If you're looking to hire electrical or electronics engineers, we probably don't have to tell you that they're in high demand right now. How high? According to labor-insights provider Burning Glass, more than 57,000 job postings for the roles went up online in the last year alone.
It's no wonder. Everything is so wired these days — products, buildings, factories and more — that you'd be hard-pressed to bring anything to life without involving an electrical or electronics engineer. So having these engineer roles open for too long can bring projects to a halt.
How can you speed up the process to keep things moving? Follow these six steps to hire a good candidate, fast:
Ready to start strengthening your recruitment game? Keep reading for more tips to get going.
Long hiring processes that drag on are often the result of outdated or inefficient practices. That's fine if you're not in a hurry — but most people looking for electrical or electronics engineers need to move quickly. If you want to know whether your hiring process could use a refresh, take a look at the diagram below and see where you can make your hiring process more efficient.
Electrical and electronics engineers have a highly specialized skill set, and demand for their skills is only going to rise in coming years. That means that these folks can be pricey to hire.
To attract the best talent, you need to offer a competitive compensation package. What kind of numbers are we talking? Randstad's salary guide is a great place to begin your research. And since compensation levels for your area could be higher or lower depending on the local cost of living, labor supply and other factors, head on over to our salary calculator to dig deeper in the up-to-date, location-specific data available.
Not every electrical or electronics engineer has the same set of skills. And likewise, not every job in the field needs a new hire with the same background. Depending on their work history, electronics and electronics engineers can have vastly different skills and areas of expertise, so to find the ideal candidate, you'll need to get a clear sense of what the role entails for your company. Begin by asking questions like:
One way to start narrowing things down is to figure out the skills the right hire would need to be successful. Think about it this way: What are the "must-have" skills that the hire couldn't do without, and which skills are just "nice-to-haves"? Get a list going of the non-negotiables and the extras, so that you can incorporate them into your job ad.
To get you started, below are the most sought-after skills for electronics and electrical engineers according to job postings over the past 12 months:
electrical and computer engineering
drafting and engineering design
electrical maintenance, repair and installation
electrical construction
engineering software
project management
Building a pipeline of qualified applicants rests on a clear and engaging job description. The tips below can help you get started writing one that hooks job seekers and excites them to apply.
don't write like a robot
You have to get a lot across in a job description — skills, background about the company and the role and more. And with all that info to convey, it's easy to focus on the information instead of the way it's delivered. But that's a mistake. Even if you have every detail taken care of in your job description, people might pass it over if it's not written in an interesting, readable way.
People don't like robotic writing. They like information presented in an approachable, accessible tone that highlights the human aspects of the job.
For example, electrical and electronic engineers work in a field that's constantly evolving, so they may be wondering about opportunities for continued education. They'll also probably be curious about the split between designing and testing circuits, and whether the company has a robust workplace safety program in place. Highlighting these aspects can do a lot to entice qualified applicants to apply.
show how this job is meaningful
Today's job seekers don't want to devote the lion's share of their waking life to a thankless job — they want to find meaning in their work. To that end, your job ad will be more successful if it stands out among similar jobs as purposeful.
To do that, focus on the aspects of your company that are "bigger than the job." What about your company's culture, values or commitment to social impact separates it from competitors? The same applies to the role itself. Does it require certain skills that make it more interesting than other engineering jobs, like the need to visualize designs and systems before building them? Also tie the work these skilled pros do to make the world more connected and improve the lives of people in their community or around the world.
make it easy to skim
The biggest enemy of an effective job description? Poor structure and organization. On the other hand, job ads that are easy to skim invite readers to jump around the page to easily determine whether they might be a fit for the role and whether the job's worth applying to.
To make a job description skimmable, follow a few key rules:
For more tips on how to engage potential applicants, read our guide to writing highly effective job descriptions.
Before you embark on any hire, you'll want to get familiar with the trends driving the industry. Not only will being "in the know" help you put the role in the context of wider trends in the economy, you'll be empowered to make better choices as you review candidates.
For starters, here are a few trends playing out in the electrical and electronics engineering space that may impact your hiring decisions:
California, Texas, Michigan, Ohio and Florida are leading the pack in hiring electrical and electronics engineers, so employers in these markets will need to expect even greater competition.
You could start your candidate search anywhere — direct outreach on LinkedIn, a sponsored job ad, cash to employees for referrals. In fact, there are so many options out there that deciding where to start can be the hardest part of the hiring process.
There's a lot to consider. Not every channel is right for every role, and factors like your company size, recruitment budget and the type of role you're looking to fill should all factor into your approach. Finding a strategy that works could take time — time you probably don't have.
One solution is to get expert help from a professional staffing firm, one with deep knowledge of the engineering space. By working with a staffing partner, you'll gain access to their pool of vetted, qualified candidates, so there's no time wasted in trying to build and maintain a talent pipeline yourself.
To learn more, get in touch with our engineering experts at Randstad today or browse our pool of available engineers in our Find Employees portal.