There is no doubt that hiring a recruiting firm or headhunter to find you great engineering talent is crucial to finding top performers. We aren’t just saying that because it’s our profession, but having a specialist find the perfect match for you is truly how you can get the best fit for your company. It’s like using a Navy SEAL to get the job done – special forces who are experts in the field of recruiting engineers.
Something to keep in mind when looking for an engineering recruitment firm is that there are a few types of hiring needs. You can be looking for someone temporarily or on contract (a temp), or for someone permanently (a perm hire). Depending on the engineering recruitment firm, you may work with a headhunter who operates on a contingent basis (they only get paid when you fill the role) or on a retained basis (you pay a negotiated amount up front). Either way, a great headhunter will have the below qualities and will know engineering roles inside and out. If you need more info on this, we have a post here, “Hiring a Recruiting Firm, Knowing Who You Really Need”.
“Here are three key factors to hiring a great engineering recruitment firm” Joe Van Tassel, President of Integress Inc.
The most important thing that an engineering recruiting firm will do for you, especially when helping you find permanent employees, is to be a passionate voice for your vision. You want a headhunter that is going to wave your flag, tell your story, and sell your vision. Someone that intimately knows your growth, your culture, and the responsibilities of the job, who can accurately and excitingly sell that to the candidate. Sometimes when you’re in the trenches of a company you don’t quite know what makes your culture exceptional – a great recruiter will know. An excellent engineering headhunter feels like they’re on your team, taking the full burden and demand of the project off your hands.
A great engineering recruitment firm has headhunters who are incredibly transparent with you no matter what, whether it benefits them or not, because they want that longevity with you as a partner and your new hire. Someone who wants a long term partnership with you will be brutally honest about what a candidate thinks of you, or what you need to offer someone. Someone that values your long term vision will get candidates in that will stay and truly be a perfect fit.
The engineering recruiting industry is notorious for being a little bit loose on the quality side of things. Some engineering recruitment firms may just send over tons of candidates regardless of just how good of a fit they are, making you do a lot of work. An excellent headhunter will send over a few quality candidates that have been deeply vetted, as opposed to a lot of mediocre people. Once you have reviewed candidates your headhunter should call and follow up to see how on target they were and then will adjust from there to increase accuracy even more.
We know that the people you are surrounded by at work are some of the most important people in your life, so it’s important to find the perfect match. Hiring an outstanding engineering recruitment firm is all a part of that process, and truly makes a big difference.
Our offices are located in Southern California and Chicago with nationwide coverage.
Think you want to tackle the hiring process on your own? We have these two articles that may help:
1. 5 Recruiting Tips for Hiring Mechanical Engineers
2. Where Hiring Managers Fail: Three Ways To Increase The Success Of Your Hiring Process
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