Mechanical Design Recruitment

Key Skills for Mechanical Designers

Given the highly skilled nature of mechanical design, there are certain essential skills that recruiters will look for in a job candidate. In this section, we’ll look at the essential skills recruiters seek alongside the technical and soft skills necessary to fulfil a mechanical designer role.

What are the essential skills recruiters should look for?

Mechanical design recruiters will prioritize candidates who have a combination of analytical, interpersonal, and technical skillsets:

Creativity

Given that mechanical designers are tasked with designing new components or machinery, strong creative skills are essential. Creativity is crucial for designing solutions to any given problem, alongside enhancing existing designs to improve efficiency. A good mechanical designer will be able to think beyond the norm to develop innovative and original solutions.

CAD Proficiency

One of the most vital tools a mechanical designer will use is 3D CAD software. As the backbone of the mechanical design world, CAD software lets you transfer ideas and visualise them into design concepts, technical drawings, and engineering specifications.

Problem-solving

Problem-solving is another essential skill for mechanical designers. Mechanical designers will encounter many problems during the design process, especially when improving existing processes. Strong problem-solving skills are vital so that mechanical designers can overcome challenges, analyse situations, and find suitable solutions.

Technical understanding

Technology and AI are rapidly evolving. Given the crucial role that technology and AI now have in certain industries, mechanical designers need to understand such technologies. They should be aware of how they work, their capabilities, and their limitations.

Project management

Mechanical designers rarely work on one project in isolation. As they often work on multiple projects simultaneously, project management is another key skill recruiters will look out for. You’ll need to successfully handle multiple tasks, meet tight deadlines, and coordinate with different team members.

Knowledge of Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution resulting from cyber-physical systems, such as automation, the cloud, and big data. As a result, mechanical designers will need knowledge of industry 4.0 technologies that shape the industry, including IoT, AI, and ML.

Technical skills

Technical skills are vital in mechanical design and are amongst of the top competencies’ recruiters will seek. Mechanical designers must have a range of strong technical skills to showcase their ability to fulfil complex job responsibilities.

Technical skills are typically obtained through practice and experience. In some fields, certain technical skills are highly sought-after. The technical skills that a mechanical designer has are showcased through experience, certifications, and qualifications.

Some of the most sought-after technical skills for mechanical designers include:

• Advanced design software skills, including CAD and Creo.
• Understanding of new and emerging technologies.
• Knowledge of existing and advancing materials.
• Conduct simulation analysis, such as FEA.
• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals.

Soft skills

Alongside technical skills, mechanical designers should also have a range of soft skills. Soft skills are considered transferable and unrelated to a specific career or job. Despite their importance, soft skills are often overlooked in relation to career development and progression. It’s estimated that 85% of a job’s success results from well-developed soft skills.

Some of the soft skills that are important for mechanical designers include:

• Teamwork and communication.
• Problem-solving.
• Attention to detail.
• Time management and an ability to work under pressure.
• Commercial awareness.

Understanding the Mechanical Design Job Market

With the rapid growth in emerging technologies, it’s no surprise that the mechanical design job market is experiencing a boom. In this section, we’ll provide an outlook on the mechanical design job market, current trends, and predictions for both recruiters and recruitment agency clients.

What are the current trends in mechanical design recruitment?

As the mechanical design industry continues to evolve and adapt to current social and technological changes, mechanical design recruitment must also adapt to meet these trends.

Artificial Intelligence

One of the biggest trends in mechanical design is the rapid growth and adoption of artificial intelligence systems. AI is increasingly integrated into mechanical design to boost efficiency, productivity, and accuracy.

Integrating automated processes into mechanical design helps alleviate certain repetitive or tedious job processes, giving mechanical designers more time to work on larger and more complex tasks.

Recruiters need to ensure that mechanical design candidates have a working knowledge of using and implementing AI and smart systems in their jobs. Understanding how AI can aid in analysing big data and real-world situations can also benefit mechanical design recruitment.

Sustainability

As with many industries, mechanical design is also seeing a shift towards sustainability. Whether adopting sustainable practices or designing more energy-efficient components, there is an increasing trend in minimising resource usage.

As sustainability and green engineering continue to gain traction, there will be a growing need for engineers to create and adopt sustainable technologies.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) involves the connection of and exchange between devices and the cloud for transmitting data. Devices with processing ability, sensors, and other technology are all connected to a network to allow data exchange via the Internet.

Industrial IoT, which is the application of IoT in an industrial setting, has been experiencing rapid growth recently. As a result, there is greater safety, improved efficiency, and reduced errors in manufacturing.

Given the rapid growth and benefits, mechanical designers are also adopting industrial IoT to connect and automate certain processes. As a result, mechanical design candidates need to ensure they have the skills to implement and work with IoT networks.

3D Printing

3D printing involves creating three-dimensional objects from a digital design. Previously, such objects were created using subtractive manufacturing, which involved cutting or hollowing material blocks using specialist machines.

3D printing enables complex shapes and objects to be created using fewer materials. The rise of 3D printing has significantly impacted mechanical design, as it’s now possible to create and test prototypes, parts, and components with ease.

As this technology becomes more accessible, more companies are adopting 3D printing into their processes. As a result, mechanical design recruitment must ensure that candidates have experience using such technology to help support their job role.

Building information modelling

Building information modelling (BIM) is a current trend that is particularly helpful for mechanical designers in the construction industry. BIM provides designers with better collaborative workflows and more efficient tools.

As a result, the way buildings are designed, constructed, and managed has changed due to the ability to design, analyse, and optimise complex mechanical systems more easily. Efficiency has increased, and results have improved.

This means mechanical design recruitment in the construction industry must adapt to ensure candidates have a proficient working knowledge of BIM. Job descriptions should also reflect this to emphasise the importance of BIM proficiency.

Job market analysis and predictions

Alongside the trends that are helping to shape the mechanical design job market, let’s explore the current state of the job market. Some predictions for how the job market is likely to grow are also outlined.

While many job sectors are experiencing a decline or flatlining, the mechanical engineering job market is experiencing growth. Currently, the job outlook for mechanical engineering is at 10%, much higher than the average of 3%.

Mechanical design engineering is also one of the engineering roles with the highest pay rises, with an average increase of 3.6% over the last 12 months. Over the next decade, around 19,200 new job openings are expected to open per year.

A labour force survey in 2020 found that the industry had a 2.93% unemployment rate. Union Learn, an organisation of the Trade Union Congress, states that mechanical engineering is rated 52nd for the highest average pay.

In the UK, a mechanical engineer can earn an average salary of £39,000. This can range from £26,000 for those starting in a role and increase to £52,000 for more experienced positions. Typical working hours for a mechanical engineer are between 37 to 40 hours a week, with some evening and weekend shifts where necessary.

The same report from Union Learn outlines that the current mechanical engineering job market consists of 93% males and 7% females. 88% of market jobs are full-time, while 7.2% are self-employed.

The top 5 industries with mechanical engineering roles are:

• Architecture
• Construction
• Automotive
• Manufacturing
• Metal production

As businesses seek new and improved methods of reducing costs while improving productivity, mechanical engineering jobs will continue to grow. With the high demand for mechanical engineering, demand has risen 13% over the last year.

Crafting An Effective Mechanical Design Job Description

One crucial element of recruitment is the job description. Anyone looking for a new job or businesses hiring new candidates will use job descriptions. In this section, we’ll explore the importance of job descriptions, the components that make up a compelling job description, and how you can attract top mechanical design talent.

What components are required for a compelling job description?

A job description is an important part of the recruitment process. It highlights a given role’s duties and responsibilities and includes working conditions, job requirements, and preferred qualifications.

Compelling job descriptions benefit both candidates and employers. Employers can be specific about the type of candidate they are looking for, helping them attract the best and most relevant people for the job.

It also helps candidates seeking a job by providing all the necessary details, requirements, and conditions to allow them to determine if a role is right for them. The most effective job descriptions are clear and concise.

Other benefits of compelling job descriptions include:

• Allowing employers to monitor employee performance.
• Indicate areas of training required.
• Can mitigate risk in a lawsuit or employment tribunal.

Given how important job descriptions are for sourcing and hiring the right candidate, how can you create a compelling job description?

Components of a job description

Job title

Every job description should start with the job title, as it is a good way of attracting talent to a role. The job title should be specific and accurate.

Job purpose

This section provides an overview of the job role. It should typically be between 3 and 4 sentences and include a job role overview, scope of responsibilities, and level.

Roles and responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities section will clearly outline what is expected of the candidate, the purpose of the role, and the tasks that will be carried out within job role. This section is typically the largest and includes any required technical skills or knowledge. Other elements that should be included in the roles and responsibilities section include candidate fulfilments and company expectations.

Required skills and qualifications

This section will provide the essential and desirable skills and qualifications a candidate should have for the role. The minimum requirements of a job should be clearly stated. Education and experience requirements, alongside skills and abilities necessary for the role, are all crucial in this section.

Working conditions

Candidates looking for a job will want to know about working conditions before applying. Although this may only be a small section, it can be a major selling point for a role. Essential information in the working conditions section includes location, salary, working hours, and job benefits. Working situations, such as flexible, part-time, etc., should also be stated here.

About the company

This section focuses on your business, its values, and the type of working culture. Certain words should be utilised to sell your company culture, e.g. inclusive, motivated, growing, fast-paced, etc.

How can you attract top mechanical design talent?

You should consider several tips to help you attract top mechanical design talent.

Writing compelling job descriptions

The more compelling a job description is, the better the chance of attracting top talent to your company.

• Write directly and concisely.
• Always favour using simple language and avoid over-complicating. Simple sentence structures are most effective here.
• Descriptive action verbs can help make a job sound more appealing, e.g. performs, operates, undertakes, carries out.
• Avoid using abbreviations and anacronyms.
• Avoid ambiguous terms and always clearly define or state job responsibilities.
• Never use gender-specific or any form of discriminatory language.
• Trivial duties and responsibilities should not be included in the job description.
• Only current duties of a job role should be included. Future or potential duties should not be included.

The more compelling a job description, the clearer a candidate’s idea of what to expect from a given role. It also allows them to judge whether they are the right fit for the job and company.

Job benefits

Job benefits can significantly affect whether a candidate applies for a role. Many employers make the mistake of omitting job benefits during recruitment and waiting until late into or after onboarding.

The perks of a job are a major factor in whether a candidate will apply for a role. It’s estimated that around 62% of employees would favour a slightly lower salary for better job benefits and rewards. This can also be beneficial for improving the job retention of top talent.

Some examples of effective job benefits include:

• Medical coverage or insurance.
• Paid time off (PTO).
• Flexible working.
• Paid sick leave or family leave.
• Mental health and wellbeing support.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Parental support, such as childcare contributions.
• Company equipment or certain expenses coverage.

Company culture

Promoting the company culture is another method that can be used to attract top mechanical design talent. Flexible working arrangements, job autonomy, work outings, company values, and training and development opportunities are all indicators of a positive company culture. They should be included in the job description accordingly.

Encourage diversity in the workforce

Encouraging diversity in the workforce is another way to encourage top mechanical design talent. By adopting an inclusive recruitment strategy and workforce, you can benefit from a larger pool of skills and experience, better cultural awareness, and a more varied candidate pool. Companies with a diverse workforce are estimated to be 35% more likely to outperform competitors financially.

Consider an employee referral programme

An employee referral programme is a recruitment strategy in which employers ask employees for recommendations or referrals for job candidates. While they may take time to implement properly, an employee referral program is a powerful method for attracting top talent from a trusted source.

Successful employee referral programs significantly increase the chance of someone being hired and finding more expert candidates for a role. The process is also much quicker, helping to save time and money on a recruitment campaign.

Leveraging Technology In Recruitment

Finding a suitable candidate for a role can take time, effort, and money. Fortunately, technological advances make it possible to streamline the recruitment process. This section covers the technology you can leverage in recruitment.

What are some recruitment tools and platforms?

Human resource departments and recruiters use recruitment tools and platforms for many processes. These tools and platforms can be used to source candidates, post job openings, and schedule interviews.

Effectively implementing recruitment tools and platforms can help streamline the recruitment process and ensure that it goes smoothly. Some benefits of using recruitment tools and platforms include:

• Attracting top talent to a role.
• Save time and money during the recruitment process.
• Securing data and ensuring data privacy compliance.
• Finding candidates with ideal skills and experience.

Here is an overview of the different types of recruitment tools and platforms available to help improve the hiring process:

Applicant Tracking Systems

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are databases recruiters use to collect and track applicant data. One of the most popular recruitment tools, ATS is a vital tool for organising data so that the ideal candidate doesn’t slip past the net.

Some examples of ATS include Rcruitee, BreezyHR, and Manatal.

Job description and feedback tools

Given how difficult it can be to write compelling job descriptions, many companies use software to aid them. Also, collecting feedback from applicants can help to improve the recruitment process.

Some examples of job description and feedback tools include SurveyMonkey, JobScore, and Textio.

Job aggregator tools

A job aggregator pulls current positions from various sources for a more streamlined job search. Jobs are sourced based on the keywords in a search, such as job title, salary, etc. However, recruiters can also use these tools to post job openings.

Some examples of job aggregator tools include The Applicant Manager, Hireez, and Recruitee.

Social media management

Social media recruiting is a growing form of sourcing candidates for a job position. Almost half of all Gen Z and Millennials have applied for a job through social media. Given the success of this method, many recruiters will use social media to find new talent.

However, these campaigns can take a lot of resources and time. Implementing a social media management tool can help create more manageable campaigns.

Some examples of social media management tools for recruitment include Sprout Social, Buffer, and Hootsuite.

Chatbot tools

Given the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, it should be no surprise that chatbots are becoming an essential recruitment tool. A chatbot can help answer candidate questions before applying for a role or connect recruiters with candidates who are unsure about applying.

Some examples of chatbot tools for recruitment include Intercom, Freshworks, Livechat, and LiveAgent.

Screening tools

With many candidates applying for job positions, manually reviewing every single application can be a lengthy process. However, screening tools can help reduce the number of applications to those more relevant to a given job. These tools often screen candidate applications based on certain keywords or pre-set criteria.

Some examples of screening tools for recruitment include Harver, Criteria Corp, HackerRank, and iMocha.

Video interview tools

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, video or remote interviews have rapidly increased. Video interviews allow recruiters to seek and interview candidates without any timezone or geolocation restrictions. Some video interview tools can be used for pre-recorded interview questions, while others can be used for live remote interviews.

Some examples of video interview recruitment tools include Spark Hire, Hirevue, and Vidcruiter.

How do AI and machine learning have a role in the hiring process?

AI and machine learning greatly influence recruitment and are changing how the hiring process works. When implemented effectively, they can be a cost-effective and efficient way to speed up recruitment.

Here are just some of the ways AI and machine learning are having an impact on the recruitment process:

Candidate sourcing

Locating and connecting with suitable candidates is one of the first ways AI and machine learning can impact recruitment. Certain tools and algorithms allow recruiters to automate tasks that make locating and sourcing candidates easier.

Some tasks AI and machine learning can help with include searching job boards, social media sites, and databases to locate and source candidates most relevant to a job description.

Candidate screening

Screening candidates is one of the most crucial steps in the recruitment process to avoid bad hires. As one of the biggest recruitment challenges, bad hires can have a significant impact on a company and its costs.

AI and machine learning can improve candidate screening to minimise the risk of bad hires. Not only does it help match candidates for a role better, but it also saves recruiters time by eliminating the need to manually review every application.

Talent assessment

Talent assessment is another way AI and machines can impact the recruitment process. These tools test the skills, competencies, and aptitude of candidates for a role. More recruiters are switching to AI talent assessment tools to provide in-depth reports on candidates’ strengths, weaknesses, and traits.

These tools also provide a much more comprehensive and efficient method for assessing candidates. Components such as behavioural assessments, gamification, and skill testing ensure candidates’ abilities are assessed interactively and engagingly.

Candidate interviews

AI and machine learning can also be implemented into candidate interviews to help with hiring. AI interview platforms can save time and effort while also reducing human effort by leveraging data and streamlining processes.

These tools assess candidates’ facial expressions, body language, and voice to determine their emotions, tones, and demeanour. When combined with the candidates’ answers, they provide a more comprehensive understanding of a candidate’s personality and fit for a role.

Building a Strong Employer Brand In Mechanical Design

Employer branding is a significant factor that affects a company’s ability to attract top talent to a role. The same is true for mechanical design jobs. The stronger your employer brand, the better your chances of attracting top mechanical design talent. In this section, we’ll cover what an employer brand is, how it works, and methods for improving it.

How important is employer branding for attracting talent?

Every organisation will have an employer brand. Your employer branding helps set you apart from other job market organisations. Depending on how strong your employer brand is will affect how you attract and recruit talent while retaining and engaging existing talent.

A strong employer brand has never been so important as the job market becomes more competitive. But what exactly is employer branding? Employer branding refers to the perception potential and current employees have of your business.

This encompasses factors such as your company culture, values, work environment, and business reputation. The stronger your employer brand, the more appealing and desirable your business is to work for.

Developing a strong employer brand is a magnet for attracting talent to work for your business. High-quality candidates who align with your business values and vision are more likely to apply for a position with a strong employer brand.

There are three major components in formulating an employer brand. These are:

Reputation

The first component of employer branding is reputation. A business’s reputation can significantly determine whether a candidate applies for a job or accepts an offer.

With websites such as Glassdoor and Totaljobs, it’s now even easier for candidates to find reviews about working for certain businesses. As word travels fast in the digital age, it won’t be long before bad reviews damage your company’s reputation.

You can determine the extent of your employer’s reputation by considering the 3 C’s. These are career catalysts (whether working for a job will help a candidate advance their career), culture (what it’s like to work for your business), and citizenship (the impact on the community and society).

Proposition

The proposition is the next major component of formulating an employer brand. The proposition, or employer value proposition, refers to the employer-employee relationship. This component of the employer brand sets expectations for employee performance and behaviour and rewards for abiding by them.

Examples of rewards that may be given for meeting expectations and performance include development opportunities, better work/life balance, financial rewards, or any other form of gain within an organisation.

It’s important to ensure that value propositions are fair and should align with the employer brand you seek to achieve. The benefits you provide should correspond with the expectations you set. This helps to validate a solid reputation of give-and-get in the job market.

Experience

The third component of employer branding is experience. This refers to the experience a candidate has when applying for or working in a job role. How experienced an employee is in the role will impact your employer’s reputation.

A strong reputation may sometimes be enough to let potential talent overlook a tedious experience. However, if your business has a poor reputation, you’ll struggle to attract new top talent to your business.

It’s important to note that employee experience directly depends on how successfully you deliver on your proposition. As such, employees are more likely to see working for your business as a positive experience, leading to better performance.

Improving your employer brand

There are several methods you can use to improve your employer brand. These include:

• Discovering and understanding how stakeholders perceive your employer brand through research.
• Analysing, interpreting, and creating an overview of your organisation’s value proposition through brand attributes and behavioural mapping.
• Implementing and communicating your desired brand in the organisation through the recruitment process and internally.
• Measuring, maintaining, and optimising the progress of your employer brand through probing responses, measuring uptake, and determining improvements through metrics.

Interviewing Techniques for Mechanical Design Roles

 

Interviews are one of the most important stages in the recruitment process, allowing organisations to determine a candidate’s suitability for the role. This section will cover interview strategies and sample interview questions.

What are behavioural interview strategies?

Behaviour interviews focus on asking candidates questions to determine a candidate’s ability to overcome situations or problems in the workplace. Typically, these questions require candidates to provide information about previous work experience.

As these questions are popular across all industries, including mechanical design jobs, it’s important to understand how to answer them best to showcase your experience. Here are some behavioural interview strategies to help:

STAR

The STAR technique is possibly the most widely used interview technique for answering interview questions. STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result. The formula is effective for helping to structure behavioural interview responses.

As candidates must provide specific examples to demonstrate certain behaviours or skills, the STAR technique can ensure you formulate a strong answer.

Each stage of STAR focuses on a different aspect of your answer.

• Situation: outline the situation to provide context to the interviewer and ensure they understand your scenario. This should be short and brief and only provide the essential details.
• Task: briefly outline the task, problem, or challenge you took responsibility for and the goal you were trying to achieve.
• Action: the largest part of your answer will focus on your actions to complete the task outlined. You need to clearly outline the steps or actions you took to achieve the goal of the task. Skills and behavioural traits should also be outlined in the answer.
• Response: the outcome of the task and the outcome of your effort. To better highlight your skills and behaviour, try to focus on the positive outcomes of a situation. It is recommended that you highlight the most quantifiable results.

CAR

Another technique for answering behavioural interview techniques is CAR. The CAR technique is similar to STAR but is better suited for questions that require an explanation of your approach or strategy. The CAR method also focuses on different aspects of your answer:

• Context: Briefly outline the situation or scenario to give the interviewer In this section of your answer, also explain a suitable example from your past experience.
• Action: the largest part of your answer, the action stage, focuses on detailing the actions or steps you took to overcome a problem and deliver results.
• Result: This part of your answer will focus on detailing the outcome of your action and the results of the situation. Giving facts on the results of the situation can improve your answer.

What are technical interview strategies?

Technical interviews involve assessing a candidate’s problem-solving abilities and approaches. They are more widely used in engineering, IT, and science-based roles, such as mechanical design.

Given how prominent these interviews are in mechanical design roles, it’s important to understand how to answer these questions properly. The following strategies help ensure you provide the best answer to technical interviews.

• Communicate clearly and don’t be afraid to verbalise your thought process.
• Ask questions to clarify the problem at hand. Some questions may be purposely vague to assess your ability to gather the required information.
• Familiarise yourself with different whiteboarding techniques for an interview and roughly how long you should spend on each method:
  • Phone/video – 15-30 minutes
  • Remote coding tsk – 1-2 hours
  • In-person interview – 1 day of multiple interviews
  • Whiteboarding challenge – 1-2 hours
• Focus on details and ensure you cover the technical skills and knowledge included in your CV in detail.
• Take your time and make notes throughout the interview.
• Remember to focus on explaining techniques for practical problems alongside showcasing your work.
• Use the interview to showcase your passion for the role and tech.
• Practice and always familiarise yourself with different interview formats and question types.

What are some sample interview questions for mechanical design positions?

To help you prepare for interview questions for mechanical design positions, here is a selection of sample interview questions:

• How did you become interested in mechanical design?
• Why did you choose to study mechanical design/engineering?
• What is your CAD system choice, and why?
• What are some of your hobbies, and how can they help you in a mechanical design career?
• How would you address a flaw discovered that can comprise performance?
• How do you approach a new design project?
• How do you learn about new engineering trends?
• Detail the first engineering design you produced and what you learned from it.
• What is your most successful engineering project?
• Outline your creative process when working on a project.
• Explain the differences between static and dynamic analysis.
• How do you ensure that your designs adhere to industry standards and regulations?
• What experience do you have using digital tools and software to create designs?
• Have any engineering projects you worked on failed, and why did they fail?
• How did you recover from a mistake you made at work?

Onboarding and Retention Strategies

After the interview stage and the successful candidate has accepted the job offer, onboarding is the next step. Onboarding can significantly impact the introduction of new hires, including mechanical designers. In this section, we’ll cover the importance of a successful onboarding process alongside some different onboarding and retention strategies.

What is onboarding, and why is it important?

Onboarding is a stage in the recruitment process that welcomes and introduces new hires to a business and role. Successful onboarding strategies will welcome new employees and make them feel supported and prepared for their new job.

Some companies already have an existing onboarding strategy, while others may have a one-day ad hoc onboarding event. However, successful onboarding strategies are vital in welcoming and retaining top talent, including mechanical designers.

There are several reasons why successful onboarding strategies are vital for hiring new talent:

• Creates a strong positive first impression.
• Can positively influence employee retention rates.
• Helps smooth settling into a new role and organisation.
• Improves productivity and engagement.
• Reduces costs from a high employee turnover.
• Makes it easier to attract top talent.
• Improves or strengthens your company culture.

What are some best practices for onboarding new mechanical design hires?

Given the importance of effective onboarding strategies, ensuring your organisation successfully welcomes new employees is crucial. The following strategies include some best practices to consider for onboarding new mechanical design employees:

Pre-boarding

Pre-boarding or pre-onboarding is one of the first best practices for hiring new mechanical design hires. Pre-boarding takes place before the employee’s start date for a role, hence the name. This may help to increase an employee’s excitement for starting the role or working for your company.

Some employees may get anxious before the start of a new job and could even decline the job offer. After spending valuable time and resources during recruitment, you don’t want to lose a valuable employee at the last stage.

Pre-boarding is a perfect opportunity to set a positive first impression by engaging new recruits before they even enter the door. The earlier you start pre-onboarding, the better for helping employees settle into a role and start working more effectively.

Some of the things you can do as part of pre-boarding include:

• Provide relevant information or details about the job role or company.
• Answer any questions a new employee might have.
• Send free items with company branding, such as a notepad or water bottle.
• Provide a schedule for the first day so employees know what to expect.
• Ask for any feedback on the recruitment process.
• Get new employees set up with relevant tools or platforms.

By providing all the necessary and relevant details beforehand, you can ensure new employees know all the key details. This helps eliminate pre-job nerves and will help them settle into the role much better.

Set up a knowledge base

During the initial months of new roles, new employees may have many questions about their roles, benefits, or holiday schedules. Instead of employees continually asking or searching for information, you can set up a knowledge base.

A knowledge base is where you provide all the common information and essential details about a role, your company, or processes. That way, new employees can easily access all the required resources and answers.

Some examples of elements you can incorporate into a knowledge base include:

• Company info, such as policies, announcements, etc.
• Onboarding documents, including job policies, training programmes, etc.
• IT and tech, including tech support, troubleshooting, security protocols, etc.
• Benefits and compensation, including medical coverage or insurance, PTO policies, pay stubs, etc.
• Company directory, including contact details, hierarchy, etc.

Incorporate learning and development from the start

One of the top reasons employees leave an organisation is the company’s lack of investment in employees’ learning and development. A report from LinkedIn found that 94% of employees would have stayed longer in a role if organisations invested in training more.

That’s why it’s important to set a strong culture of learning and development from the start. This helps to maximise new employee’s potential and ensures a seamless transition to their new role.

Early training and development may focus on helping new employees settle into a role better, such as software tutorials, company videos, or one-to-one sessions with a manager. Gradually, this should transition to more job role-specific training and development.

Job shadowing

Job shadowing is a training method used widely by many organisations. It’s also an ideal onboarding strategy to help new employees settle into their roles. In job shadowing, someone observes another person working in a similar or same job role.

Not only does this help new employees better understand an organisation’s working culture, but it also helps them settle into a role much faster. Job shadowing during onboarding only needs to last a couple of days, but it can be very beneficial.

Make the first day exciting

The first day for a new hire should be informative yet exciting. You don’t want new starters to feel overwhelmed with work before they’ve even begun, but you also need to make the first day prepare them for the new role.

You can do several things on an employee’s first day to help make the day more exciting. Examples include setting up their desk or office, a starter gift, introducing the new employee to others, or having an informal lunch.

Check-in regularly

Line managers should regularly check in with new employees during the initial stages of a new role. Onboarding doesn’t end after the first day, and line managers should ensure employees are comfortable and happy in their new roles.

These check-ins can be weekly, monthly, or quarterly but require managers to sit down with new hires and discuss how they find the role. During these check-ins, managers should acknowledge contributions or discover development opportunities.

How can you retain top talent in the field?

In addition to ensuring an effective onboarding strategy, there are other methods you can use to retain top talent in the mechanical design field. Here are some methods you can use to help retain top talent:

• Create a positive work environment and culture.
• Provide plenty of training and development opportunities.
• Be fair and flexible with employees.
• Consider job enrichment for better job satisfaction.
• Set the goals and expectations of the company.
• Make employees feel valued and appreciated.
• Create opportunities for growth and career progression.

Diversity In Mechanical Design Recruitment

Inclusive and diverse teams positively impact innovation and provide a larger talent pool. Despite this, some organisations struggle to ensure diversity and inclusivity in their teams. This section will explore the importance of diverse design teams and how you can promote inclusivity during recruitment.

What is the importance of diversity in mechanical design teams?

Diversity in the workplace refers to having a workforce or team from different backgrounds or national origins. This extends beyond gender balance and includes people from different socioeconomic classes and cultures.

Not only is diversity beneficial for your company, but it is also becoming necessary. Without a diverse team, your organisation will struggle to create inclusive experiences and design processes. When it comes to creating diverse teams, there are four key components:

• Advancing equity.
• Creating a diverse team composition.
• Building an inclusive culture.
• Applying an inclusive design process.

But how important are diverse design teams? There are many benefits organisations can gain from creating diverse and inclusive teams. Some of the top benefits you can gain include:

• Increased innovation.
• Helps attract top talent.
• Better decision-making.
• Boosts the creativity and inclusivity.
• Improves the empathy of employees and deepens their cultural understanding.
• Greater variety of perspectives, experiences, and skills.
• Unique or different perspectives.
• Improved work culture, communication, and collaboration.

How can you promote inclusivity in the recruitment process?

The recruitment process plays a significant role in ensuring diverse and inclusive teams. If your organisation wants to benefit from the points above, you must promote inclusivity in the recruitment process.

Create inclusive job descriptions

Creating an inclusive job description is the first step to promoting inclusivity in the recruitment process.

To do this, you must ensure that your criteria are clear and reflect the competencies and skills required for the role. Ensuring the job description is free from jargon and clear to understand, you can help attract people from different backgrounds.

Have a clear diversity and inclusion policy

A diversity and inclusion policy establishes your organisation’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Such policies often act as the first step to promoting inclusive workplaces during recruitment.

The policy should outline your organisation’s commitment to adopting, developing, and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. After implementing the policy, communicating it across the organisation and addressing questions or concerns is also recommended.

Expand job advertising

There are many places to post and advertise a new job opening, from traditional situation vacant sections in newspapers to job boards and specialist recruitment agencies. Many businesses make the mistake of limiting where they promote job vacancies.

As a result, you limit the chances of a diverse candidate pool. Using different places to advertise job positions expands the possibility for your organisation to attract top talent and build inclusive teams.

Promote an inclusive brand

If your organisation already has a diverse, inclusive team, promoting it can help to promote inclusivity in the workplace further. Use different methods to communicate your organisation’s commitment to an inclusive workplace, such as on social media.

Have a diverse recruitment team

Another way you can promote inclusivity in the recruitment process is by having a diverse recruitment team. Inclusive workplaces cannot run without inclusive leaders. The same is true for the recruitment process.

The recruitment process should be collaborative and have input from people beyond the recruitment team. By widening the input during the recruitment process, you can remove potential bias and gain different perspectives on a candidate.

Remove shortlisting bias

Whether intentional or not, bias can be a factor in deciding which pool of candidates to progress in the recruitment process. As a result, this can lead to a lack of inclusivity in your organisation. Fortunately, there are ways you can remove shortlisting bias.

Using an automation tool for shortlisting candidates can be a good way to eliminate bias. Tools, such as ATS, can help impartially whittle down the applicants for a position to those with the most potential. These tools don’t have personal opinions, so they remove bias during shortlisting.

Set inclusive hiring targets or goals

One more way to promote inclusivity in recruitment is to set inclusive hiring targets or goals. Setting metrics for inclusive recruitment provides a measurable outcome that ensures stakeholders are accountable. An example of an inclusive hiring target could be ‘to grow the percentage of minority employees for a given team within 18 months’.

Future Trends In Mechanical Design Recruitment

In this last section, we will explore some of the future trends impacting mechanical design recruitment and the skills and qualities needed for future roles.

What are some emerging technologies impacting the field?

The mechanical design field is continually changing as technology advances. The same is true for mechanical design recruitment. Recruiters and technical recruitment agencies must adapt to the changing industry to attract top talent.

Here are some of the emerging technologies that impact mechanical design recruitment:

Artificial intelligence

One of the most significant technologies that has impacted mechanical design recruitment is artificial intelligence (AI). Given AI’s big impact in recent times, it seems that most industries are affected by its growth.

Recruitment for mechanical design engineers is undergoing a significant transformation, largely due to the influence of artificial intelligence (AI). This technology is impacting recruitment for these jobs and reshaping how recruiters operate.

Recognising the benefits it offers, many recruiters and agencies are now integrating AI into various aspects of recruitment. This not only improves working efficiency but also helps to match suitable candidates to job roles better.

This helps reduce one of the biggest challenges in recruitment: bad hires. The two biggest ways AI impacts mechanical design recruitment are candidate sourcing and engagement. First, candidate sourcing and matching.

AI systems are more efficient at processing and analysing candidate databases and data. They can also browse job boards and social media to locate ideal candidates. As a result, candidates with suitable experience and skillsets can be found and matched with a job.

Algorithms use the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and cultural fit to match against the job description for an open position. This helps significantly reduce the effort of sourcing suitable candidates and prevent bad hires.

The second way AI is impacting mechanical design recruitment is through candidate engagement. Chatbots are a popular form of AI that allows for real-time interaction. Recruiters are implementing chatbots to engage with candidates during the application process.

Chatbots can help answer questions or provide guidance with an application. Implementing such systems can help create a positive impression of your business and enhance engagement.

Data-driven recruitment

In recent years, recruitment has shifted towards a data-driven approach. This involves using various data sources to base recruitment decisions beyond the traditional candidate CV. As a result, recruiters can make much more objective decisions when hiring a candidate.

For that reason, many recruiters have adopted a data-driven approach to empower organisations with high-quality candidates. These decisions are based on quantitative data insights.

From implementing data-driven recruitment, it’s much easier to identify patterns, potential biases, and trends in a candidate’s experiences and skills. As a result, recruiters can make more objective and effective decisions when hiring the best candidate for a role.

Video technologies

More recruiters and recruitment processes use video technologies to screen and pick the best candidates for a role. Whether it’s live remote interviews or short pre-interview questions, video technologies dominate recruitment.

Many recruiters now ask candidates to provide a pre-interview video of them answering certain questions. Sometimes called pre-recorded video, candidates must answer questions within a given time. Recruiters then watch back the responses later.

This pre-screening method can help save time, improve efficiency, and be cost-effective. It can also help in ensuring an unbiased and fairer recruitment process. However, some criticise this method of screening due to its impersonal nature.

Machine learning

Determining a candidate’s behaviour and personality traits can be difficult. However, understanding a candidate’s behaviour and personality can determine whether they are suitable for a job role.

Fortunately, machine learning can help analyse candidates’ behaviour and personality during an interview. This allows recruiters to gain deeper insight into candidates’ fit for a given position, as well as their work style and soft skills.

Some machine learning algorithms can also mitigate bias during the recruitment process. By analysing previous hiring decisions, machine learning algorithms can determine any patterns indicating candidate bias. Acting on these findings helps foster a more inclusive workplace and team.

Applicant tracking systems

Another technology impacting mechanical design recruitment is applicant tracking systems (ATS). ATS is software that recruiters can use to help improve the recruitment process.

ATS systems can manage various recruitment processes, including collecting candidate information, managing job applications, and shortlisting the most relevant candidates. Many recruiters are now using ATS in the recruitment process due to the great benefits they offer:

• Automate certain elements of the recruitment process.
• Can help parse candidate CVs against set criteria to filter candidates.
• Provides a centralised location for candidate data for easier management.
• Automate certain candidate communication, such as pre-set emails.
• Improve collaboration in the recruitment process between hiring teams.
• Focuses on a data-driven approach to empower recruiters in hiring decisions.

What are the skills and qualities for future mechanical design roles?

Mechanical design roles are continually changing as technology continues to evolve. As a result, the skills and qualities necessary for such jobs are also evolving. Here are just some of the skills and qualities for future mechanical design roles:

• Advanced CAD proficiency – Mechanical designers must stay current with changing CAD software and its latest features.
• Industry 4.0 – A familiarity with different industry 4.0 technologies, such as IoT, will also be essential.
• Programming skills – As automation continues to take hold, mechanical designers will need a basic understanding of programming languages, such as phyton.
• Project management skills – Already an essential skill for mechanical designers, strong project management skills will become imperative for future roles.
• Creativity – While technology may be continually evolving, the challenges and problems mechanical designers face are too. This will require a stronger ability to think outside the box and be creative to find original ideas and solutions.
• Materials understanding – Mechanical designers will require a much more advanced knowledge of materials and their properties for innovative and efficient designs.
• Cross-disciplinary knowledge – As technology evolves and integrates into mechanical design roles, there will be a stronger need for cross-disciplinary knowledge. Mechanical designers will need an understanding of robotics, electronics, and mechatronics.

Further Reading

• Mechanical Design Jobs