How to get the most from your recruiter

Most of the biggest names in the business use recruitment agencies when hiring for manufacturing and engineering jobs.

It’s a time saver. It’s a cost saver. It’s also a great way to identify the best candidates from a potentially huge field of applicants (as well as access that bigger field of applicants in the first place).
If you’re using a recruitment company to fill a job role for the first time, here is everything you need to know if you want to get the best results.

Why use a recruitment agency?

Before we get onto the how, it’s important to know why companies choose to use recruiters:
  1. Smoother, faster recruitment – looking for a specific set of qualities to fill some sales engineer jobs? Need a toolmaker with a certain experience level? A recruiter helps you locate must-have skill sets and experience faster than the standard 28-day hiring process.
  2. Wider, vetted recruitment – a specialist engineering and manufacturing recruitment agency like Ernest Gordon networks across the UK to source candidates. This gives you access to a much wider pool of vetted talent with the right qualifications and lets you stay on top of trends.
  3. Support in recruitment – not only is your recruiter your best promoter and proponent in attracting the right kind of talent, but they can also help you weather any storm of counteroffers for your top choices. Ever had a candidate suddenly and inexplicably drop from the process? A recruiter will help you understand why and prevent it from happening.

How to get the most from your recruitment company

Working with a recruiter always works best when you have a solid level of cooperation and agree on what you’re looking for in candidates. This is especially true in fields like engineering and manufacturing recruitment where you are often looking for some set skills. Here’s how to make sure that happens:

1) Choose a specialist in your industry

A generic recruiter is all well and good. But they’re never going to have the same insight and knowledge as a recruitment company that specialises in engineering and manufacturing (or whatever your industry happens to be).
What’s an attractive salary to offer? What will the kind of talent you need be looking for in terms of company culture or benefits?
A specialist in your industry will know.

2) Find out if you’re a good match

We’re not talking swipe left or swipe right here. But your recruiter is going to essentially be an extension of your business for a time. It’s a smart move to ensure that you get along and have the same ideas, values, and culture. Or that they show clear signs of wanting to learn about and understand yours.
This will mean they’re more likely to source candidates who are the best fit for you and your team. Finding a good CV is easy. Finding the right person for the job means understanding more than just the hard skills you’re looking for.

3) Provide a clear job specification

The more precise you can be, the better. It’s always a mistake to copy and paste details from other job specifications you’ve written for other roles in the past.
Be clear with your recruiter about what you’re looking for and what the role will actually entail. Don’t neglect to mention things like dress code, working hours, and details of your company culture if this is the first time you’ve worked with them.
This arms your recruiter with the information they need to be your best possible advocate.

4) Be flexible about candidates

A good recruiter can be a source of great candidates that you might not otherwise have considered. They might also suggest alternative hiring strategies, such as breaking up one more general full-time role into two part-time specialists.
They can also help you understand the type of candidates you are going to be able to attract given your budget and the role you’re offering. It’s not always easy to get this sort of lay of the land. The only way is to be plugged in across the jobs market, as a specialist manufacturing and engineering recruitment agency will be.

5) Communicate

If you want to get the most from your recruiter, don’t just fire them a job spec and tell them to get to work.
Your recruiter has access to all manner of insights, information, and is in the right position to have an overview of the job market as a whole.
Plumb their knowledge. Tap their insight. Be open to any ideas they might have about candidates. Your recruiter is there to be used. Use them.

Think you might need a recruiter to fill your next role?


Let’s talk. Ernest Gordon finds the right people for engineering and manufacturing jobs for companies across the UK every single day.
Get in touch with us today. There’s no cost or commitment. Just an informative chat about how we would work together.