Engineers name priorities, complaints in job hunting

SAN FRANCISCO
What is the number one priority in an engineerís mind when searching for a new job? Many would guess salary. But according to a recent survey by EPCglobal, an international recruitment and staffing-solutions firm focused solely on the engineering and construction industries, this is not the case. Out of 736 respondents, almost 60 percent claim itís what the job entails that matters. This a substantial majority, compared to a meager 19 percent whom were most concerned with pay.

Third on the surveyed groupís list of priorities was the company itself. Then came other non-salary elements of the compensation package, such as company car and health insurance. Additional factors that received votes included travel, location, supervisor, the opportunity to do what they felt they did best, stability, challenge, potential to gain work experience, the right fit and a combination of all of the above.

E&C professionals are also keen on getting personal, professional help with their job searches. A whopping 81 percent reported they preferred to speak directly with recruitment consultants when looking for job opportunities. They also reported that their aggravations with finding suitable work included relying on ineffective agencies (15 percent), and the hassles of potential employersí recruitment processes (18 percent).

ìEPCglobal gives engineers and construction professionals the personal recruiting attention they seek, and uses state-of-the-art technology to make the best possible matches between candidate skill sets and client job requisitions,î said Richard Hoare, US Managing Director for EPCglobal. The companyís website, EPCjobs.com, allows users to be serviced at their convenience, whether online or offline. The newest version of the website allows job candidates to link directly with recruiters, giving their phone numbers and email addresses.

The professionals surveyed described themselves as being engineers, project managers, construction managers, construction workers, and commercial services workers. Their fields of expertise included telecommunications; power; industrial & manufacturing; petroleum & chemical; buildings; civil infrastructure; oil & gas; water; environmental; mining & metals; and railways.

Forty-eight percent of those surveyed were over the age of 46; 16 percent were in the 36-40 age bracket; 15 percent were between the ages of 41 and 45; and 11 percent were 31-to-35 year olds. Seven percent were between 25 and 30, less than one percent was under age 24, and three percent did not respond to the age question.

About 67 percent of these respondents reported that they had more than 10 years of experience, and 18 percent said they had six to 10 years of background in E&C fields. About nine percent reported one-to-five years of experience, 1.5 percent had less than a year of work background, and about 3.5 percent gave no response to this question.