Engineering recruitment in the United Kingdom is by no means an easy task, as the best candidates will be sought-after by a multitude of companies. As a result, you may find yourself losing your prospective employees to attractive counteroffers. It’s for this reason that you must ensure that your job offer can’t be beaten and that you know how to recruit great engineers. After all, the field of engineering places great importance on efficiency, meaning engineering candidates won’t be keen to waste time or wait around. These are just two of the best ways to recruit engineers successfully; read on to discover more top tips about engineering recruitment in the UK.
Sell the opportunity
The first step of engineer recruiting is to explain how the role has the potential to engage and challenge the right person. The position of engineers requires them to be consistently learning. They are always seeking opportunities that challenge them. Similarly, they’re always looking to advance their skills, so it will also be worth touching on career progression if you want to hold onto the candidate long-term. When recruiting, you should always bear retention in mind as this saves the company time and money whilst simultaneously building an experienced team.
Share your company’s story and culture
For the successful recruitment of engineers, you must engage prospective candidates in your company culture to make your role even more appealing. A unique story that a candidate can identify with may be just what sets you apart from other companies that the candidate is considering. In the engineering sector, one’s job is much more than “just a job” – it’s their career and their life. Therefore, the best engineers will always be searching for a company culture and story that reflects their values.
Optimise every stage of the process
Treat candidates well with communications that reflect how much you value your people. If you invite someone for an interview, make sure your process is comprehensive and structured to test for a range of skills. In addition to this, try and incorporate an assessment of personality as well as technical skills. It’s important for any successful engineer to be passionate about their field and keen to learn and develop, so try to get a sense of them as a person during the interview.
Have a long-term strategy
Don’t only think about hiring when you have a vacancy. The availability of premium talent and your recruitment needs may not always align; however, developing a network of desirable candidates allows for outbound sourcing, which is often more efficient as a strategy. Stay connected with candidates you don’t hire the first-time round if you rate their skills. A vacancy may arise in the future that suits them perfectly, in which case, you will already have an established relationship.
Ask the right questions
With plenty of interview advice out there, many candidates will spend time preparing and memorising perfect answers to common questions. To make sure you really test the skills, passion, and commitment of your prospective engineer, formulate a set of unique questions that will make them think on their feet. Despite this, you should still ensure the interview process is structured and transparent so that it is clear what skills you are looking for.
Partner with a recruiter
Sourcing quality candidates can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. Working with a recruiter is a great way to minimise the time you must spend searching whilst still hiring first-rate employees. Recruiters usually have established networks and a pool of eager, qualified applicants ready to go. This means any vacancies you have can be filled quickly and effectively, streamlining the whole process.
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