Tips for Hiring Managers

By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Despite the widespread availability of data and facts, myths abound in the workplace. For instance, take the misconception that experienced engineers would rather have a regular, full-time job than work on a contract basis. In fact, nearly 86 percent of independent workers indicate they are highly satisfied or satisfied with their work […]

By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Some engineering mangers favor traditional ice-breakers like: “Tell me about yourself,” or “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Others ask insightful questions to assess an engineering contractor’s cultural fit and their technical skills as well as their ability to handle a particular project during an interview. “I never ask superficial questions,” says […]

By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Did you know that co-worker relationships play the greatest role in determining on-the-job happiness – even more than financial compensation? In fact, 91 percent of engineers say they want to meet their prospective peers during the interview process, while only 73 percent say it’s important to meet the CEO. Peer interviews actually […]

Sell the merits of your project to win the services of hot engineering contractors By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman With the market for engineering talent heating up, an experienced contractor may have several irons in the fire by the time they meet with you. In fact, a remarkable 86 percent of IT/engineering workers who participated in a […]

By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman It’s so hard to find industrial engineers in Houston, that veteran contractors command premium pay. Meanwhile, miles away in Detroit, automakers are letting employees bring their dogs to work in order to keep high flying Silicon Valley firms from poaching prized engineers. There’s no empirical evidence of a general shortage of engineers, […]

We thought you might be interested this article of Today’s Engineer.  The article speaks to the notion of “career contractors,” those engineers who prefer contract work over full-time employment with a single organization. Moving from project to project enables veteran contractors to work on projects they prefer.  Besides being able to work on plum projects, […]

By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman In the dog-eat-dog world of engineering, managers are constantly seeking new ways to lower operating costs. That’s why savvy managers are taking a hard look at the return on human capital and strategically integrating contract professionals into the engineering talent pool. Four Cost-Reduction Strategies No. 1: Control ancillary employment costs Although managers […]

Look for traits and behaviors that reveal the presence of customer-centric DNA  By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Engineers are renowned for their ability to solve problems and manage details, but they aren’t typically known for their customer service skills. Frankly, finding customer-centric contract professionals is so difficult that engineering managers often employ product managers or other go-betweens […]

Jump start the selection process to overcome a shortage of contract engineers By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman “Time kills deals” should be the mantra of managers and human resource leaders who need to keep agile competitors from cornering the market for highly qualified contract engineering professionals. Recent news reports confirm that pending retirements and a lack of […]

Savvy managers know that part and parcel to having an engineering contractor be successful on the job is to make sure they’re doing what they want to be doing.  Engineers in their element are far more likely to be productive than those that are biding their time, suffering through a suboptimal assignment waiting for the […]