How we screen engineering candidates

1. 01

   Technical Review

   Confirm the candidate has direct, hands-on command of the specific systems, code sections, or software the role requires, not adjacent or supervisory-only exposure.

   Typical duration: 45 to 90 minutes

   Inputs

   • Role technical criteria
   • Candidate resume and portfolio
   • Sample drawings or specs where relevant

   Activities

   • Structured interview on named platforms, relay families, or design tools
   • Walk-through of a representative past project, focused on the candidate's specific contribution
   • Scenario question tied to a task the role will actually perform
   • Score depth of hands-on versus oversight-only experience

   Outputs

   • Technical review score
   • Notes on specific gaps

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Candidate describes team output as personal accomplishment without probing
   • Screener lacks the technical depth to catch a surface-level answer
2. 02

   Industry Experience

   Assess whether the candidate's background matches the operating environment of the role, since utility, data center, and manufacturing settings carry different unwritten expectations.

   Typical duration: 20 to 30 minutes

   Inputs

   • Target industry from role profile
   • Candidate work history

   Activities

   • Map prior employers against the target industry or a closely adjacent one
   • Ask about industry-specific standards the candidate has worked under (NERC, NFPA, ISA)
   • Probe understanding of the operating constraints unique to the industry (uptime requirements, regulatory audits)

   Outputs

   • Industry fit rating
   • Notes on transferable versus direct experience

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Adjacent-industry experience is scored as equivalent when the operating constraints are materially different
3. 03

   Project Experience

   Verify the candidate has worked projects of comparable scale and complexity to the one being staffed, not just the same job title elsewhere.

   Typical duration: 20 to 30 minutes

   Inputs

   • Project scope from Discovery
   • Candidate project history

   Activities

   • Ask for specific project size, budget, and team scale on comparable past work
   • Confirm the candidate's role on the project team (lead, contributor, reviewer)
   • Check for experience with the specific project phase relevant to this hire (design, SAT/FAT, commissioning, closeout)

   Outputs

   • Project experience summary
   • Scale-fit rating

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Title inflation on prior projects goes unchecked, overstating scope of responsibility
4. 04

   Communication

   Evaluate how clearly the candidate can explain technical decisions to both peers and non-technical stakeholders, since most engineering roles carry a client- or crew-facing component.

   Typical duration: Assessed throughout the screening process

   Inputs

   • Role's stakeholder interface requirements

   Activities

   • Ask the candidate to explain a technical decision to a non-technical audience
   • Assess clarity and structure of written communication in submitted materials
   • Note responsiveness and clarity during scheduling and screening interactions

   Outputs

   • Communication rating

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Strong technical answers mask weak ability to communicate with a client or crew
5. 05

   Leadership

   For roles with supervisory or crew-lead responsibility, confirm the candidate can direct other engineers or technicians, not just perform individual technical work.

   Typical duration: 20 to 30 minutes

   Inputs

   • Role's supervisory scope

   Activities

   • Ask for specific examples of directing a crew or team through a schedule-critical task
   • Probe how the candidate has handled a direct report's performance issue
   • Assess decision-making under conflicting priorities from multiple stakeholders

   Outputs

   • Leadership rating
   • Notes on team size and scope led

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Leadership is assumed from seniority or title without verifying direct people-management examples
6. 06

   Compliance

   Verify all licenses, certifications, and safety training required for the role are current and issued by the stated body, closing a common source of onboarding delay.

   Typical duration: 1 to 2 business days for verification turnaround

   Inputs

   • Role's required certifications
   • Candidate-provided documentation

   Activities

   • Verify PE license, NETA, NFPA 70E, or other certification status against the issuing body
   • Confirm expiration dates against the expected engagement length
   • Check for any required background check or drug screening prerequisites specific to the site

   Outputs

   • Verified certification list
   • Compliance clearance notes

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • A certification is accepted from a resume without third-party verification and turns out to be lapsed
7. 07

   References

   Get an outside perspective on technical performance and reliability that the candidate's own interview answers can't fully provide.

   Typical duration: 1 to 3 business days depending on reference availability

   Inputs

   • Candidate-provided reference contacts

   Activities

   • Contact at least one direct supervisor and one peer or crew reference
   • Ask structured questions on reliability, technical accuracy, and how the candidate handled a difficult project moment
   • Cross-check reference account against candidate's own description of the same project

   Outputs

   • Reference check summary

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • References are all hand-picked and favorable, with no attempt to reach an independent peer contact
8. 08

   Availability

   Confirm the candidate's actual start-date flexibility and notice period against the project's need date before any offer conversation begins.

   Typical duration: 10 to 15 minutes

   Inputs

   • Project need date
   • Candidate's current employment status and notice period

   Activities

   • Confirm notice period with current employer and any contractual restrictions
   • Check for scheduled time off, prior commitments, or other engagements
   • Flag any gap between candidate availability and project need date early

   Outputs

   • Confirmed availability date

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Availability is assumed rather than confirmed, and a two-week notice period surfaces after the offer is extended
9. 09

   Travel

   For field and multi-site roles, confirm the candidate can actually sustain the travel or rotation schedule the project requires, not just says they're willing.

   Typical duration: 15 to 20 minutes

   Inputs

   • Project travel or rotation schedule

   Activities

   • Confirm willingness and history of sustained travel or rotational field schedules
   • Ask about prior per-diem or lodging arrangements to confirm familiarity with the model
   • Check for personal constraints (family, secondary licensing state) that limit travel radius

   Outputs

   • Travel fit rating

   What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

   • Willingness to travel is taken at face value without checking track record on similar schedules, leading to early attrition
10. 10

    Soft Skills

    Assess adaptability, problem-solving under ambiguity, and how the candidate handles feedback, traits that predict performance on unstructured field problems better than a technical score alone.

    Typical duration: 20 to 30 minutes

    Inputs

    • Behavioral interview guide

    Activities

    • Ask for an example of adapting to a changed scope or schedule mid-project
    • Probe how the candidate has responded to critical feedback in the past
    • Assess comfort operating with incomplete information, common in field troubleshooting

    Outputs

    • Soft skills rating

    What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

    • Soft skills assessment is skipped for candidates with strong technical scores, missing a poor fit for field ambiguity
11. 11

    Risk Assessment

    Consolidate flags from prior dimensions, employment gaps, tenure patterns, or safety incident history, into an explicit risk read before presentation.

    Typical duration: 15 to 20 minutes

    Inputs

    • Full screening record to this point

    Activities

    • Review employment history for unexplained gaps or a pattern of short tenures
    • Check for any disclosed safety incident or disciplinary history
    • Weigh identified risks against the specific demands of the role

    Outputs

    • Risk assessment note

    What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

    • A pattern across multiple minor flags goes unaddressed because each was reviewed in isolation
12. 12

    Quality Scorecard

    Roll every dimension into a single weighted scorecard so the hiring manager can compare candidates on a consistent basis rather than a narrative summary alone.

    Typical duration: 30 to 45 minutes

    Inputs

    • Scores from all prior dimensions

    Activities

    • Apply role-specific weighting to each dimension
    • Calculate composite score and flag any dimension that fell below threshold regardless of composite
    • Prepare scorecard for inclusion in the client presentation

    Outputs

    • Completed scorecard
    • Presentation-ready summary

    What goes wrong when this stage is rushed

    • A strong composite score masks a single disqualifying gap in one dimension, such as a lapsed certification

• Independent scoring per dimension

  Each of the 12 dimensions is scored on its own before any composite is calculated, so a strong technical score can't paper over a compliance gap.

• Weighting matches the role

  The scorecard weighting shifts by role type; field roles weight travel and availability heavier than design-focused roles do.

• Verification, not self-report

  Certifications, references, and project scope are checked against outside sources wherever possible, not accepted as written on a resume.

• Disqualifiers override composite score

  A high composite score doesn't clear a candidate if a single dimension hits a defined disqualifier, such as a lapsed license.

Question not covered here? Ask a recruiter directly - you will get a straight technical answer, not a callback from a salesperson.