Hiring highly-skilled engineers is a competitive game. Speed is a crucial component that can give you the edge on your competition. At Yello, our number of engineers has grown 75 percent in one year, as a result of our recruiting team’s focus on scaling the team without exhausting recruiting resources. Below are five cost-effective ways your organization can quickly scale the engineering department and hire top talent before your competition.

Build brand awareness at campus events

The first step to building your engineering team at scale is to establish brand awareness at top engineering schools. Campus events give college students the opportunity to interact with your company and share their experience with peers. Connect with students as early as possible, beginning as soon as freshman year or even earlier (e.g. campus visits, freshman orientation) to establish credibility and develop brand awareness.

Incorporate technology

Don’t even think about attending campus recruitment events without technologies like mobile check-in, interview self-scheduling or video interviews. These technologies will help you stand out among other companies and will help you escalate your interview process to extend job offers before your competitors do.

Streamline the interview process

Use a scheduling solution to easily and quickly schedule phone screens and live video interviews for candidates you met at campus events. Leveraging technology to speed the hiring process lessens the risk of losing a great candidate due to slow-moving hiring processes. With technology, candidates receive more frequent communications and don’t have to jump through hoops to apply for a job or schedule an interview.

Forgo on-site interviews

Skip the time and expense of on-site interviews. Instead, conduct live video interviews and bring candidates to the office after they have accepted an offer. Host an event to meet colleagues in a low-pressure environment and build excitement about their new positions. By investing the largest portion of time and money after a candidate has accepted a position, you reduce the risk of a reneged offer, a challenge in highly competitive positions.

Continue the momentum

Continue the momentum by keeping new hires engaged between graduation and their start date. With talent relationship management software, you can automate email and text campaigns throughout this crucial time period, ensuring the engineers remain excited about their new position. Send emails or texts providing updates on exciting company news, profiles of future colleagues and tips for preparing for their new job.

Are you looking for ways to engage your new talent? Read: Five Ways to Enhance the New Hire Experience.