Quickly hiring engineering talent supports efficient project design and implementation. Placing the right talent helps attain goals, meet specifications, and minimize project delays.
Project engineers facilitate planning, hiring, scheduling, budget management, quality control, and project database oversight. They ensure smooth operations to complete the project on time and within budget.
These strategies support quickly hiring the engineering talent you need to avoid project delays.
How to Hire an Engineering Candidate Quick
Hire Based on Qualifications
Understanding the required and preferred qualifications supports quickly hiring engineering talent. Examples include:
- An engineering certification or degree
- A Professional Engineer license
- Knowledge of relevant codes, regulations, and policies
- Understanding of safety management
- Experience with database design and development and field management
- Experience with project planning, project management, or project engineering
- Organization, attention to detail, and communication skills
- Creative thinking, problem-solving, and innovation
Create a Project Engineer Job Description
Develop a job description to introduce candidates to the company’s culture and the project engineer’s objectives, responsibilities, and qualifications. Use clear, concise language and bullet points to reflect the role expectations. Provide adequate information for candidates to determine their likelihood of success and whether to apply.
Develop Interview Questions
Create relevant interview questions to evaluate hard and soft skills and cultural fit. Determine each candidate’s technical knowledge and abilities, cognitive skills, and approaches to handling work situations. Examples of project engineer interview questions include:
Which types of projects have you worked on throughout your career?
A variety of projects indicates the ability to deal with diverse stakeholders and develop ideas to meet their needs. Also, handling challenging situations demonstrates a commitment to professional development. Listen for comfort in moving between industries and project types and a willingness to adapt to unfamiliar projects and develop new skills.
How do you ensure project consistency and accuracy?
Excellent record-keeping skills are needed for effective people and materials management and project success. A candidate should pay close attention to detail and have experience using project management software and systems. Listen for organizational skills, record-keeping methods, and how they help attain project goals.
How did you balance safety and budget for your most recent project?
Ensuring the team feels safe and supported while monitoring project costs is essential. For instance, the project engineer might need to change personnel assignments to have more experienced professionals resolve specific issues or work with contractors to reduce costs. Listen for examples of how a candidate balanced team members’ well-being and the bottom line.
Can you describe a project that failed? How did you react and what did you learn?
Because occasional failure is part of being human, the best project engineers use their experiences for growth. They might participate in additional training and apply their lessons to future projects. Listen for open, honest discussion of struggles and accountability for the results.
How do you report technical concepts to stakeholders?
Regular progress reports for clients and managers require effective verbal and written communication skills. The ability to explain complex information in a way the audience understands strengthens project success. Listen to how a candidate explains high-level information without jargon and buzzwords.
Get Help Hiring Engineering Talent
Partner with Element Staffing to quickly find skilled engineers and keep your projects on track. Contact us to discuss your hiring needs today.
