Hiring mechanical engineers is no easy feat for most companies. Between the resources that hiring a new engineer takes and the limited number of qualified mechanical engineers, it can take weeks, even months, to find the perfect mechanical engineer for your company. Austin Nichols Technical Search has some advice on how to hire a mechanical engineer.
Increase Benefits
There is a talent shortage facing many engineering sectors. Unemployment rates are exceptionally low in the mechanical engineering field, which means that there is a high demand for talented employees. Unfortunately, this means that it can be a real challenge to land a great mechanical engineer. One of the easiest ways to combat this mechanical engineering shortage is to offer better benefits to potential employees.
Salary is just one thing to consider when thinking about benefits. You will want to offer an attractive salary for the experience level you seek. Do a little research to see what the average salary in your area is and bump it up a little bit if you can.
However, in addition to the salary, you also need to think about things like vacation time, retirement options, and health insurance. You can offer to match retirement contributions up to a certain amount and give more vacation time than your competition. Health insurance can also be a huge draw for some employees, so make sure that you are offering quality health insurance options to get a leg up on your competition.
An additional benefit that may be extremely helpful during this mechanical engineering shortage is relocation assistance. With a shortage of talent, you might need to extend your search beyond your local talent pool. Moving states can be very difficult for many people, so relocation assistance could help you secure someone from a different state that may otherwise pass up on your job offer.
Write a Killer Job Description
You really need to be thoughtful when you are writing up a job description for a mechanical engineer. You want to be particularly careful of the manner in which you describe the qualifications and skills that you require for the open position. Make the job description desirable to mechanical engineers. You should also be very clear on job requirements, especially if there are any unusual requirements that could catch potential employees off-guard later on during the interview process.
Use keywords in your job description to make sure that the listing will show up to those who are looking for employment. Including the skill level in the name of the job posting can also be beneficial. For example, “senior” or “junior” being included in the job title can quickly make the position more searchable for those looking for employment at those levels.
Conduct a Great Interview
The interviewing process can be a long, challenging one. First, make sure that you have pre-vetted candidates so that you aren’t wasting time interviewing too many unqualified candidates. At the same time, it is important that you bring in enough candidates to give yourself a fair shot at finding a good candidate.
The person conducting the interviews needs to be professional and courteous. Questions should be well crafted to ensure that you can learn as much about each potential new hire as possible throughout the interviews. Make sure that the interviewer also takes detailed notes about each candidate so that all of the candidates can be reviewed by other members of the company if necessary.
When it comes to the second round of interviews, you will only want to bring back the people who were really impressive. The goal of this process is to narrow the candidates down until you are left with the very best to extend a job offer to.
Use a Recruiting Service
If you are looking to hire a mechanical engineer quickly, a recruiting service is the perfect option. An engineering recruiting service like Austin Nichols can provide your company with information on some of the most qualified mechanical engineers in the industry. With a technical recruiting firm, you will also receive help throughout the hiring process.
One of our main focuses at Austin Nichols is helping conduct pre-screenings and phone interviews. These tasks can speed up the hiring process and eliminate countless hours of work for companies trying to hire new mechanical engineers.
Working with Austin Nichols can help you quickly hire a new mechanical engineer. To get started, contact us today at 816-471-5575. Our recruiters can help you track down and communicate with some of the most talented mechanical engineers in your area and beyond.
