It’s no secret that the engineering world, along with many other industries, is experiencing rapid changes on a nationwide and global scale. Interdisciplinary work and experience are slowly becoming a need rather than a nice-to-have. With international companies and remote work, organizations can now compete for talent on a global level. Modern-day challenges ranging from environmental and sustainability concerns to digital transformation initiatives and rapidly changing consumer expectations, demand for programmers, data analysts, and cybersecurity engineers is increasing. No matter where you look, companies are in search of the right, skilled engineers for the job. Finding and attracting top-tier talent is no easy feat – so how can you hire engineers with the most efficiency? Below are some best practices to help improve your hiring practices specifically for the engineering field, plus how a talent partner and recruitment agency like Brightwing can help. 

Inside the Steps to Hire Engineers

To recruit engineers, as with any skill hire, you’ll need to understand the depth of the position, the technology or space you’re in, and the skills necessary in order to be successful. Targeted recruitment strategies are required in order to help you expand your brand’s reach. Specialized recruitment agencies like Brigthwing have dedicated teams with deep networks and insights in their respective industries. Our engineering recruiters leverage their 50 plus years of combined experience to attract, find, and hire engineers for the right job. Recruitment works best when you treat your recruiting agency as a partner, collaborating on job qualifications, responsibilities, and expectations – aka defining your engineering hiring process. 

What Do You Need?

Before posting any ads or fielding any candidates, you must first identify what you need. Define the job role and skill requirements. 

  • What type of engineer is needed for the job/project? Software engineer, electrical engineer, etc? 
  • Does the engineer for hire need to hold specific certifications or have certain skills?, Knowledge of programming languages, hands-on professional experience, or is this an entry-level position? 
  • What educational background is necessary for this role? 
  • What soft skills do you expect this engineering hire to have? Identify which soft skills will guide how you hire engineers. You may not post all of them in your job description, but knowing whether you want your engineer to have excellent communication skills or leadership capabilities will heavily shape your final choice of candidate.

Crafting the Perfect Search: From Engineer Job Description to Recruiting Technology

To hire engineers with the talent and skills you’re looking for, you need an engineer job description that is clear and informative. 

  • Emphasize the unique aspects of the job and what your candidates can expect to do on a strategic high-level and on a daily basis. 
  • Be transparent about salary estimates and benefits packages. 
  • Incorporate inclusive language that resonates with diverse groups. 
  • Capture growth and advancement opportunities. 

Above are some practical approaches to crafting effective engineering job descriptions. A talent partner and recruitment agency like Brightwing can help you capture all these details and more to find and hire the right fit for the job. 

Interviews and Onboarding

The final step in hiring engineers is interviewing and onboarding. In a traditional hiring process, you might structure your interview to evaluate both technical aptitude and synergy with the workplace culture and ideals. However, if you’re trying to hire with optimal efficiency, using a recruitment service like Brightwing helps streamline your HR hiring process. Engineering recruiters take the time to get to know individual client teams, their needs, and their overall company. This “getting to know you” phase paired with intuition that never fails us allows our engineering recruiters to identify the best-fitting engineers. No more sifting through a stack of hardly vetted resumes and second-guessing your decisions – qualified, talented, and available candidates are your options. 

Priming the Company for Successful Searches

While having established HR hiring processes and the best recruiting resources in place – recruiting and maintaining top talent all comes down to one thing: your employer brand.  Your company’s values, work culture, and employer brand reputation will ultimately determine your success in hiring – and retaining – engineers. If you haven’t already, get a pulse about how past candidates have reviewed your organization. If you’ve received difficult feedback, it may be time to introspect as an organization and possibly promote your employer brand through social channels. 

The Employer Brand

At the heart of your employer brand are the values you drive. Does your recruitment marketing material align with your brand values and what you look for in candidates? Do you have employee stories sharing their experiences working at your organization? Industry-wide awards, recognitions, and certifications of excellence add additional rapport to your employer brand. Additionally, taking on social initiatives that are relevant to your organization and candidates adds an emotional connection and loyalty to your brand.. Lastly, keep your brand active and top of mind for active candidates. Make yourself present at industry events, job fairs, universities, etc. 

Setting Expectations 

Oftentimes during the engineering recruitment process, details about the nature of the job, salary, and benefits get missed or aren’t thoroughly discussed. When this miscommunication happens, a candidate may get to the offer by the time they decide this isn’t a right fit for them – and that’s not ideal.

Engineers Trust Brightwing

Brightwing’s engineering recruiters know the industry inside and out. Our locations in Metro Detroit and Dallas-Fort Worth are comfortable navigating the nuances of industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, process engineering, and more thanks to years of experience working with high-profile clients to place candidates with specified technical expertise. With thousands of job placements under our belts, the Brightwing team understands that knowledge of the latest developments in the field is an enormous advantage that not every recruiting partnership can offer. That’s why our interview-to-hire rate exceeds the national average by nearly 40%. If you are looking for cutting-edge engineering candidates, contact Brightwing today.