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Sales Aerobics for Engineers
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Let’s face it. Most company websites are an embarrassment. Something you hope your current and prospective customers either will ignore or overlook. And still call you for an amazingly in-depth, insightful discussion that results in a request for proposal. Now that’s wishful thinking.  Ever heard of the saying “one picture’s worth a thousand words?”

Others of you have a website that’s flashy. It’s got streaming this and that. It’s crammed full of announcements about product innovations. It’s your online portfolio that you hope will WOW a prospective customer. In fact, it’s so overwhelmingly full of pictorial and streaming verbiage that the visitor doesn’t know where to look first. Ever heard of the saying “one picture’s worth a thousand words?”

Most of you have ho-hum websites whose major function is to be “informational.”  And that information is buried throughout the entire website, sort of like a scavenger hunt. And of course, an internal employee created the website because, well, engineers can do all things. (And they can, but why would they be assigned to such a task and take away from billable time to prove this point?).  Or your website was created by some vendor who was nothing more than an order-taker. So the website was designed by committee, or by ego, and tells you what you already know. But it doesn’t tell your prospective customer anything relevant.

Who has time to hunt through your website content for what they are searching for in the first place? When’s the last time you read a website cover-to-cover, even if it had intuitive navigation?

Your website is your online persona. After a successful business development call – either in person or via phone or virtually – your customers and prospects are going to “check you out” …. online.  And the feedback they receive from their efforts can make or break you – no matter how successful a presentation and relationship building strategy you may have.

1.  They will Google your company name. What are they going to find? How well is your company managing its online persona? How well are you managing your online persona, for that matter?

A mediocre, out-of-date, information-flash-overload, or non-intuitive website can successfully demonstrate, in 2 to 5 seconds, that you are not who you seem to be and you are not in touch with your customers.  How anticipatory is your website to the types of questions and issues that a current and/or prospective customer might have? Does your website provide answers to these questions in the same place, or all over the place? Does your website have links to links to links to pdfs?

Hey, would you want to use your website?  One of my clients, whose building materials company caters to architects and civil engineers, realized some of his internal personnel were spending an average of 2 hours a day – each – guiding folks through their old website to the information they needed to find. And those were the customers/prospects who actually called in. Think about how many folks simply gave up and went elsewhere for business.

Do you have any idea how much 2 hours of these employee’s billable time cost that company? Until they achieved their new website which tripled their website traffic and contacts? Talk about the cost of doing business let alone the impact a poor website has on business development!

2.  Oh, and what else will prospective clients find when they Google your company name? Will they find out about liens against your company, lawsuits, hazmat citations and other non-glorious information?  Will they find kudos, honors and awards your company has received?

Will these prospective customers wonder how your company can win design awards yet have a mediocre, non-customer-centric website?  Will customers compare what they read when they Google your company with the content and format of your website and find it similar or different to their customer experience?

3. They will Google you by name as well. What are they going to find? Because you need to manage your personal brand in conjunction with your professional brand as well.  If you are on the roster of your religious institution, or have made donations to civic causes,  participated in a mini marathon, well, that tells your prospective customers a little bit more about you.  I don’t need to tell you that having a complete LinkedIn profile, including references, is essential. Your professional brand is linked to and complements the company for whom you work. Is your personal brand better than your company’s brand? Now that’s an interesting question.

You need to be able to tell your prospective customers and current clients to “check out my website” and “check out my LinkedIn profile.” Because they are going to do this anyway. Make this aspect part of your business development etiquette. And make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated and dynamic – even if your corporate website is not.

So how’s your company using the rules of engagement of today’s Internet to assist your business development efforts? Having a company website that walks your talk is mandatory.

One corporate recruiter on Linkedin had as her status update “..be careful not to stalk the corporate recruiter, but do follow-up.” Numerous discussions are taking place online scolding recruiters and employers for lack of follow-up with candidates. But, how do you as a candidate stay on the right side of the fine line that divides assertive job seeker and scary stalker?

Let’s assume you have made it through an initial screen and had a phone or in person interview. As a job seeker, how often should you phone or email in follow-up to your meeting? First, you should end your interview by asking the recruiter to explain the remainder of the hiring process.  Ask the interviewer “What happens next?” and “When should I expect to hear from you?” If they tell you what the next step is, then follow it. For example, if the recruiter tells you they have just started the process and expect to complete interviews in a couple weeks, then call them in a couple of weeks.  If they do not return your call within 24-48 hours, then send them a follow-up email. If they do not return the email within 24-48 hours, then call them again. After that, move on in your search. Does every job seeker deserve feedback and closure? Yes. Will you always receive it? No. Demanding closure by calling or emailing the recruiter every hour will not always work, nor will it help your cause- even if you are right.

These past several years have taught all of us lessons. For me, as an architecture, planning, civil engineering recruiter, I need to make sure to offer insightful feedback and closure to my candidates.  Hiring authorities and corporate recruiters who have been laid off now understand through their own job searches, that timely feedback/closure is necessary after a job interview.

Job seekers are frustrated by limited jobs, overwhelming competition and rejection. They say “Tell me I am not a fit for the job and I will understand.” Rarely has a candidate heard that they are not a fit for an opportunity without them then launching into a debate. We as recruiters, whether corporate or third party headhunter are hired to screen for the right fit. Hiring managers make that final screen and may reject you for seemingly insignificant reasons. Debating, while human nature, will not change those decisions 99% of the time.

Do your best to follow-up with the recruiter after your interviews. Even if you deserve closure and feedback on the status of your candidacy, you may not receive it. For the record, this is not right. Everyone deserves a return call.

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Imagine that you are asked to interview with an architectural or engineering firm. The corporate recruiter tells you “The interview will last 45 minutes. There are 5 candidates coming in to interview for 1 opening. You have 45 minutes to talk to the hiring authority. We will let you know in a couple of weeks who our chosen candidate is.” Anywhere in that conversation did you hear “We are excited that you are coming to meet with us. Hopefully we have a good fit with our opportunity and your talents.” ??? If this were a date, I would not have even shown up for coffee!

Even though there can be hundreds of applicants for one job, there are no excuses for recruiters AND hiring managers to forget that they need to sell their firms. Over the past couple of years, employers have realized that they are in the driver’s seat for many open jobs. Outstanding talent find themselves in a situation of competing for jobs with other really outstanding talent. Many firms, corporate recruiters and hiring managers have become arrogant and lazy. This behavior will lead to future recruiting and retention issues.

Several years ago one of my highly sought after senior candidates interviewed with my client. He was also interviewing with one of their competitors.  While my client was very interested to have him join their firm, their competitor pulled out all the stops throughout the interview process. The competitor’s CEO and a variety of other key company leaders called the candidate at various times over a week to tell him how thrilled they were to have the opportunity to meet him and that they were excited to have the potential to work with him. They did everything but send a new sports car to his house! He was direct in telling me that while he had established a great relationship with me and the executive he would report to at my client, the competitor just simply “out courted my client.” The competitor made him “feel” that they were excited “as a company” to have him on board. He was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm from his prospective colleagues. My client and I were crushed. Tough to hear.

The job market is increasing and firms that don’t step up their dating habits will find themselves with mediocre talent and an increase in open jobs as employees run to firms that know how to win them over! What are your thoughts? Have you seen this with your own firm or with your own interviews?

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The Charlotte Observer ran an AP article in January of this year. It cited study statistical findings:

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This past year has been challenging for many in the A/E/P community and everyone associated with it. At least once a day I am asked “Where do you see the market heading in 2010? Do you see the job market picking up?” After 20+ years recruiting civil engineers, architects and planners I look into my crystal ball and my past civil engineering blogs and try to answer.  The answers usually depend on the daily changing news from my clients and various news sources.  Do I see an increase in hiring from my clients? Yes.  However, these needs are very specific. They are either strategic discipline hires or for candidates who meet their requirements exactly.  There is little to no flexibility in candidate experience.

Our community is watching President Obama and the US Congress. Workforce planning has become a guessing game for operations and human resources executives. Should firms hire for potential jobs or for projects awarded that have tentative start dates? Or, should firms implement overtime for existing staff and hold on making new hires? Tough questions. In either case, job seekers at all levels are discussing where to go next or what to do.

Many of us have minimal control over whether firms move forward in bringing on new staff.  So let’s take control over what we can manage.  If you are unhappy with your job, need a job or have let your job search go stale – take control and make or redesign a plan. If you need new clients – make a new plan. Whether you gain education, identify a recruiter to assist, join new associations for networking or apply to specific companies who have projects in your area of interest…just take action.  Our January newsletter author, Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP, CPESC, CPSWQ, poses the question “What will it take for you to make 2010 a ‘Career Year’?” This is a worthwhile read.

As 2009 comes to a close, I have one thing left to say, “Bring on the New Year – Please!”

Cheers!

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Business networking is critical.  Whether you are trying to entice a potential client, recruit a new employee or find a new job, you need to do your homework. With access to a computer and basic knowledge of how to use a search engine, everyone can be an amateur detective. Google my name and the first thing that pops up is “Executive Search and Recruiters…” There is no excuse to cold call someone for networking and asking for their help without knowing who you are calling! It reflects poorly on you.

As an affiliate member of various professional societies revolving around the civil engineering industry (ie ITE, SMPS, WTS International, etc) my name is listed in their membership directories. Every couple of months, recruiters email or call me. They see “President” as my listed title and call to see if I would be interested in pursuing a Transportation or Marketing Leadership job. It is all I can do not to ask the recruiter what foolish civil engineering company actually hired them to recruit for the firm?! When I get those calls I usually laugh and ask if they did research on me. Inevitably they “fib” and say that they have. We both know that if they had, they never would have called me.  I am not a civil engineer but I am an experienced headhunter/executive recruiter/experienced networker.

Over the past years, we have encouraged readers of our BLOGs  to think outside of the box and network whenever possible. It is acceptable to ask for business “hook ups” from other industry connections.  Just know who you are calling and what information you need BEFORE you network!

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Remember when musings of the Internet was just a fad?  Remember when the compass and slide rule were irreplaceable?  Remember when the Post Office was relevant?   Well, as it turns out, the  Internet is here to stay; if you have a compass and slide rule you just might get your 15 minutes of fame on PBS’ Antiques Road Show; and I can’t recall the last time I paid bill or sent a hand written letter via snail mail. That said, consider yourself forewarned in regards to the utilization of Social Networking sites LinkedIn (44M+ users), Facebook (250M+users) and Twitter (4.5M+ users), among others – don’t be a naysayer, or you will be left in the dust.  Chances are, if you are reading this, you are familiar with, and hopefully active on, one or more of these technologies.  The key is – how can you make sure your company stays relevant by using them effectively?

10 WAYS SOCIAL NETWORKING CAN IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS & CAREER AS A CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL

1. Recruiting Professionals - Did you see the user statistics in the above paragraph? And those are only the three most popular sites among hundreds.  And guess what?  I suspect there are likely hundreds of thousands of members of the civil engineering community  who utilize these tools and share information. They have put themselves “out there.”   By joining these networks yourself and “working the network,” you will find many outstanding professional candidates, both passive and active.  This topic of recruiting on social networks is quite a robust topic and information can easily be found online, in books or through various seminars.  There are plenty of experts in this area so invest a little bit of time and money to catch you and your firm up to speed.

2. Industry News - Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin all have users and user groups who will be of interest to you.  You will find that ENR, ASCE, Society of Hispanic Engineers, SMPS, etc all have active users and groups on these sites where news bites and press releases are shared regularly. Also, by connecting with other friends and colleagues within the industry you will often read status updates or tweets in regards to local infrastructure news.

3. Relationship Building – Learn what your colleagues, clients, and potential clients are doing; learn their interests; follow their tweets; make logical and profound comments in response to theirs.  You  can get a real sense of their personality, interests, etc that will certainly assist during face-to-face marketing efforts.

4. Marketing/Branding – Develop a Facebook Fan/Group page with blog entries, promotions, press releases, wins, job postings, awards, charity events, etc.;  tweet these same items; develop a compelling corporate profile on LinkedIn and make sure your employees do as well.

5. Recruiting College Students-This is a “no brainer”.  If you want to reach out to the next generation of civil engineers you need to have a strong corporate brand on Facebook and MySpace for sure.  When visiting college campuses for recruiting trips have a couple laptops up and running at your table exhibiting these pages and invite them  to join your pages or groups on line.   Come prepared with business cards that provide the URL’s of your corporate social networking sites.  College students want to work for firms that understand and are avid  users of the web 2.0 technology that they utilize.  85% of college students are active on Facebook, 65% are active on MySpace.  Again, a “no brainer.”

6. Recruiting Boomerangs – How often have you had employees of your firm fly the coup, only to return because the grass was not greener on the other side?  By staying in touch with well respected ex-employees  by inviting them to join a group where they will be exposed to all the great news that is occurring with your firm, you are giving yourself a nice advantage above other firms when the time comes that he or she begins to look for a new job.  Firms like URS & Toll Brothers, among others, each have “Alumni” groups on Linkedin.

7. RFP’s – It’s only a matter of time before builders, agencies and architects will be tweeting RFP’s.

8. Professional Growth – By joining Facebook or LinkedIn groups, or by following specific associations or trainers or presenters on Twitter, you can remain well informed of all of the conferences, seminars, blogs, articles and publications being offered that you find relevant in your career.

9.

10. Ignorance is Bliss.  Do not fall into this trap.  These networks are no longer the wave of the future, they are a mainstay.  As a civil engineering professional, by not jumping on board you will become a relic – and this label is not something you or your firm will want to be labeled as as the demand for talent begins to hit the upswing.

As you can see, I intentionally left a blank space after #9 – what might you suggest to fill in that blank?

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I have spent the last few weeks interviewing the PSMJ Circle of Excellence Class of 2009. Circle of Excellence firms ranked in the top 20 percent of firms participating in PSMJ’s Financial Performance Survey that achieve the best overall performance in 13 benchmarks that measure business operations in terms of profitability, growth, cash flow, overhead control, business development, project performance, and employee satisfaction.

Virtually every executive I have spoken with from this exclusive group of design firms has told me that they have used the economic downturn to improve the overall quality of their staff.  Many super-talented people with very impressive resumes – as well as star students coming out of design schools – are available and obtainable for firms that have the muscle to make it happen.

Are you one of these people that’s going to add value to a firm that is prospering in the face of tough economic times?  There are a number of factors that determine the answer. In general, firms that are looking to upgrade staff try to improve their overall position in specific geographic locations, in services offered, and in markets served.  To upgrade at the management level, firms are looking to hire market and/or thought leaders.  In upgrading staff, firms are looking for people with direct apples-to-apples experience with a specific market or service offering or that bring valuable knowledge on the latest technology.

Here are some examples: If you are a project manager and you are a super client champion in a specific geographic area, research firms that may be interested in expanding their services in your area.  Sell yourself as someone who comes to the firm with a ready-made base of new clients.  If you are a K-12 program manager, look for healthy firms that may want to expand into the K-12 market – your addition to the firm gives them the opportunity to hit the ground running.  What if your expertise is in a market that is currently sluggish like residential construction?  Sell your value-add expertise.  Do you have relationships with zoning boards or permitting authorities?  These are tangible benefits that can elevate the profile of a firm overnight.

For non-management design professionals, sell your direct experience with a specific market or service.  If you design health care facilities, get letters of reference from health care professionals with whom you have worked directly.  Having direct experience using Building Information Modeling (BIM) software like Revit is a huge selling point as more firms work on BIM-designed projects.  If you have recently graduated from design school, sell your facility in new software applications and your ability to train up your peers in these applications.

It’s also helpful to have a relationship with a professional recruiter – even if you end up finding an exciting new job on your own, these people have the experience to serve as a sounding board and alert you to opportunities you didn’t know existed.

If you are good and you have the skills and experience that other firms see as an “upgrade”, you will always be impervious to the ups and downs of the economy.

All the best,

Bruce

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I  recently received this email from an experienced civil engineer: “I don’t care where the company is located or what types of civil engineering projects I will be working on.     After 3 months of being unemployed, can you just help me find a civil engineering job?”

By now, we all know the difference that a couple of years can make.

It wasn’t that long ago that candidates would turn down good opportunities for a variety of reasons:  too far of a commute; didn’t like the workspace (“I want my own office”); job title wasn’t right (“I want a Department Manager title”), etc. An upcoming CivilEngineeringCentral.com newsletter author spoke with me about an excellent article he wrote for us entitled, “Advancing Your Career.” Specifically, he lists “Top 10” ideas that one can use to help advance his/her career.  Among the 10 bulleted items, the article suggests assessing where, and for whom one works. It is suggested that you then evaluate whether you are in the right company with the right people to help you reach your professional goals.  I question whether many of our readers have the luxury to make these types of assessments at this stage in life.

On the company “gossip” websites, employees of A/E firms complain in great detail about their employers.  In many instances they report that they will leave their employers as soon as the market allows for them to identify another job. But, for today, they will stay employed and endure their perceived incompetent management, demotivating work environment and inadequate compensation.  Most are saying “any job will do”– for right now.

When the market bounces back, companies who are ignoring management training and evaluations will find voluntary turnover rates skyrocketing!  Staff at all levels will leave in droves and recruiting to replace them will be a financial and logistics nightmare. Hopefully, HR leaders will keep an eye on employee comments and hold technical managers accountable during the current market.

Until then, while job security is more important now than in the recent past, there are still a lot of good opportunities out there to consider.  Don’t stop evaluating your career goals– just be more selective in your search. And, make sure to either talk to your HR representative OR use your anonymous employee feedback system to alert management that you don’t just want “any job” located “anywhere.” You deserve to take an active role in making the one you have much better.

Over the years I have often seen outstanding land development engineers desire to break into a new area of specialization under the civil engineering umbrella, yet they have found the opportunity to do so to be scarce, at best, purely because they have a background in land development.  That said, after discussing this topic with numerous land development engineers across the country, I have been so inclined to blog…in defense of land development engineers.

Why do many firms who specialize in areas of water & wastewater, highway engineering, water resources, etc, turn a blind eye, when hiring, to candidates who come from a land development background?   The usual response is that they do not have the desired technical experience, and  would rather go without having to absorb the cost of training someone.  As a recruiter, I completely understand that reasoning.  There are some deeper stereotypes though that should be addressed here, so let’s do a little point/counterpoint as we evaluate some of these potential misconceptions…shall we?

• POINT: Land Development Engineers are the “General Practitioners” of the civil engineering industry.  They are jacks-of-all-trades-and-masters-of-none.
• COUNTERPOINT: Land Development Engineers are indeed jacks of all trades, but they are often masters of those trades as well.  When pulling together a land development project you are dealing with roadway, traffic, hydrology & hydraulics, utilities, etc.  With a good 7-10 years of experience a talented engineer can fully master these concepts.  This shows a high level of intelligence and a desire to learn.
• POINT: If our highways and treatment plants and bridges were designed as poorly as some of the subdivisions then we would have an enormous problem.
• COUNTERPOINT: Though you many not always like what you see, often times it is the land development engineer who is at the mercy of their client- the developer.  Some developers have the goal of fitting as many lots as possible within a parcel of land for the least amount of money.  This is unfortunate as many land development engineers are very creative.  It’s not always about what it looks like, but rather the money – and at the mercy of the client their hands are often tied.  Many firms would walk away from this type of client because  they do not share the same philosophy…but many do not walk away.
• POINT: Dealing with governmental clients is much more complicated than dealing with a developer.
• COUNTERPOINT: Have you ever dealt with a developer?  Enormous amounts of pressure,  often times ridiculous deadlines with ridiculous expectations, and then there is the collections process.  Also, land development engineers deal with MANY different personalities -not only their clients, but attorneys, municipal engineers and other governmental agencies, designers, surveyors, planners and landscape architects, builders, home buyers, angry citizens at public meetings, etc.  I would tend to say, that more often than not, an experienced land development engineer could handle dealing with governmental engineers.

In the end, it may not be so much the technical skill set  as it is the mentality.  I believe that there are many talented land development engineers out there that could pick up pretty quickly on how to design a highway, a dam or a bridge with a little mentoring and  some additional studying/training after hours.  Land development engineers are used to spinning many plates at once in a fast paced environment, and are not often the analytical number crunchers that you so desire when designing a treatment plant.

So, when a sound land development engineering resume does surface, don’t be so quick to rule them out.  What if they are indeed a number cruncher? Imagine a number cruncher then that has acquired great communication and team building skills as a result of being in a land development environment and what that could bring to the table for your firm’s bridge or water resources group.  Would you be better off hiring this engineer and taking the time to catch him or her up to speed in a specific specialty rather than searching for the perfect candidate for two years with nothing to show?

During the current recession that we are entrenched in this may not be too much of an issue for you with the surplus of candidates “out on the street.”  But during improved times and boom times, is this mentality really too “out of the box” for the civil engineering industry?

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