What to Look for in Engineering Candidates

Hiring experienced engineers is challenging, especially if you aren’t an engineer yourself. But what happens when you want to hire and need to find the right candidates? How do you know if they’ll be the right fit? Here’s what to look for in your engineering recruits.

Soft Skills

Soft skills are essential across all industries, and they don’t require the same technical training as hard skills. Look for such qualities as leadership, teamwork, flexibility, and trustworthiness. Did the candidate participate in extracurricular activities or volunteer work? Did they lead a team? You can learn a lot about soft skills by looking into all aspects of the potential recruit’s resume.

Workplace Fit

This is a highly important but often overlooked aspect of hiring. All workplaces have their own unique culture and ways of doing things. The best hire is someone who naturally fits into your existing work culture while also bringing new ideas to the table. Invite your final round of candidates to spend some time in the office, or if your team is remote, give them temporary access to your internal communication channels. Gauge how they interact with your existing team.

Long-Term Potential

In today’s world, it’s very rare for someone to stick with the same employer for their entire working life. Some engineers will need a good bit of training, and you don’t want to invest the time and money only to have them leave in six months or a year. Look for candidates with career ambitions that you can help them achieve, ties to the local area, and a desire for stability.

Build A Forward-Thinking Engineering Team With PEAK

If you are looking for talented engineering professionals who can help your organization achieve its goals, contact the experts at PEAK Technical Staffing today to learn how we can help you access cutting-edge talent.