August 26, 2015

Top Three Tips for Hiring Manufacturing Talent

Marni Hockenberg, for MA Insider

A top issue facing manufacturing companies today is the tight labor market. Companies are vying for top talent at all levels. In my role as a recruiter for the manufacturing industry, I’ve noticed that top candidates are evaluating jobs opportunities differently that they did 5 years ago.

It is no longer a ‘buyers’ market’ with companies in the driver’s seat. A-list talent have choices, and hiring managers would do well to to put on their ‘sales & marketing hat’ during the interview process to court them.

Consider incorporating these 3 talent attraction tips into your recruitment and interview strategy to effectively hire the manufacturing candidate of your choice:

  1.  Provide plenty of data about your company to candidates during the interview process. Manufacturing talent tends to evaluate and make business decisions based on metrics and measureable results, and making a critical career decision is no exception. For example, if you tell candidates that your products are superior to your competition, your market share is up, and your company is growing, be prepared to back up your claims with supporting data. Remember, recruiting is essentially a sales and marketing function. Your candidates are a customer and they are making a purchasing decision – to come to work for you. Understand how this type of customer makes a buying decision and make your ‘sales pitch’ accordingly for optimal hiring results.

Read more >