Partnership Recruitment: Case Study
Cambridge Energy Partners Case Study
Cambridge Energy Partners review:
“Our needs were well understood by A4 Plus Recruitment department. This resulted in us only interviewing interesting and relevant candidates. One of the engineers we hired had a profile that did not meet our initial specification but did not meet our needs. Without A4 Plus’ thorough understanding of our business, this candidate may well have been missed.”
Thomas Grant, CTO
Understanding requirements
Recently, A4 Plus have recruited two Mechanical Design Engineers for our client, Cambridge Energy Partners, using our Partnership Recruitment Model. Cambridge Energy Partners were a CAD Design Services in the past and took interest in our recruitment services for their recent new hire. In a very difficult recruitment market, where jobs are outpacing applicants, CEP saw the advantage of using a specialist Design Engineering company for recruitment support.
Our Technical Recruitment Executive, James Blayney, was the account manager for this role. James met with Thomas and Daniel from Cambridge Energy Partners to discuss their recruitment requirements in detail to learn more about the company and the role requirements. Originally, they were looking for one Design Engineer for their complex Solar energy company.
Our Recruitment Partnership
Our service hosts a range of extra benefits, from premium advertising to a variety of tests to present to suitable candidates, such as personality and CAD tests, all carried out by A4 Plus. Cambridge Energy Partners chose to utilise both tests for:
- Ensuring the candidates had the correct CAD competency that was required for the role;
- Get a sense of the candidate’s personality.
Personality tests are a great tool to use whilst recruiting, especially for small companies or teams. Team productivity and efficiency will depend on how team members work together, so making sure new candidates have similar personalities (and possessing the right experience and skills) will enhance your team and have a positive knock-on effect.
A4 Plus received a large number of applications for the role. James began the shortlisting process which involved detailed pre-screening interviews with any suitable applicants. From over 40 applications, James was able to present CEP with 9 applicants for consideration, with detailed breakdowns of their current circumstances, skills and aspirations. Cambridge Energy Partners have an office in Spain, so the hiring managers expressed the ability to speak Spanish would also be desirable. James found a number of candidates which spoke either fluent Spanish or a good level.
The client then shortlisted our CVs down and those candidates were presented with a CAD test and a personality test. This determined whether to interview the candidates or not, and 5 were chosen for the interview stage.
A4 Plus arranged the interviews and prepped the candidates beforehand. Cambridge Energy Partners were so impressed with both candidates, that deciding between the two was the hardest part of the process. Cambridge Energy Partners realised that they had not one, but two candidates that met their internal needs, and they ended up hiring both candidates due to being such a good fit. The below words are from Thomas, the CTO of Cambridge Energy Partner about his experience with A4 Plus.
James, Head of Recruitment, says:
Working with a client on a Partnership Recruitment basis allows me to build a more detailed understanding of what a good hire looks like. It’s about company fit, as well as skills and qualifications. Cambridge Energy Partners were looking for someone that was motivated by solving complex design challenges in a relatively new industry. This meant that they had to enjoy a challenge, be able to communicate across departments and customers and work well under pressure. This level of understanding allowed me to go through the whole recruitment process in less than a month. Gaining two candidates in the current recruitment market reiterated the importance of A4 Plus supporting clients as an experienced CAD and Technical recruiter.
Thank you to Cambridge Energy Partners!
