Four Common Recruiting Mistakes Manufacturers Make—and How to Fix Them

The demand for controls engineers and automation specialists is surging, and the available talent pool is stretched thin. For manufacturers trying to fill critical roles, the talent shortage is real, but it is not the only obstacle between open positions and qualified hires.

I've worked in manufacturing and engineering recruitment for decades, placing controls, automation and manufacturing engineers in Michigan's automotive industry and beyond. What I see repeatedly today goes beyond a shortage of candidates. There's a pattern of inefficiencies and mistakes that make an already difficult search significantly harder.

Manufacturers that address these missteps find the talent pool opens up considerably.

Don’t Skip Training

A common mistake I see is that manufacturers often treat workforce training as an optional “nice to have.” Training is something many feel is easy to invest in once the operation is running smoothly, or once the right candidate walks through the door already fully equipped.

The problem is that the right candidate, in the traditional sense, is increasingly rare.

The number of job postings for engineers far exceeds the number of engineers available. Technology in this industry is moving faster than the workforce can absorb it, and manufacturers that refuse to slow production long enough to invest in upskilling are compounding that problem every quarter.

But I have seen companies navigate this well. I've seen firms starting to overhire recent graduates to pair them with senior engineers from the very beginning. Others are sending employees to community college programs specifically designed to teach robot programming and controls systems.

Yes, it slows things down initially. But the short-term loss pays off in retention, morale and an internal pipeline of skilled employees. Manufacturers who wait for fully trained candidates to appear will keep waiting.

Invest in the Tech and the People

There's a tendency in manufacturing to define "smart manufacturing readiness" in terms of what equipment a facility has installed. Automation systems, robotics, AI, connected infrastructure — all of it matters. But none of it runs itself.

The manufacturers I work with are grappling with this right now. True readiness requires both the machinery and the people who know how to use it. A facility running advanced equipment with an undertrained workforce is carrying risk, and manufacturers who understand that tend to recruit differently. They prioritize finding and developing people alongside their technology investments, rather than treating the two as separate concerns.

Fix Outdated Job Listings

This one is easier to fix than most manufacturers realize, and it matters more than they think.

When a qualified candidate finds a job posting that has been available for two or three years, skepticism sets in fast. Either the company has struggled to fill the role for reasons that aren't visible in the listing, or the posting has simply been neglected. Either way, the candidate moves on.

Manufacturers should audit their job listings regularly. Postings need to reflect roles that are currently open and accurately describe what's needed today, not what was needed when someone first wrote the description years ago. The skills required for many manufacturing engineering roles have shifted meaningfully with automation. A listing that doesn't reflect that shift will attract the wrong applicants and deter the right ones.

Streamline Interviews

There is a version of due diligence in hiring that becomes counterproductive. I've seen candidates go through six and seven rounds of interviews, meeting dozens of people across multiple departments, before a decision is made.

The intention behind that process is understandable. The result, consistently, is that someone finds a reason to say no.

In a market where skilled candidates are fielding competing offers, a prolonged hiring process actively drives people to companies that move faster. Most of the time, one or two well-structured interviews with the right people in the room is enough to evaluate both technical ability and fit. Anything beyond that rarely adds useful information. A focused process will consistently outperform a sprawling multi-stage gauntlet, both in the quality of the hire and in how candidates experience the company.

The Bigger Picture

Retention is becoming as critical as recruitment. Finding new talent is time-consuming and expensive. Keeping the talent you have is one of the most effective recruiting strategies available, because it reduces how often you need to recruit in the first place.

An employee who feels genuinely invested in—through training, professional development and recognition—is far less likely to leave. In an engineering market where demand is high and candidates have real leverage, that matters.