make it clear what your business wants to do and what your key aims are for the future. There’s a higher chance of someone wanting to work for you if they know your company is moving in the right direction. Give them a sense of direction, let them know what they’re in for. Talented engineers want to be part of something special; they want to have a sense of purpose. If your brand image is pretty poor and doesn’t impress them, then you’ll fail to find any applicants for your positions.
Attend Networking Events & Trade Shows
You need to try and connect with as many engineers as possible. Therefore, trade shows and networking events are the perfect situations for this. They give you an excuse to get amongst engineers and talk to them. Networking events are particularly effective at gaining some new contacts within the industry. From here, you can follow-up with emails or calls to let them know about an exciting new position at your company for an upcoming project.
Trade shows work in a similar way, but they’re more about getting your business out there. Engineering trade shows give you the opportunity to create a little booth and advertise your business. Use big and bold banners at your event to draw in the crowds and direct people to your booth. In essence, you drive crowds of budding engineers straight to your business. Here, you can talk about your brand, disclose information on projects, and provide people with resources to learn more. Again, you can generate lots of leads by getting a lot of contact information from this event. Now, you’re in a position to speak to lots of talented engineers about your latest job.
Post Online Job Adverts
While a lot of hiring gets done by connecting with individuals, it’s still worth putting job adverts out there. This gives you a chance to find other engineers that you may not have been able to reach out to. After all, not everyone can attend events! Online job adverts are still one of the most effective ways of finding talented individuals to be part of your team. There are lots of websites you can hire engineers from, so try and put your ads up on as many as possible. From here, you just wait for engineers to connect to you.
Make sure you write a compelling advert for your job. Be clear about the engineer’s roles and your company mission. Go back to the point about your brand image; make them feel like your business is worth working for. Also, include all the essential skills, qualifications, and experience that you’re after. Make candidates list all of these things as part of their application, so you can easily vet the ones that don’t tick all the right boxes.
Ask For A Portfolio
It goes without saying that you need a portfolio of work before hiring any engineer. In this line of work, you depend on experience. You need to know that the person you’re interested in has the skills and experience to carry out your project. The best way to see this is by looking at their previous jobs. All engineers should create their own portfolio – this is a pro tip for any young engineers reading this article! It shows businesses what you’re capable of, and it can be the difference between getting hired or not.
Ideally, you should look for examples of projects that are similar to yours. While any experience is better than none, this is a great way to separate the best from the rest. It’s less risky to hire an engineer when you know they have experience dealing with projects that are a lot like yours.
Look For Referrals
This last tip is brilliant at both sourcing potential engineers and vetting them. Referrals will tell you how good a candidate is at their job. It lets you know what previous clients think about them. As such, you get a feel for how they work and whether or not they’ll bring something positive to your business. Ask fellow businesses for referrals when you’re looking for a new engineer. Instantly, this can help you build a shortlist. If you find any from other sources, then ask them for referrals. They will put you in touch with their previous clients, so you can contact them and ask questions about the engineer.
Ultimately, this gives you peace of mind that you’re hiring someone you can trust. Never close a deal and shake someone’s hand unless you have clear referrals from elsewhere.
There you have it, this is how you find the best engineers for your projects. Go through each of these points and make sure you cover all of them before hiring someone. For engineers, look at these points and use them to improve your chances of getting jobs.
