Getting ready for a changed job market

WeRecruit Auto’s Director Mary Thompson discusses how approaches to finding and recruiting talent could change in the future

The automotive sector needs to keep finding fresh talent to help deliver the skills the industry needs to keep moving forward. As vehicle technologies shift the skillset required to work on them changes too, but that isn’t the only thing that’s developing.

The way companies find people is changing too, as is how firms move through the hiring process. Mary Thompson, Director at recruitment company WeRecruit Auto talks about how things are changing and what jobhunters can expect.

Going digital

“I think the approach to finding talent is likely to become more digital – 15-20 years ago, people didn’t need to write a CV; they tended to get jobs through word of mouth, recommendations and often an informal meeting with the hiring team.

“We speak to a lot of candidates today who have never had to write a CV because of this and don’t know where to begin. CVs are likely to become more digitalised, for example we’re already seeing CVs with dropbox links housing certificates rather than an education and qualifications section, and we may find cover letters start switching to a brief video, people may include links to videos or images to showcase their skills.”

Getting in front of the camera

“Video interviews will hopefully become more common to help speed up the process – although video technology has been around the industry for a few years now, many people have still been uncomfortable with seeing and hearing themselves on video. This is probably an area where COVID-19 has helped us as people are more used to zoom calls and meetings following the lockdown restrictions.”

Getting the right skills on board

“Electric and hybrid training for vehicle technicians is going to be very important in the next few years otherwise Technicians will quickly get left behind. It’s really important that independent service centres are able to keep up with the demand in this area whereas franchised dealers are more likely keep up with this naturally due to manufacturer requirements.”

So long analogue

“Digital skills will be in demand from other areas including sales, management, even aftersales as the consumer journey becomes more and more online, and compliance I think will remain at the forefront.”

Need to hone your skills ready to land your dream job, head to the IMI’s Employability Week for hints, tips and advice on everything from CV writing to interview techniques