This blog will cover three effective interview techniques that can help you evaluate an engineering candidate’s technical skills, as well as their personality and soft skills.

3 Interview Techniques for Evaluating Engineering Candidates

Hiring engineering talent can be challenging, especially if you are not a trained engineer. How you evaluate their skills depends on the position you’re hiring for, the types of projects they’ll be working on, and your company culture. With so many different types of engineers, you need different interview techniques to evaluate them properly.

This blog will cover three effective interview techniques that can help you evaluate an engineering candidate’s technical skills, as well as their personality and soft skills.

1. Focus on Content

Before interviewing candidates, you must decide exactly what core skills you are looking for. Look at the purpose of the engineering role and what technical or practical expertise is needed. Consider bringing in one of your senior engineers to consult about exactly what skills you’re looking for. You could also ask your whole engineering team what questions they would like to be asked to test a candidate’s aptitude for the position.

2. Be Consistent

Once you establish what you are looking for, be consistent with each candidate interview. Ask every candidate the same questions; this will allow you to effectively compare candidates and more accurately determine who fits the role.

Consistency in your interview questions helps you avoid being biased toward candidates. Prime talent may not shine on paper. Resumes, specifically educational credits and past work experience, can be impressive. However, just because a candidate looks good on paper does not mean they will be a good fit for your company and the role in question. Asking consistent questions allows you to compare candidates on a level playing field.

3. Be Creative

When it comes to evaluating engineering talent, be creative with your questions. The goal is to evaluate how a candidate will handle a problem or provide a strategy to help them succeed in the role you seek to fill. Your engineering team can be very helpful in formulating questions that determine technical skills and assess the candidate’s soft skills in handling situations.

Conclusion

Preparing an effective engineering interview takes time, patience, and focus. By focusing on the hard and soft skills needed for the role and enlisting your engineering team to help you vet prospective candidates, you can develop practical questions and techniques to interview engineering candidates and find the right fit for the job.

Let us help you hire top engineering talent! Contact ABBTECH today!

Studying Engineering? Career Paths to Consider

You can pursue many career opportunities in engineering. There are many engineering career path to consider. Of course, each engineering career path has its pros and cons. If you know what to expect out of the different paths in engineering, you can plan accordingly. As a result, you can pursue an engineering career that meets your expectations.

Here are three engineering career paths to consider.

1. Network Engineer

A network engineer designs, builds, and maintains network infrastructure. The engineer can also work with software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs), unified communication systems, and cloud networks.

You can pursue network jobs at telecommunications companies and cloud computing providers. Meanwhile, network engineers are often hired for roles in retail, healthcare, finances, and many other industries as well.

Research indicates the average base salary of a network engineer is nearly $77,000. The job outlook for network engineers looks promising, too.

2. Application Engineer

Application engineers work with a business’ engineering teams and customers. The engineers use feedback to develop and implement software apps. In addition, they provide technical support, test apps, and lead software demonstrations.

Software companies and computer design firms are among the top employers for app engineers. However, app engineers are in high demand at companies of all sizes and across all industries.

Do not expect the demand for application engineers to slow down any time soon. Some experts predict demand for app engineers is expected to grow over the next few years. Furthermore, the average annual salary of app engineers in the United States exceeds $100,000.  

3. Cloud Engineer

As a cloud engineer, you’ll develop and maintain cloud infrastructure. You may design cloud solutions for an organization or code for cloud environments. Also, you may work with cloud networks and keep them running at peak levels.

The best cloud engineers stay up to date on the latest and greatest cloud technologies. These engineers know the ins and outs of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and other tech for managing cloud environments. Moreover, they can secure data in cloud environments and verify it is stored in accordance with myriad industry regulations.

As businesses take their operations into the cloud, they are on the lookout for quality cloud engineers. Therefore, demand for cloud engineers is likely to increase in the foreseeable future. At the same time, cloud engineers can expect a six-figure annual salary, and this total may continue to rise.

Find the Engineering Career That’s Right for You

For those who are studying engineering, evaluate your career options carefully. Think about your career interests and goals. Next, you can find an engineering specialty that suits you perfectly. There are many engineering career paths to consider and at this point, you can enroll in classes to help you build your skills in this specialty. You can eventually earn certifications and degrees that help you achieve your career aspirations. Lastly, if you want to look for engineering jobs, ABBTECH can help. We are an IT staffing agency that can keep you up to date about network, application, and cloud engineer jobs and many other engineering roles. For more information, browse our job board today.

3 Questions to Ask Before You Get a Master’s in Engineering

Engineering jobs are readily available across the United States. Yet the top candidates for these roles typically possess a master’s degree. Ask these questions before you get a Master’s in engineering.

A master’s in engineering can help you stand out in a crowded job market. Meanwhile, with more jobs for engineers expected to become available, a master’s can put you in an excellent position to secure your dream job and earn a high annual salary.

Of course, earning a master’s in engineering is easier said than done. Before you pursue a master’s for engineers, here are three questions to consider.

1. Do I Need a Master’s to Achieve My Career Goals?

A master’s degree can help you land a leadership role in engineering. The degree can also make you an attractive job candidate to companies in need of engineering talent. However, the degree is not a requirement to land a job in engineering. Rather, a master’s can help you further your career.

Examine your career goals and consider how earning a master’s degree can help you achieve them. It can be helpful to list your career goals and the steps you’ll need to take to accomplish your aspirations. If you find you’re ready to take another step forward in your engineering career, now may be the right time to pursue a master’s.

2. Do I Have Enough Time to Earn a Master’s?

Earning a master’s requires time, energy, and resources. If you work an engineering role, you may need to take time away from work to earn your degree. On the other hand, you can enroll in online classes that let you complete your coursework on your own schedule.

Review your schedule and how you can change it to pursue a master’s. If you want to earn your master’s as quickly as possible, you can cut back on your workload. Comparatively, if you want to work while you earn a master’s, you can revamp your work schedule accordingly.

3. What’s the ROI of Earning a Master’s?

Those who have a master’s in engineering generally earn more money than engineering professionals without one. But keep in mind that location, the job market, and other factors can dictate the amount of money you earn in an engineering role.

Look at the cost of earning a master’s degree at different schools. In addition, consider how much you can earn with a master’s degree versus how much you can earn without one. This helps you determine the ROI of earning a master’s. And it can help you map out your engineering career.

Want to Find a Great Job in Engineering?

Having a master’s degree in engineering can improve your chances of landing a great job. If you ask these questions before you get a Master’s in engineering. Moreover, if you partner with ABBTECH, we can help you engage with companies in search of quality engineering job candidates. We are a staffing firm that helps engineering job candidates in any way we can. Our team can learn about you and your engineering career goals and help you land a role that meets your expectations. For more information, please contact us today.

4 Qualities to Look for in an Engineer

You want to hire an engineer. Ultimately, you may receive applications from dozens of engineer job candidates. To identify the best one for your business, you need to know what sets a great engineer apart from an average one. There are 4 qualities to look for in an engineer. These qualities include:

1. Determination to Perform Their Best

A first-rate engineer won’t settle for inferior results. Rather, the engineer works diligently to perform their best, every day. The engineer is a professional in every sense. As such, the engineer learns as much as possible and never stops learning. Furthermore, this individual reviews their work with precision and care. And the engineer only submits work that meets their employer’s requirements.

2. Commitment to Simplicity

Engineering is complex, but the top engineers prioritize simplicity. These engineers do everything in their power to find simple and effective solutions to complicated problems. They also know how to put advanced topics into terms and phrases that anyone can understand. Let’s not forget about how the best engineers help businesses save time and money, either. These engineers constantly explore ways to streamline business operations. They often find ways to automate myriad business processes, too.

3. Dedication to Solve Problems Quickly

An exceptional engineer won’t shy away from problems. Instead, the engineer does what’s necessary to identify and resolve a problem without delay. Moreover, the engineer explores ways to prevent a problem from recurring. To correct a problem, the engineer looks at why it’s happening in the first place. From here, the engineer brainstorms solutions. This individual even collaborates with peers and managers to ensure the problem is properly addressed.

4. Devotion to Help Others Succeed

If you want a great engineer, you should look for someone who’s a team player. This engineer identifies ways to help their team succeed. The engineer inspires and motivates others to perform at peak levels. Meanwhile, this individual ensures team members get the support they need, exactly when they need it.

The Bottom Line on How to Find the Best Engineer for Your Team

You want quality engineer job candidates to find your company. As part of your efforts, you need to tailor your job descriptions accordingly. That way, you can boost your chances of connecting with candidates who have the qualities you want.

Also, consider the benefits you offer engineer job candidates. The best companies provide a competitive compensation package, health benefits and other perks to engineers. By providing these benefits, you can make your company an attractive choice to engineer job candidates.

Lastly, if you want extra help in your quest to connect with engineering professionals, partner with ABBTECH. Our team can put you in touch with top engineering talent at your convenience. And we can make it easy for you to fill a wide range of engineering roles across your business. We are available to help you identify superb engineering job candidates. For more information or to get started, contact us today.