What Hiring Managers Check

Engineering professionals enjoy a good job outlook, with many companies competing for top talent. But when you’re in the market for a new job, it’s still important to know the best way to package your skills and accomplishments.

Keep the following tips in mind: 

• Your résumé is your most important calling card. In the age of online profiles, the résumé is still king. According to the engineering hiring managers surveyed, 67 percent prefer digital or electronic résumés when evaluating engineering candidates. A traditional hard copy résumé is preferred by 29 percent. Therefore, in order to be able to send out your résumé quickly, make sure you have it saved in a number of file formats including a Word document, pdf, and .txt.
• Alternative résumé formats aren’t widely adopted. Only two percent of hiring managers prefer to review personalized websites or "digital portfolios"; two percent prefer LinkedIn profiles; and less than one percent prefer to receive video résumés. Clearly, unless a job posting specifically asks for one of these formats, you’re best off focusing on a digital or hardcopy résumé.
• Your qualifications must match the job description. An overwhelming 80 percent of engineering hiring managers agree that this is the most important résumé component influencing their decision on which candidates to interview. Before you send out your résumé, invest some time in tailoring your qualifications and experience to match the job listing. It’s also advisable to feature the same keywords in your résumé and cover letter where appropriate.
• Social media. Surprisingly, the majority of engineering hiring managers (66 percent) do not check social media to review a candidate’s information. Similarly, only a small number (9 percent) say they have ever disqualified a candidate based on a review of their social media profile.
• What about LinkedIn? Of the engineering hiring managers who say they do review a candidate’s LinkedIn profile, 84 percent do so to review your employment history.
• What are the benefits of social media? Hiring managers may not always be looking here, but social media may still aid indirectly in your job search. The majority of engineering professionals surveyed by Kelly® say social media is their primary method of networking, and 38 percent say they use their networks when making decisions about their career or employment. Add to this the fact that employee and industry referrals are top ways hiring managers source talent, and it’s clear that social media is a vitally important tool for establishing and building relationships with your peers and industry leaders.

To position yourself to your best advantage in the job search process, always make sure your résumé is up to date and tailored to the position you want. For engineering professionals in particular, it’s still advisable to keep your LinkedIn profile current and your social media profiles active to build and advance your network.

Survey methodology: The 2015 Hiring Manager Research (U.S./Canada) was conducted by RDA Group on behalf of Kelly. Over 1,000 hiring managers in the U.S. and Canada were surveyed. Participants had direct hiring responsibilities for talent in healthcare, engineering, finance and accounting, IT, and scientific fields. Results represent a cross section of industries and career disciplines. Of the total surveyed, 272 were engineering hiring managers.

Your trusted partner:

Kelly is proud to celebrate 50 years of advancing engineering talent. We have the connections to develop your engineering career. Our customers include 97% of Fortune 100™ companies. We put a new employee to work every 35 seconds, and every three minutes one gets hired directly by a Kelly customer. 

Search for engineering jobs on our Kelly Career Network®, sign-up for our Engineering Career Tips Newsletter, or visit www.kellyservices.us/engineeringcareers for more career insights.

kellyservices.us/engineering 
Kelly Engineering Resources® is a registered trademark of Kelly Services
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners
An Equal Opportunity Employer © 2016 Kelly Services

Sources

Kelly Services 2015 Hiring Manager Research

2014 Kelly Global Workforce Index™