Category: Tips for Hiring Managers
Strategic Hiring: When It Makes Sense to Hire a Contract Engineer
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Business leaders have embraced a new strategy for coping with frequent swings in the economy. To avoid tumultuous and costly hiring and layoff cycles, managers are increasing their reliance on professional contractors, free agents and other contingent workers. It pays to know when it makes sense to hire a contract engineer. June,… Read more »
The Ties that Bind: Keep Valuable Engineers from Flying the Coop
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman If you’re not worried about losing key members of your engineering staff, perhaps you should be. According to a recent survey of nearly 700 engineers, 61 percent may look for new jobs in 2014, and 40 percent say they’re actively seeking new positions. Surprisingly, engineers with a wandering eye don’t necessarily want… Read more »
What Engineers Really Want from Employers
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Onsite bowling allies, climbing walls and free scuba certifications are just some of the extravagant perks dangled in front of talented engineers by top employers like Google and Chesapeake Energy. While engineering professionals want a competitive compensation package and a few creature comforts, they aren’t always motivated by hefty salaries or quirky… Read more »
Chemistry Lesson: Using Science to Select Culturally Compatible Contractors
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Although managers usually select contractors for their engineering experience, research shows that cultural fit influences a professional’s ability to maximize their accumulated talents and skills even on a short-term basis. A study by Leadership IQ Why New Hires Fail revealed that 46 percent of new hires fail within 18 months, and that… Read more »
Four Interview Mistakes That Turn Off Top Contractors
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman You expect contract engineers to be on their best behavior when they interview, but you may not realize that the expectations go both ways. A negative experience can tarnish your firm’s reputation and drive away top prospects. Worse yet, the problem may be bigger than you think. Twenty-six percent of workers have… Read more »
Trends with Benefits: Five Engineering Workplace Trends for 2014
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman Most engineering organizations view their people as their most valuable asset. That’s why highly effective engineering managers monitor workplace changes and adapt their strategies, policies and hiring practices toward the shifting demographics, preferences and work styles of engineering professionals. We’ve scoured numerous articles, research reports and studies to come up with the… Read more »
Reset – How to Overcome Mistakes During a Job Interview
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman It can happen to anyone. You mistakenly call the engineering manager by the wrong name, lose your train of thought mid-sentence or provide the wrong answer to a technical question during an interview. Relax, even veteran engineers usually bumble a question or two. The key is how you recover from a misstatement,… Read more »
Five Myths about Co-Employment
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman The topic of co-employment often arises when engineering firms utilize experienced contractors to meet project deadlines. Managers sometimes perceive that contract professionals pose excessive risks and threats since the co-employment topic is so misunderstood. Or as Stephen Clancy, director, Contingent Workforce Strategies and Research for Staffing Industry Analysts recently wrote in Challenging… Read more »
Six Ways to Become a More Credible Engineering Leader
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman You can shout your priorities from the rooftop, distribute them via email, or turn them into a catchy acronym. But unless your actions support your advertised goals and values, you’re probably wasting your time. Ian Davis, who has advised some of the world’s most successful CEOs while serving as a senior partner… Read more »
Gear Up! How to Hire an Engineering Project Team Leveraging Your Staffing Partner
By: Leslie Stevens-Huffman When a client or manager green-lights a project, there’s no time to lose. But assembling a team of contract engineers in short order requires teamwork, efficiency and a well-executed strategy. Without these, you’ll inevitably waste time, money and make poor hiring decisions. Plus, a lengthy or disjointed selection process may cause you… Read more »