Which recruitment trends should you embrace and which should you ditch?

Refreshing ideas for your automotive and industrial engineering recruitment strategy

Lately, there has been a trend towards adopting new strategies when recruiting for automotive and industrial engineering.Which recruitment strategies should you embrace and which should you ditch

These ideas sound new and exciting. But make sure you aren’t side-tracked by something that drains both money and time, and doesn’t lead you to your end goal – getting the right talent through your doors.

That said, we all know that in the midst of a talent skills gap, old ways won’t always cut it. Read on to find out which new strategies we think you shouldn’t bother with and what you can try instead.

The trendy recruitment strategies to ditch

It’s not only manufacturing and engineering processes that are benefitting from artificial intelligence. Recruitment software such as applicant tracking system and chatbots are undoubtedly helpful when hiring en masse.

Some employers are so taken by it, they even use machine learning to auto-screen CVs.

Another trend is creating a ‘candidate persona’. This ‘perfect’ candidate has the usual desired education and skills, but also a specific type of intelligence, interests, and online habits.

Both approaches sound impressive in theory, but in practice they’re worryingly restrictive. The myth that there is one ideal candidate out there can stall your search. You can easily miss out on extremely talented candidates that don’t tick a certain number of your boxes.

In MasterSearch’s experience, AI can simply reject candidates for irrelevant reasons, meaning you don’t get a chance to decide for yourself. Working with ideal candidate personas can result in an equally blinkered search.

In industry 4.0, you may not be able to identify an ‘ideal candidate’ in advance. The perfect fit can come from the most unlikely of sources. Employees and employers need to be flexible, resourceful, and openminded.

It might seem old-fashioned, but the biggest time and resource saver in the long run is to screen candidates properly. It is more effective to work with a recruiter who will spend time getting to know your company.

What new recruitment strategies do we recommend? 

Use new media to build on your employer brand

Searching for potential candidates is one part of the puzzle. What happens when you – or your recruiter – contacts them? According to LinkedIn, 52% of job seekers will actively reach for their phone and check out your online presence.

‘Employer brand’ sounds like a trendy catchphrase, but it just means your reputation as an employer. Building up a workplace brand alongside working with a recruiter committed to knowing your company as well as your employees themselves is a powerful, double-edged approach.

Be proactive. Video is engaging and underused, so it can help your company stand out and inspire potential candidates. Shareable videos, blogs, or social media posts can tell a story about your company culture, perks, recent successes, and exciting projects.

Even adding a simple dedicated page to your website for the department or role can make a big difference.

Competitor mapping

Not all potential hires are actively searching for jobs, so may not stumble across your perfectly-crafted job description. While competitor mapping isn’t necessarily a trend, it’s something MasterSearch does differently to great success.

Relying on LinkedIn and Xing, as most recruiters and hiring managers do, means you’ll miss those not active on these platforms, especially if they’re not currently looking for a job. Instead, concentrating on building deep industry knowledge can help you effectively map out your competitors’ team structures. We have found that following this approach ourselves has given us a talent pool 62% bigger than the usual methods, and better access to star performers.

As with any workplace strategy, reviewing the effectiveness of your strategies can identify what is and isn’t working. Steering the investment towards the most successful methods gives you a better idea of where to direct your money in future.

 Are you looking for a world-class Automotive / Industrial recruitment agency that can help make your job easier and support you across your entire business? Get in touch on +44 207 101 9623 or email rmasterson@mastersearch.co.uk.

Our candidates and clients are never just a number: we use our honesty and openness to build strong, long-lasting relationships. Specialising in this industry means we are uniquely placed to continually adapt to changes in this fast-paced and innovative market.