When hiring for open positions at your shipyard, how do you know you are hiring top candidates. It’s helpful to have an applicant checklist so you can compare apples to apples when determining which candidate to give a job offer. Before you start your next round of interviews, consider our how-to guide to perform candidate evaluations.
1. Educational Background
The educational requirements will vary with each specific position. Before creating a job description, consider the particular educational background necessary for the job. You can also have guidelines for how much experience someone can have that will add up to the same educational background for jobs that don’t have exact requirements.
2. Previous Experience
For many of your marine industry jobs, you’re going to want to see candidates with previous shipyard experience. It’s good to know the minimum amount that you want to see before evaluating candidates. For some positions, such as entry-level roles, this may not be as big of a consideration.
3. Communication Skills
There are always soft skills candidates need to bring to the table. The most important of these is communication. It impacts all levels of interpersonal interactions as well as problem-solving, team building, and safety. Understanding the level of good communication will come during the interview and evaluation process.
4. Knowledge of the Company
You always want candidates to know something about the job for which they’re applying. They need to demonstrate that they’re able to conduct primary research to learn what you do. Most candidates will do this on their own or receive coaching from staffing recruiters. You will see the red flag if they ask questions like, “what does your company do?”
5. Safety Background
Every employee who sets foot in your shipyard should have knowledge and understanding of safety. Whether they’ve gained this from previous experience or are dedicated to safety training programs will be up to you as the hiring manager.
6. Time Management Skills
Shipyard candidates in any role also need to demonstrate they can adhere to a schedule and hit deadlines. Shipbuilding relies on the timely execution of the work, and the customer will be expecting on-time delivery. New candidates should expect to perform at these high levels on the job.
