In 2006 the hardest position to fill was electrical engineers and guess what??  That’s not changed in 2017!  Our Manufacturing and Engineering Talent Acquisition division has been hired by some of the top global clients to identify passive talent that is in the top 10% of their discipline!  Easier said than done for most, however we have the secret sauce!  Good thing is the only sauce you’ll see me around is in the recruitment world, not in a kitchen! Our strongest demands for our EE’s are in Chicago, Houston and San Diego with most of the talent we identify coming out of the North East.  Our current ration is one electrical engineer per 18 openings, however there is a way to correct that!   Job boards and ads are antiquated ways to secure talent, that only marginally works during high unemployment years, and even then, we know that most candidates using that way to secure a position are normally unemployed or underemployed.  Our executive recruiters focus on passive talent throughout the US, Canada and Mexico that are open to “listening” to potential opportunities as they arise.  It’s incredible to find how many engineers, although satisfied in their current role, are willing to learn about potential new opportunities!  We have found that the number one reason they are willing to listen, is not because they are looking for more money, however, they are normally looking for a clear career runway!  Often they want to understand, where will I be in two years, where will I be in five years and we are finding that their current companies are not giving them clear career pathing!  We’ve also found that our electrical engineers are low on the ‘recognition’ ladder and we’ve identified a trend in the numerous passive engineers we interview weekly! Product engineers, design engineers, product marketing engineers, packaging engineers, etc. are the “stars” and our EE’s are getting lost in the shuffle.  So, if you’re a manufacturing company and you can’t find the electrical engineers you are looking for, we’ve found the secret sauce!  We know the companies throughout the US that could potentially lose their talent to competitors and we also know how to set our clients up for success!  We educate our clients regarding current hiring trends, current competition landscape, current relocation and compensation strategies!  When we win, our clients win!  Thank you to the recruitment industry, the headhunting industry, our manufacturing companies and engineers for making sure our secret sauce is created in the work world and not the kitchen.  I grew up knowing my best place in the kitchen was a glass of wine and watching others cook, I also grew up knowing my best place in the workforce “kitchen” was a sous chef…preparing the secret sauce to lead and identify our top talent with our North American teams!

Michelle Fish