Hiring qualified engineering candidates isn’t an easy undertaking. In today’s job market, recruiters and hiring managers need to attract the right candidates using competitive salary and benefits packages, a healthy work-life balance, and a great company culture. Nowadays, job seekers also prioritize career progression, learning development and the ability to work with cutting-edge technology when considering new opportunities.

In fact, 17 percent of high-tech job seekers say the technology they'll work with is their top priority when considering job opportunities, according to a survey by Stack Overflow. Similarly, employees are more satisfied when they can work on leading-edge content with up-to-date tech, according to a McKinsey report.

With newer nodes of dimensions demanding engineers work with more data at faster speeds, innovative technology is more important than ever in the semiconductor industry. Advanced analytics and technologies are not only more exciting, but they’re crucial to engineers’ effectiveness and help them gain a competitive advantage in the industry.

For recruiters and hiring managers, communicating a commitment to interesting projects and innovative technology is key to recruiting and retaining top engineers. Here are a few ways you can accomplish this goal:

Socialize what you’re building

Whether through networking events or online, it’s critical you socialize your company’s technological efforts and mission.

Be sure to share your organization’s accomplishments and plans when speaking with interested applicants. If the resources aren’t available yet, discuss the high-level developments you’ve made toward fulfilling those goals. If a specific tech stack or tool is a significant part of the project process, communicate how it provides value to the team and the products.

It’s also crucial to paint the best and most accurate picture of your company and its vision. While celebrating your company’s accomplishments can be inspiring, adding a layer of transparency will help you build trust with candidates and helps you stand out from your competitors.

Motivated candidates appreciate organizations who are intentional about what they’re building and how they’re meeting their objectives. In time, socializing what you’re building can create advocates for your employer brand, and foster a positive reputation for your company.

Give candidates a problem to solve

If your engineering team is constantly pushing new projects, don’t keep it a secret. Instead, consider staging a unique challenge for candidates to give them an idea of the sort of complex and rewarding work they’ll be doing in the role.

The best engineers are natural problem-solvers, and showing them a design or code problem from a project shows your organization’s commitment to quality, expertise, and improvement. A unique challenge can also provide insight into how your company uses different tools or technology. It can also invite a candidate to think critically about alternative solutions using other methods or tools at your disposal.

Finally, giving a candidate a problem to solve can serve as a launching point for deeper discussions about the candidate’s qualifications and experience in the technical interview.

Offer opportunities to meet engineers

Your current team can be the best ambassadors for your company, and help you attract highly qualified talent consistently. Instead of just talking about the team and the company, give candidates time to engage with current engineers and learn why those professionals enjoy their roles.

One way to open the communication between candidates and the team is by taking them to the heart of the operations. Coordinate some introductions with engineers in your workplace, and give them time to chat with potential colleagues. Observe how your team collaborates, learn about the tools they use, and gauge how well they’d fit within the team.

As a bonus, you can also assess candidates’ culture fit by observing how they interact with others and how they approach complicated problems in unfamiliar environments.

Allow engineers to pursue their goals

Talented candidates are more likely to stay with a company when they have the opportunity to work on passion projects and learn new skills. To attract great candidates and nurture them in this competitive industry, it’s important you offer them a chance to design, experiment, and build on their own.

Asking candidates questions about their plans for growth can be a good way to start a conversation about how the company can help in their career development — whether it’s giving them the tools to design the next new connected device or lead the research to optimize silicon design.

What do they want to achieve in three, five or ten years? What do they enjoy the most or least about their field? Knowing this information will come in handy when you’re ready to hire a candidate.

Get better at hiring

To compete for top talent in today’s marketplace, semiconductor companies will need to be more intentional and strategic in their hiring tactics.

Most highly qualified engineering candidates want to be challenged, earn more, do what they love, and make an impact. Given the industry’s drive to harness the technologies of the future, hiring managers also need to create opportunities for employees to grow within the organization using the latest tech and tools for future innovation.

By socializing the company’s vision, offering opportunities to connect with other engineers, and supporting candidates’ goals and passions, you can better attract and retain future engineering leaders.