Creating Chemistry: Why the Right Fit Is Important When Recruiting Engineering Professionals

Business experts across the country often talk about the importance of instilling your organization with a clear and definitive mission, vision, and values. At no time is this more important than during the hiring process. 

How’s your organization finding and selecting technical talent?

There are so many things to consider when looking for an engineer or manager that it often feels like you’re attempting to piece a jigsaw puzzle together while wearing a blindfold. But you can make the whole process easier by defining your recruiting criteria beforehand.

But then again, what do you prioritize in potential candidates? Relevant experience? Salary expertise? Raw talent?

When it comes to hiring engineers, companies generally prioritize two things:

• Technical talent—Can the candidate do the work?
• Cultural fit—Will the candidate be able to work within the team and believe in the company’s mission, vision, and values?

The Problem With Recruiting the “Best”

Many firms instruct their hiring managers to seek out and hire the best technical talent. They want the cream of the crop; candidates from high-prestige schools; the “ninjas” and “rock stars” who can pull out all the stops while making projects look effortless.

For many companies, however, this ultimately ends up being a mistake when they overlook the intangibles. Quite often, recruiters become blinded by extraordinary talent with degrees from prestigious universities and student accolades. Their blindness causes them to ignore important aspects that make some candidates better fits for the company.

Talent, experience, and skill aren’t irrelevant, of course, but they shouldn’t be the topmost considerations when recruiting engineers. A team of smart individuals who gel well together can run rings around a dysfunctional group of ninjas and rock stars, particularly when clashing egos arise.

When you prioritize talent over fit, you miss out on essential dynamics that make teams successful.

Why “Fit” Could Be More Important Than Intelligence

In the end, the candidate has to be smart enough. That is, they may not be at the very top of their class, but they are well near the top. Plus, they were involved in other social activities that show they can work well with others. What gives a company the ability to create good products/solutions is team dynamics. Raw talent can never serve as a substitute for the soft skills that are needed to work as a team.

Working with teams requires communication, compromise, and a shared sense of values and goals—putting one’s self aside for the good of the project or team. You can always develop technical skills; however, overcoming social incompatibilities is never easy.

 

Brookwoods Group is a recruiting and staffing firm that’s known for its perfect-fit recruiting solutions for companies of all sizes. Our team can help you fill any executive position, from officers and management to marketing and communications professionals. Our six-step process ensures the best cultural fit for any candidate we place.