Building Services Recruiters | 6 Ways To Leverage CIBSE Awards

CIBSE Judges announce Sana Hafsa as the CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year 2023

12th October 2022

I read this headline and smiled 🙂

While this news itself is interesting and useful what is far more valuable to Building Services Recruiters is how industry news and events with local trade organisations and professional bodies helps you top perform at an elite level. It made me reflect on my life as a Building Services Recruiter and the place I carved out for myself in it.

I was a Recruiter that started out on a Building Services desk (it was a cold and confused desk but that’s a story for another time!) and who forged a close relationship with CIBSE.

I realised very quickly that events and awards like this would provide a huge insight into how the industry I operated in valued their Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and Leaders while also giving me an opportunity to assert myself as an advisor to the industry.

Referencing back now to this specific award as an example; it offers a great opportunity to find out who the next generation of movers and shakers will be.

If you’re in the early days of your career I urge you to realise that the next couple of years will move quickly, the young Engineers of today will be your senior placements and clients later down the line. So forge that relationship now – I know the day to day grind keeps you very focused on the short-term, especially if you have a KPI obsessed boss who wants today’s interviews and placements nailed down – but for long-term success you need longer term strategies too.

If you are a quality Recruiter then you probably already monitor news and governing body sites but what do you actually do with this information? Great Recruiters are both curious and action focused. They have questions. They seek to understand their market, candidates and clients beyond CV’s and job descriptions and they convert that knowledge into valuable action. Each and every  governing body or industry events gives you a brilliant opportunity to delve deeper into the burning issues of your market; tap into the concerns and frustrations of the moment and understand the forward view.

These themes should thread into your conversations with everyone – to be truly respected in your field you have to be truly knowledgeable on the issues of the day. If you are not integrating yourself fully with your market you can only ever perform to a certain level.

Here’s the 6 top actions (there are more) that I would be taking NOW if I was a Building Services Recruiter today and had just read this news:

1. Make a meaningful connection with the shortlist
   Meaningful does not mean a standard Linkedin request. Think deeper. Go further. What gets you noticed? Send a thank you card or a congratulations gift. Follow up with a voice message on LinkedIn. Repost the news and tag the recipient of the award or the shortlisted candidates. Congratulate the employer and tag them in creating an environment in which the award winner has been enabled to shine. Book a meeting with the employer and find out what makes that employee special so you know the qualities to look for in future hires. The more you think about this the more ideas you will come up with.
2. Attend the next regional CIBSE event
   Have you ever asked or found out? Talk to your local region. You’d be surprised how easy it is to attend an event. Sit, listen and find out more. There is a wealth of knowledge to acquire at these events not to mention a host of opportunities. If you can, then offer sponsorship of an event.
3. Seek opportunities to speak or assist your local CIBSE region
   Find out how you support them. In boom times you can assist with employer talks on how to acquire and retain talent, in trickier times when the market might contract you can offer job seeker advice. You are more valuable than you know to their members – offer your services and time. It is invaluable to you and them. If you don’t get a positive result straight away – keep going. Forward your latest salary survey, industry report and white paper, ask them for a quote or interview. Every interaction builds like and trust.
4. Use the shortlist and awards as a conversation piece with your clients
   Commiserate with the employers of those that lost, congratulate the employers or the shortlisted or winners. Seek out visits and meetings with the open remit of establishing what a great young engineer looks like to them so that you can find them their next superstar in your travels – whether they are looking for that today or not.
5. Use the award as a conversation piece with candidates
   Call and congratulate the winner and shortlist. Commiserate with those that missed out. Speak to other young Engineers and quote your findings with conversations you’ve had. Ask for quotes for your next email newsletter – what’s the feeling amongst young Engineers today? What are the challenges of HVAC Design Engineers? What’s exciting and new in the world of CAD? How are Quantity Surveyors doing things differently? Don’t ever forget how good people feel to be asked about themselves or their professional opinion on a topic. They feel valued and listened to and the next time you speak you will have a foundation of trust to build on.
6. Forge relationships with Universities
   For this specific award each young Engineer is not only employed but has also studied at a specific university – whether full or part time, self funded or via their employer, the University has played a major part in the success of the award. If this university is creating award winners wouldn’t it be a great idea to talk to them and forge a relationship now – right now there will be many other Engineers studying – some in full time study, some mature students and some studying while working. They welcome professional advice for their students, they also welcome prizes and sponsorship for projects if your employer has the budget. We all know how hard it is to find Design Engineers – wouldn’t it be easier if you forged the first valuable professional relationship? Start with the Universities listed for the shortlisted candidates and winners. Go straight to the top and start there. Open a conversation. Offer career advice. Offer CV advice. Offer sponsorship – if you’re not sure what to offer ask them what would be valuable in a relationship with you. It’s easier than you think. It’s a simple conversation and it is easy to do. So do it.

I hope that gives you some ideas – this is just one event – can you imagine how much richer your desk, business, earnings, reputation and status would all be if each event or news article created a truly curious and expert response from you?

Hopefully you can see that the majority of these action require little skill or budget – just a positive attitude and action taken.

Try it – tell me what happens and if you get stuck, talk to me – I have lost of ideas, wins, learns and war stories to share!

Data & Photo Credits:

CIBSE News

This article was written by Tara Lescott – Managing Partner of Lusso Search and a long-time fellow Building Services Recruiter, Manager and Director.