As the new year approaches, recruiting trends are being released. For 2019, engineering hiring managers and recruiters might see a lot of changes to how companies are hiring new engineers. Austin Nichols is looking toward the future, too. Here is what we are seeing for engineering hiring trends in 2019.
1. Internships Will Be More Important Than Ever
While internships have always been a great way for young engineers to earn valuable experience, they will be even more important for young people in 2019. Companies are continuing to look at internships as work experience that will help green engineers get their start in the industry. Candidates fresh out of college with internship experience will be highly desirable, because they are still entry-level candidates, but they do have some work experience that other candidates may not possess.
Young professionals also value internships for the same reason. They get to experience what it is like to work as an engineer to gain an edge over their competition in the job market.
Since internships are becoming more desirable for both college students and employers, we may start to see more internships popping up for young engineers to gain this valuable experience.
2. More Entry-Level Engineers Will Get Jobs
It can be hard for companies to find experienced engineers in today’s job market, and the expectation is that will it only get harder and harder. Because of this, many companies are going to be hiring less experienced engineers who can be trained to perform the necessary tasks for the job instead of hiring engineers with a lot of experience.
3. Passing on Candidates with Inflated Salary Requirements
Gone are the days of spending whatever it takes to get the most qualified candidates. We expect to see companies pass on engineering candidates that are simply asking for too much money. It seems that most companies will pass on a candidate that is asking for too much money based on skills and experience and consider a candidate that can be trained to fill the open position at a lower salary.
The focus for many companies moving forward will be to hire promotable engineers that they can invest in for the long-term to grow within the company.
4. Some Industries Will Face a Talent Shortage
Unfortunately, distribution of candidates won’t be equal across all industries. This means that some industries will have a hard time finding candidates that have experience within said industry. At the moment, many engineering sectors are facing a significant shortage of experienced workers, and some sectors have a hard time finding less experienced engineers in their sectors as well. Companies in these sectors may have to hire talent outside of their industry. Some of the industries experiencing worker shortages are mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and controls engineers.
Companies will likely have to resort to paying more for a candidate with the desired industry experience or offer better benefits than other similar companies. The other option will be to hire an engineer with experience outside of their industry and start training.
5. Recruiting Services Will Be in High Demand
Instead of investing a lot of time and resources into hiring new employees, many companies are going to start looking into recruiting services. It is much easier, especially for small companies, to find an engineer with the help of a recruiting service, because recruiting firms have access to talent pools that may otherwise not be available to companies looking to hire new talent.
There are numerous ways that recruiting can benefit companies looking for new employees. First, recruiting companies can do the initial vetting of potential candidates. In some cases, recruiters are also responsible for handling pre-interviews and phone interviews. During this stage, candidates are asked simple questions that show the recruiters whether they are ideal candidates or not.
Engineering firms benefit from working with recruiting services that specialize in engineering and manufacturing hiring. These recruiters have knowledge of the kinds of things that engineering firms are looking for in potential employees.
Other methods of recruiting might also be implemented. Some companies will start to ask current employees for referrals, while others will look to social media to find new talent. Channels like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can also help companies find potential employees.
If you are looking for help in your search for engineers, Austin Nichols Technical Search can help you find and recruit the best engineering candidates. To get started, contact us today at 816-471-5575.
