Recruiting new employees is never easy for any job field, but it’s especially challenging for a highly competitive field like engineering. Recruiting and hiring engineering candidates is difficult for many reasons; while these job positions are highly appealing, they often require very specific experience and qualifications.
Many companies looking for engineers may find the recruiting process harder than they originally thought. Job placement for engineers tends to be overcomplicated due to a complex recruiting process. With small tweaks, however, you can find the qualified engineering candidate you are looking for.
5 Challenges of Hiring Engineers
To maintain an effective recruiting process, you should know the challenges recruiters face in finding and hiring engineers. We’ve compiled a list of the top reasons we see companies struggling to find the perfect engineering candidate.
1. Talent Shortages
The first reason why recruiting engineers is so difficult is because of nationwide talent shortages for certain positions. While engineering students are still majoring in various disciplines, there seems to be a growing majority seeking out certain specialties over others, such as software engineering. This leaves a shortage of top talent for other engineering fields, like mechanical engineering.
Additionally, employers must compete against large organizations, like tech giants, or more desirable. companies, like boutique-style engineering firms. Top engineers are always in high demand, and recruiters find many at said companies through means other than posting the open position on a job board. Candidates regularly receive multiple offers, further complicating the process of finding top candidates to fill open positions.
2. Long Hiring Process
The average job position takes 43 days to fill; however, this average is extended to 58 days for engineering. Engineering jobs take much longer to fill compared to positions in other industries, meaning that recruiters have a more difficult time finding the right candidates in a timely manner. When hiring the right engineering candidate takes so long, it becomes more difficult to fill open positions.
Additionally, with so many technical aspects associated with engineering positions, these jobs typically take longer to fill. The hiring process becomes lengthened, with multiple interviews and screenings being performed before even considering and committing to the right candidate.
Because the hiring process becomes spread out over time, ideal candidates may accept an open position elsewhere rather than waiting around for you to make a decision. Also, a long hiring process is a massive investment in money and time for your company. When this process is longer than expected, your company wastes precious resources.
3. Large Focus on Salary
When hiring top talent engineering candidates, many recruiters focus on offering the right salary. Engineering positions tend to pay well, meaning that many experienced candidates have higher salary expectations.
High salary requests may be hefty for smaller organizations or firms in a candidates’ job market. You may even need to differentiate salary levels between experienced individuals versus entry-level positions. However, as a recruiter, you’ll want to think about what your company has to offer beyond just a large wage.
It’s more important to show what truly sets your company apart from others by marketing the position and showing all that the job opportunity has to offer. Emphasize how the position allows potential candidates to solve industry problems, work with like-minded individuals, and gain experience to further advance their career. You may even consider discussing new technologies or innovations unique to your company that candidates may potentially be working with.
In general, overstressing the salary amount when hiring for an engineering position only shows the candidate that you are more worried about making a profit for the company rather than putting employees first. Instead of talking about money, show how the engineering candidate will impact and contribute to your company’s values and objectives for the future.
4. Overly Complex Job Qualifications
One of the greatest challenges of recruiting engineering candidates is finding someone who has the right qualifications and technical skillset you’re looking for. Too many times, recruiters make job qualifications overly complex to the point where even the most specialized candidates won’t qualify.
As you write a job description for the position you’re hiring for, consider what the role truly requires skill-wise and simplify your expectations as much as possible. If your ideal candidate is supposed to have multiple different certifications, several years of leadership experience, and other specificities, it’s time to rethink what’s actually important for the position you’re hiring for.
5. DIY Hiring
The first mistake many recruiters make when hiring engineering candidates is doing it on their own. If you’re having difficulty finding the right candidates by yourself, consider working with an experienced engineering staffing agency.
These types of staffing agencies have immense experience in finding qualified individuals that meet the unique needs of each job position. Top-tier candidates are highly vetted and actively seek out work, meaning the agency has a higher chance of finding the perfect future employee for every business. Engineering staffing agencies can also personalize the hiring process to meet the needs of each company.
With an engineering staffing agency like Austin Nichols Technical Search, you can ensure that your next engineering candidate is the perfect match for your company. We find candidates for companies in the engineering, manufacturing, and construction industries. To learn more information, contact us today at 816-471-5575.
