How to Hire a Mechanical Engineer?: A Comprehensive Guide

According to a recent report, companies with strong hiring strategies can reduce hiring time by 50%. A reduced hiring time results in low hiring costs, proving to be beneficial for the company. However, developing a strategy for hiring employees can get challenging at times. To make hiring less demanding, we bring you a step-by-step guide on how to hire a mechanical engineer.  

Mechanical engineers are responsible for designing, developing, testing, and maintaining machines. They play a pivotal role in the company’s growth by designing innovative and efficient machines, making consumer’s life easy. To ensure you hire a competent mechanical engineer, in this blog, explore the steps involved in finding a Mechanical Engineer and hiring them, along with some tips and information enabling you to make an informed decision.

How to Hire a Mechanical Engineer?

Here are the steps on how to hire a Mechanical Engineer. 

Step 1: Decide the Requirements

The first step involves deciding your requirements. This involves deciding on the number of new employees, the position they will be hired for, their roles and responsibilities, compensation, and employee benefits. This allows you to create a clear understanding of your requirements and be a huge help in the subsequent steps. 

Step 2: Draft a Compelling Job Description 

A job description is a concise and detailed description of the job role. Writing a job description allows you to draw applications from the desired candidates, making the hiring process faster and easier. It includes a clear description of the following: 

• Company Overview: Brief description of what the company does.
• Job Overview: Brief description of the ideal candidate and their key responsibilities.
• Responsibilities: A list of major and minor responsibilities. 
• Requirements: A detailed list of skill requirements and qualifications.
• Benefits: A list of benefits for the employee.

Step 3: Shortlist and Conduct Interviews

After you have received a bunch of resumes, it’s time to shortlist candidates according to your requirements. You can use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to make this process more efficient and seamless. 

After shortlisting candidates based on their resumes, conduct interviews. An interview is a one-on-one conversation where you get to assess the skills, qualifications, and capabilities of the candidate. You can achieve this by asking strategic questions, allowing you to make an informed decision. 

Step 4: Assess Skills

Skill assessment can be done by assessing the answers of the candidates to the questions asked during the interview. You can assess one’s skills and knowledge by the quality of their answers, the confidence they speak with, and their body language. Here are some questions you can ask to assess a candidate’s hard and soft skills: 

Questions to Assess Technical Skills: 

1. How would you approach the analysis of stress and strain in a pressure vessel?
2. What are the different types of heat exchangers? How do they work? 
3. Explain the working principle of a four-stroke engine.

Questions to Assess Soft Skills:

1. Describe the time when you overcame a technical challenge in past projects.
2. A critical component is failing prematurely. What steps would you take to investigate the failures and design a solution?
3. What are your career goals and does this position fit in your long-term plans?

Step 5: Finalize Candidates and Start the Onboarding Process

After assessing the skills from the tasks assigned and the interview, it’s time to finalize a few candidates. Make an offer to each selected candidate and select the final candidate. After signing the offer letter, begin the onboarding process. 

How to Find a Mechanical Engineer?

To hire a competent Mechanical Engineer, finding a skilled candidate is essential. Here are some proven methods on how to find a Mechanical Engineer that you can consider.

Post Jobs Online

Using digital platforms for posting jobs is a great way to reach the masses. These platforms enable you to reach competent candidates across the corners of India and the globe. 

Internshala is one of the best job posting sites. It allows you to post jobs or internships for free and provides numerous user-friendly features, such as an in-built chatbox and a world-class ATS. Additionally, it has 21+ million skilled candidates, enabling you to reach a wide range of candidates with just one click. 

To explore more job posting sites, check out our blog on the best job posting sites in India. 

Ask Your Connections for a Reference 

Asking your connections who work in a similar industry is another excellent method to find candidates. This method provides you with candidates whose skills, qualifications, and work have already been assessed by your referral. Additionally, ensure to seek a referral only from a trusted source to find competent candidates. 

Contact Placement Cells in Universities

Another method you can opt for is contacting placement cells in universities and colleges. By opting for this method you will be able to find younger candidates possessing the ability to provide fresh and innovative solutions. 

Mechanical Engineers: An Overview 

Before hiring mechanical engineers, it is vital to understand the benefits of hiring them, the skills or qualifications necessary, and the cost of hiring. Here’s a comprehensive overview to help you make informed decisions while hiring a mechanical engineer. 

Why Hire a Mechanical Engineer? 

Mechanical engineers are responsible for the ideation, research, development, and testing of new machines and devices. They conduct thorough research and analysis to develop a plan and design the prototype of a device. After completing the testing phase they create the device with the help of 3D printing.  

Required/Preferred Skills & Qualifications  

A strong understanding of skills and qualifications that make a candidate fit for the role helps you hire a competent mechanical engineer. Here’s a list of skills and qualifications to look for in your candidate: 

Technical skills:

• Strong understanding of engineering principles
• Proficiency in engineering software such as AutoCAD, 3D printing and modeling, and SOLIDWORKS
• Analytical and problem-solving skills

Soft Skills:

• Teamwork skills
• Communication skills
• Attention to detail and critical thinking
• Adaptability

Preferred Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s/master’s degree in mechanical engineering
• Proven work experience 

Cost of Hiring a Mechanical Engineer 

The cost of hiring a mechanical engineer depends on various factors such as job location, profile, roles and responsibilities, and company, among others. On average, a mechanical engineer makes around ₹19.6 LPA. Their salary generally ranges from ₹15.0 LPA to ₹50.0 LPA.

Conclusion 

In this blog, we have discussed how to hire a mechanical engineer. Hiring a skilled mechanical engineer can help your company meet your goals and objectives. By following a well-designed strategy you can navigate through the roadblocks of the recruitment process with ease. So, remember to keep this blog handy while hiring a new employee.

Additionally, to make your hiring process organized, you can use software like MS Excel and experience a seamless process. Do check out our advanced Excel course to polish your Excel skills. 

Once you are ready with your hiring strategy, begin your search for a skilled mechanical engineer and start hiring with Internshala.