Professional Engineering

There is a strong argument for believing that it was a breakdown in confidence that turned the credit crunch into a recession. People with money stopped spending it, so companies started going bust. Something similar is happening in the UK jobs market, especially in the engineering sector, where skills are in short supply. The effect isn’t as dramatic. But as engineers choose to trade career progression for security, many businesses are having to delay programmes and scale back expansion. 

This was brought home to me when I looked at the 2011 figures for job offers that had been turned down. The number was the highest ever. Why? The answer can be found by looking at the latest survey of electronics engineers – one of the specialisations most in demand.

Just over 1,000 engineers responded to the survey, answering questions about the factors that are important in their choice of job. Top of the list, unchanged for years, is challenging/interesting work, with 92% of respondents rating this as “extremely important” or “very important”. Next, at 72%, comes job security. Salary trails behind in fifth position, while career prospects is a humble ninth.

These findings are confirmed by my face-to-face experience. For most of my career, a conversation with a candidate would start with them asking about training, opportunities to progress, the types of project they would be working on. Now, however, interviews typically start with a scene-setting reminder that the mortgage has to be paid, the children fed and the credit score protected. Risk is not an option, no matter how attractive the package.

Employers are responding in different ways. Some are simply offering more money, but candidates appear to see this as a filter rather than an incentive. If the money is not competitive, they will not move. But even very generous offers may not attract the chosen candidate if there is a perceived risk to the mortgage payments. For many candidates, memories of mass redundancies are still vivid. The phrase “last in, first out” is front-of-mind.

This shift changes the psychology of the recruitment process. The best candidates will often receive multiple offers, so an employer must understand how the candidate will choose between them. The answer is not simply the remuneration package. In today’s jobs market, there has to be a stronger emotional bond with the candidate, and that means establishing a personal relationship: people buy people.

At Jonathan Lee, we are spending more time with our clients to help address this need for a relationship. We ensure that every contact between the client and the candidate is honest and professional, and builds trust, right from the beginning. For the chosen candidates, this process may include opportunities for them to meet senior management, and look them in the eye as they talk through the company’s prospects.

These meetings may present a useful opportunity for the best candidates, too. Technical skills make you a great engineer, but add in business and interpersonal skills and you become a great long-term investment, highly differentiated among your peers. Time spent with senior management can set you apart from day one, so make sure you have thought through each meeting and how you can use it to validate your broader abilities.

Our industry is changing. We need mobility of skills to meet new challenges and allow businesses to succeed. Overcoming the lack of confidence is difficult, but it can be resolved through a deeper understanding and a little innovation – qualities engineers have in abundance.