Engineering employment in the current economic climate

BY Howard James - Employment agent

I've just spent the morning on the phone to a candidate, a senior engineer with over 20 years experience and some substantial engineering projects behind him. 

He's devastated!

He's physically sick with both the flu and the intense stress he's experiencing from the dissolution process he's going through with his current employer. He's been with them for well over two years now during the craziness in construction and mining engineering that took place in that time here in the Hunter.  The days were long the deadlines were unrealistic, the subcontractors lazy and incompetent and had to be closely watched, the fabricators got it wrong and everything had to modified on site , the company is in turmoil with a takeover and restructures, with a founding/owner moving out of the business with conflict and all the time this is going on, its under the threat of penalties' and legal regulatory authorities watching closely.

So it's been a hell of a ride in those two years as manager, holding it all together and delivering on the contracts.

Now it's quieter, the takeover and the move to new high profile offices have been made and the company is reforming itself under new ownership and a refined direction after three restructures. 

But what is making him physically sick isn't the workload, the stress of the project or the threat of failing to meet deadlines.  It's that after all that loyalty, he looks like he doesn't have a job.   A new guy has been placed into a newly created position above his role as a manager and in the last restructure, while he was on leave last week, his position has been deleted, But he's "welcome to come back" and the company will see what they can find for him.  That seems to be a planning role at a reduced salary.

He's most upset about the betrayal of the company to the loyalty that he has shown it and the emotional input he has made to the success and growth of the company during an extremely difficult and challenging time. His employment is about to change dramatically and not due to incompetence, negligence or even perhaps the full impact of the current economic situation.

But for a moment let's examine employment in the current economic Downturn. There is no doubt that since November last year things have changed dramatically in the employment market.

Tumbling interest rates, affordable petrol and mortgages, Government stimulus payments, subsidised first home buyers and for the first time in a number of years mass downsizing.  There have also bee many companies restructuring and other unpleasant employment realities like business failures or exporting the job to China. The current economic climate whilst new in some ways to the current Gen-Y is nothing new to the old X's or the baby boomers.  We saw it in the late 80's and 90's with the term economic rationalism suddenly becoming popular and Mr Keating giving Australia the "Recession we had to have!"

There has been significant negativity about employment and the media has pounced on the opportunity to sell a few newspapers, with some fear and scary predictions of the percentage that it will reach before it turns around, with varying predictions of when that will be. Even the Rudd Government have made statements in the press recently that ensure more doom and gloom.

But is it all that bad? Is it getting worse or better? What will prompt an employer to hire/fire or retrench? Have employers changed their tactics in the way they hire and what they are looking for?

For a quick and realistic view of future hindsight, I suggest this article to begin to put some perspective on today.  http://www.ere.net/2009/05/15/back-to-the-future-january-2010/

So , how are employers changing their hiring tactics in such a time and how can this be used to find a job in the current market? What kind of employee is valued most in such times and how one can use this knowledge to keep their job?

Firstly, yes employers are changing their tactics in hiring.  Wherever possible they are hiring under their own resources to save money. Recruitment companies, who have not built strong  relationships with their customers, are now out of favour with a lot of the larger corporations and  anyone seeking to use recruitment companies must weigh up if the best approach  to a company is through a recruiter or to go direct.  There is no definitive answer to that - you will have to do the research.  To be represented by an experienced recruiter with solid relationships is still a good way to go.  One of my best current BD approaches is simply to ring and talk to my contacts about people who I am confident represent a real opportunity for a particular company, that I know.  This is true particularly in engineering sector where the specialised skill areas are still not multiplying or dropping form the sky e.g. Structural engineers.

They are also now, looking for the "perfect candidate".  The ones that in the extremes of the candidate short times of just last year, that they found impossible to find - the one that ticks all the boxes, not just a few.  They are waiting and looking for more than two feet, a heartbeat and a degree! They have recently let go in the first round of lay-offs, any one who wasn't "perfect". 

There is much more emphasis on social networking sites, to source and screen applicants. Everything from Company sites, MySpace, Facebook and twitter are being used.  You need to take stock of what you have on those sites and be aware that other people are looking and making decisions based on what they see.  Anecdotally, I recall a case recently, where a job was withdrawn after being offered after the Facebook page was found to contain offensive sexist material.

Secondly to remain employed, who are employers keeping?  The ones staying share a vision for the future with their company and both see a cultural fit in that element. In hiring people there is an old adage, "hire on fit/culture, you can develop skills".  That seems to be carrying a great deal of weight. Another important thing that employers value in the current market, is people who can generate their own work and bring in new business.  Most engineers don't see themselves as sales people.  To be employed you are a salesperson.  To remain employed, you must be a good salesperson.  Every single day and every interaction on a professional level you are selling your credibility, skills and knowledge - you are influencing and persuading people to your point of view. That's a corner stone of sales.  Get comfortable with the idea that engineering and sales are one and the same thing and you will expand your customers and thus your ability to "engineer".

Finally, the article by Lou Adler points to a change taking place right now or even earlier.  Anecdotally I can report that to be the case.  Careers MultiList, the group that I am part of, reported jobs flowing back in, 4 weeks ago at the end of April.  A financial planning group who I do work for (yes I recruit accountants as well as engineers!), reported that they had their biggest month ever in April and that they picked up pace in the first weeks of May.

The good employers have a direction, a vision and a plan. They are taking the opportunity to regroup and are rebuilding now. They are articulating that plan to their team and everyone has had some input. The not so flash employers are still running around in circles hand flapping and squealing like school girls with no vision for the future.  If you work for them - you need to move and soon.

The strong but unhappy employees will begin to move to new opportunities in the latter part of the first quarter in the new financial year.  You need to be ready and prepared, both as an employer and a candidate for another round of more positive changes coming in the next 3-4 months. 

Back to that loyal engineer in the opening paragraphs.  He needs to catch his breath, clear his head and learn a hard lesson that Gen-Y seems to be much better at than the other groups in the employment market.  You need to adapt and while working for a company you are loyal.  You give it your best! But you need to be ready to move and learn to identify when that is coming - Change is the constant

Summary:

• Employers are tending to use their own resources to employ people so try to approach only experienced agents that also have a solid relationship with employers.
• Employers want to keep people who share the company vision and can bring in more work. As an engineer you have many sales skills (such as persuasion) try to use them to increase your company's business.
• There are signs that jobs are flowing back in, and employers will need to keep their good employees. Good employers have direction, vision and a plan that they articulate to everyone.
• Be loyal to a company while you work for them and give it your best. But be aware of when its time to develop your career to the next step.

Howard James is Managing director of Howard James Career & Recruitment Services.

His original qualification is in Early Childhood Education and has 6 years experience in engineering recruitment as well as many more in employment programs, training and  recruitment across the industrial, apprenticeship, commercial and professional sectors.

He is also the resident engineering employment expert at Ingeneers Network Australia.

P.S.

There are two polls for this blog. Be sure to take a look and cast your vote.

Engineering Exchanges - What does the word ‘networking’ mean for your career?

By Julia Palmer, Business Relationship Specialist

It’s long been discussed that Engineers need to network. The terms soft skill development, people skills and benchmarking are probably not new to most, but how do you undertake and apply such skills when so much of your training to date has focused on the technical aspects of the job?

The Engineering profession encompasses a multitude of disciplines that would benefit from a collaborative and networked approach. Disciplines such as aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical and electronics, industrial, IT, mechanical, power and software to list a few can leverage from each other’s experiences to form communities that help promote individual Engineers and the Engineering profession as a whole.

In order for this to happen, we must embrace networking. Though unfortunately for most, networking is a misunderstood word. Let’s cover what it’s not first. It is NOT about; selling, taking over conversations, one-way outcomes, swapping business cards aimlessly (at will), or eating and drinking. It IS however about creating and then managing two-way business relationships that are meaningful and reciprocal in nature.

Given the complexity of most engineering roles, the increased cultural mix in the job market and overseas opportunities that exist, and the desire to accelerate your career, learning how to utilise networks is a critical tool to add to your tool belt. As a further incentive, a major study by the Corporate Leadership Council into the Top 10 Talent Management Insights, found that the success of high potential employees is dependant upon the quality of their networks in the organisation and the No 1 strategy for realising employee potential was the strength of their interpersonal connections.

The following factors will influence your success, help raise your visibility and ensure you

create a powerful professional network.

The three key factors to network effectively;

1- Participate. In the modern age we have online and face-to-face networking opportunities that we can access on a daily basis and the emphasis is on utilising them! Gone are the days where we are just judged for the role we currently do. Companies now measure the ability to network as a key driver for success and in fact research at institutions such as Harvard and M.I.T. has consistently shown that employees’ personal networks are in many cases the single biggest factor impacting their productivity and ability to contribute to the company.

•  Online forums are a great way bounce ideas on professional issues, but note that these are usually more generic in nature. It’s important to get involved by asking questions and adding comments to other peoples too. Be proactive and allocate some time everyday day or week into your diary to invest in raising your online profile.

1. Face to face on the other hand is a lot more personalised but don’t spend the entire event with people you already know! It’s not called net-sit, net-eat or net-drink, it’s called net-work, so ensure you meet new people and initiate a structured, memorable conversation with each. What ever you do, don’t start with the question “what do you do?”. It alienates people and makes them feel judged.

The start of the business relationship is about establishing rapport and trust, and you will have time to qualify once you know if you like each other first. Face to face networking is daunting to most, just remember that everyone was a stranger to us at some stage! Know that you have something valuable to contribute and look for the good in people.

2 - Be Real. The main aim of many networks is to support their membership to share, learn and grow. So once you are involved, focus on being your true self to develop deeper and wider relations within your networks.

People are more likely to engage with you if they like you and vice versa. At all times stay true to your personality and be authentic. You will build trust by giving eye contact. This is something many Engineers struggle with, so a good barometer is to give between 60-70% mutual eye contact during one conversation. Remember to look at all people in the circle not just one or two, which is quite a common (and unfavourable) behaviour. Offer a firm handshake and pay attention to the messages being sent by your non verbal body language too.

Being real and true to yourself means being confident of who you are, so apply this to your interactions with others to form long term, solid business relationships.

3 - Futurise. When developing your networks think for the longer term and not just the current situation. So for example, at functions and events don’t monopolise people, be mindful that they will want to meet other people and so should you. If the conversation is going really well, and you feel that there is a fit for your network, ensure you exchange details at this stage and follow up promptly.

There are many options to connect again in the future depending on the depth of the first interaction or connection you made. You may choose to link via an online/ professional network, catch up for coffee or meal, invite them to another function, call them and so on. The purpose is to share ideas/ knowledge, discuss mutual projects/ interests and support each other.

Excuse yourself politely from a conversation if you don’t qualify them as a fit for your network, thus allowing others to meet them and you to meet others. There is almost only one degree of separation these days, so never burn bridges and don’t agree to anything unless you have ever intention of fulfilling it.

Implement the 3 key factors and remember that it’s too late to build a relationship when you need it the most! The most successful Engineers have established supportive networks both internally and externally to help them achieve their goals, raise their visibility and give back to the profession.

Treat networking as an essential part of your career strategy and not just something that you do on the side, if you have time. Information on an e-learning program designed to help you develop a networking strategy can be found at www.bconsulted.com.au

Network. Network. Network.

Julia Palmer is the Managing Director of BConsulted and author of BUZZ – Inspiration to attract, leverage retain profitable business relationships.

BConsulted provides training, mentoring and resources in business networking and relationship management. For more information go to www.bconsulted.com.au or call 1300 785 815

P.S.
Don’t forget to participate in the poll for this bog: What do you think On the topic of networking for engineers?