You just received a stack of 100 resumes for the leadership position you posted – how do you find the 10 – 15 that merit an interview? Identifying candidates with the requisite years of experience and technical expertise is straightforward, but what about discerning the more elusive qualities like leadership prowess or the potential to drive transformative change in your organization?
As an executive recruiter, I make this determination every day. This edition of “Engineering 365” will share four tailored criteria you should consider when identifying a candidate with the leadership qualities suited for your sector.
#1: Organizational Scale and Complexity
When screening resumes, the scale and complexity of projects or the size of organizations a candidate has managed can shed light on their leadership gravitas. For manufacturing and engineering leaders, it’s not just about the size in terms of employee numbers but also the complexity of projects or operations they’ve overseen. Check their history for involvement in significant engineering projects, complex manufacturing processes, or large-scale production management. When reviewing resumes, I look up these numbers and write them next to the experience lines on the resume. This small task will immediately illuminate that two very similar-looking resumes are describing two leaders with very different capacities.
#2: Quantifiable Impact
You are looking for impact and transformation when assessing a leader. Strong leaders know their numbers and demonstrate their impact through data-backed achievements:
- Significantly improved production efficiency by X%, demonstrating a keen understanding of operational excellence.
- Led innovative engineering projects that enhanced product quality by Y%, reflecting a commitment to continual improvement.
- Expanded operational capacity by Z%, showcasing their ability to scale up processes effectively.
#3: Leadership Style
Resume bullet points are a treasure trove of information, but the language used can unlock the door to understanding leadership dynamics, especially in technical roles. Did they drive innovation, streamline manufacturing processes, or lead cross-functional teams in complex projects? Parsing the language used can give you insights into whether they are strategic visionaries, hands-on leaders, or effective collaborators in technical environments.
#4: Clear and Concise Communication
Great leaders possess the remarkable ability to distill complex ideas into a succinct and impactful narrative. Consider candidates who convey their achievements and strategies with clarity and brevity. A great leader can effectively convey in two pages what a mediocre leader will convey over six.
Conclusion
Looking beyond the standard metrics on resumes can unveil the depth of a candidate’s potential impact on your organization. The four strategies given above will empower you to select candidates whose resumes resonate with profound impact, strategic acumen, and transformative capacity.
Here are three ways that we can help…
CTS carries out deep talent mapping, nationwide, to ensure our shortlists contain only the very best leaders for your Engineering and Manufacturing teams.
1. We help to attract and retain the best candidates, specifically for your team, in addition to the frontline leaders that you’ll need for growth and stability.
2. Reduce the cost of acquiring and training new hires by supporting and enhancing the efforts of your onboarding team for the first 90 days.
3. Provide a zero-risk and no-cost assessment of your hiring strategies with a 15-minute consultation.
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