Engineering Inc. - November/December 2007 - (Page 19) ome engineering companies report that they have had positions open for over a year and cannot fill them. roD HoFFman HDr, InC. S men, but are likely to stumble with colleagues and clients. Churchman suggests using behavioral-based interviewing techniques (which seek real-world examples of how a person deals with a situation) to get a better feel for a candidate’s thinking. Faced with a skills shortage, some firms are making more practical adjustments. One solution, says Hoffman, is to hire non-engineers for support jobs such as computer-aided design, drafting and other nontechnical positions. Offshoring is an option, particularly in emerging nations such as India and China, which continue to ramp up educational efforts. But be careful, says Hoffman. “When you delve into who these people are and what degree they’ve earned, you sometimes find out that they have less than two years of learning and their degree [might] not mean the same thing as a degree from a U.S. school.” No matter how you choose to approach recruitment and retention in the future, one thing is certain: These days, success depends on creativity, flexibility and building a fundamentally sound business environment. “We’re living in a new world that demands different thinking than in the past,” says Oakes-Coyne. “Smart executives understand the need to step beyond conventional ways of handling recruitment and retention.” n Samuel Greengard is a business and technology writer based in West Linn,Ore. Market & Labor Trends For more information about market and labor trends, see ACEC’s 2007–2008 Design & Construction Industry Trends Survey. It is available for purchase at the aCeC Bookstore at http://store.acec.org. New! Recruit & Retain Great A/E/C Talent: The Business Development Approach Hire Smart! Dates & Cities Fall 2007 Attract and retain top professionals for your design or construction firm in today’s tight labor market using business development strategies. September 21, 2007 Washington, DC October 12, 2007 Dallas, TX November 30, 2007 San Francisco, CA February 15, 2008 Boston, MA March 28, 2008 Philadelphia, PA April 25, 2008 Tampa, FL May 30, 2008 Chicago, IL Register today at www.smps.org/talent 2007–08 SMPS Educational Series NovEmbER / DECEmbER 2007 ENGINEERING INC. 19 http://store.acec.org
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