Rockstar Recruiting has a knack for making recruiting look effortless. Our clients give us a call and tell us what they need (skill set, qualifications, wage range, certifications needed etc.) and usually within one to two weeks we have sent them a damn near perfect candidate all wrapped up in a pretty application. That is all they see, the finished product. Often overlooked is the countless hours that was spent searching to find that candidate.
Recruiting, especially for Skilled Trades roles like the ones we cover Mechanics (Diesel Mechanics, Automotive Service Technicians, Heavy Equipment Technicians) HVAC (HVAC Technicians, HVAC Installers, Gas Fitters) and Millwrights (Maintenance Mechanics, Industrial Mechanics, Maintenance Technicians) is incredibly difficult. To find the Rockstars it is more than just posting a job ad on Indeed or Zip Recruiter (if you are serious about maximizing job board try Jooble – https://ca.jooble.org/) and hoping for results. It is more than scouring 3rd party databases. It is more than building niche followings on Social Media and posting your jobs on your page. It is more than spending a decade networking with people in your space. It is more than referrals and headhunting. It is all of these things put together.
There is no one magic tool that will find you your candidates. I often say that we do not rely on job ads and that our posts on job boards are more for marketing than anything else, that is 100% true but sometimes we get lucky and the right candidate applies. We have spent years building up our Social Media following but it is pretty rare that we actually get a candidate from there. We offer lucrative referral bonuses but it is not like our inbox is overflowing with referrals. We attend every tradeshow that comes up, we routinely attend conferences, trade-specific dinners, presentations etc. to meet with everyone in the industry but is impossible to know everyone. On their own, each of these strategies seem like a waste but combined together is where you can really start getting results.
When speaking to a potential clients I am often asked “how do you find your technicians?” or “what is the secret sauce that makes you successful?” I always laugh. I wish I had something to tell them, I wish there was some awesome piece of technology that we had that no one else had access to that made the job simple. The truth though, and it is boring, is that to recruit properly takes time and effort. There is no guaranteed formula other than grinding, we turn over every rock and don’t stop until we find you the right candidate.
Recruiting Rockstar’s can look glamorous at the end but it takes a lot of work to get to that point. If you have a hard to fill opening for Mechanics, Millwrights or HVAC Technicians give Rockstar Recruiting a call at 1-833-937-3546 or e-mail info@rockstarrecruiting.ca.
