Engineering Positions in a MSP World
Engineers are the building blocks of our future. They apply scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to solve all types of problems. The work of engineers lead to new scientific discoveries and advancement in all fields that help improve the quality of life.
However, recruiting for Engineers is a different ball game. Every year, many aspiring Engineers graduate with dreams of working at a reputable organization and it is the Recruiter’s role to find these Engineers a fulfilling position.
Amerit Consulting primarily is a MSP (Managed Service Provider) driven branch and in a MSP’s world, Recruiters don’t have the luxury of interacting directly with Hiring Managers because of vendor neutrality. Another challenging factor is varying submission limits for different clients. A basic expectation from a Recruiter is to handle 5-6 positions at any given time and prioritizing those positions accordingly.
MSPs usually have a standard template when they release positions on their respective VMS’ (Vendor Management System). In general, the first step a Recruiter takes is to review or at times re-write the Job Description in a simplified manner having sections such as Job Summary, Job Description, Job Requirement & Desired (if any). Desired or Preferred sections as the names suggest are just desired; it’s great if a candidate has those skills but not a deal breaker if they don’t. One needs to re-remind themselves that they are competing with several other vendors and do not want to lose the candidate if they don’t have every desired/ preferred skills.
For reference, say a Recruiter was currently working on a Design Control Engineer in Medical Devices industry. For an Engineering Recruiter who has worked on similar positions in the past, it’s simple, but for an individual who is green, this could be a tough cookie. Writing down notes and listing the required components from the Job Requirements section line by line is a fantastic way to start. Begin with writing down all possible synonyms; if you feel challenged then go to LinkedIn search & look for possible skills’ synonyms or WIKI or https://mentor.socialtalent.co. As you add new requirements, you are narrowing your search and by using synonyms you are adding different ways of saying the same thing which broadens your search. By narrowing, you are going to focus on great matches and by broadening, you are thinking of all the ways those great matches could have described their job titles or skills. Here is a sample for line by line items :
- Medical devices
- Design Control
- Risk Management
And here is a sample of various synonyms and a built Boolean string:
(“medical device” OR “medical devices” OR “med device” OR “med devices” OR “medical-device” OR “medical-devices” OR “med-device” OR “med-devices” OR “biomedical device” OR “biomedical devices”) AND (“design control” OR “design assurance” OR “design verification” OR “design validation”) AND (risk)
Once you have created your string, go to your job portals & use all the applicable filters which will help you to narrow down your search (e.g. location/ zip code, education level, experience level, etc). Recruiters must calibrate & manage their time accordingly on positions as speed is of great essence on MSP driven clients.
It’s an employees’ job market and Recruiters must run strong email campaigns to attract strong individuals for their positions. They need to create a win-win situation for both candidate & client. At Amerit, Recruiters maintain a healthy relationship with their employees by sending QC (Quality Check) emails; as sometimes these hires provide strong referrals for open positions within their department. At the same time, maintain a good rapport with MSP coordinators by attending requirement qualifier calls & helping them with tough to fill positions.
Sajag Bhardwaj, Lead Engineering Recruiter