Identifying Engineering Leadership Potential During the On-Campus Recruiting Process

Abstract

professional experiences and research interests range from mechanical engineering facilities design to research that applied engineering and molecular biology approaches to the study of the skeletal response to mechanical loading. As a Mechanical Engineer, she worked on facility design projects involving mechanical systems that included heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and energy conservation systems, as well as R&D of air conditioning equipment for Navy ships. Additional research interests have included the investigation of relationships among components of the indoor environment, occupants, and energy usage. Specifically, the effects of the indoor environment on occupant health and well-being and in parallel, how socially-mediated energy-saving strategies can increase awareness of energy use and/or increase energy saving behaviors. Dr. Lang's current research interests focus on identifying, assessing, and developing key skills, knowledge, attitudes, and other intrinsic and extrinsic factors required for engineers to effectively lead others, particularly other engineers and across cultures. Mr Identifying Engineering Leadership Potential During the On-Campus Recruiting Process AbstractRecruiters' perspectives are important in determining how students should best convey their leadership skills during the recruitment process. Recruiters are responsible for evaluating and identifying talent appropriate for today's dynamic global environment. This study aims to understand, from the recruiters' perspective, the important engineering leadership behaviors an engineering student needs to communicate during the on-campus recruiting process. Additionally, the study identifies what undergraduate activities or programs recruiters' value in demonstrating important engineering leadership behaviors. The study uses a qualitative interview approach to generate themes of engineering leadership behaviors that recruiters seek to understand during the on-campus recruiting process as well as strategies recruiters use to identify engineering leadership potential.Recruiters were asked to complete a qualitative interview questionnaire during their participation in the 2015-2016 recruiting activities at a large public institution. Interview questions explored the strategies recruiters use to identify engineering leaders, what engineering leadership behaviors are important for students to communicate, and student experiences that alert a recruiter of engineering leadership potential. A list of themes was generated using the constant comparative method. Triangulation of data was achieved through an independent focus group consisting of experienced engineering recruiters to verify the themes identified in the qualitative questionnaire. Utilizing these steps provides a structure for precise and complete analysis of the data with validation through the triangulation process.Results from this study inform engineering leadership educators on how recruiters perceive students' leadership potential in the early-stages of their careers rel...

First Impressions: Evaluating Student Performance in Demonstrating Engineering Leadership

“…Please circle your answer for each student you speak with during the mock career fair activity: On a scale of [1][2][3][4][5] o Articulation of personal leadership development and awareness through experience in internships/co-ops, student organization involvement, or engineering project groups. o Describe how experiences connect to the company; establish a connection with the company o Confidence o List student involvement activities, internships/co-ops, or project groups o Identify an interest in the company o Give the title of a leadership position held with a student organization, internship/co-op position or technical project position o Name a technical engineering project they participated in o Other: ________________________________________________________ (please add any 'others' from above) o Other: ________________________________________________________ (please add any 'others from above) o Other: ________________________________________________________ (please add any 'others from above)…”

“…In a previous study 1 , the authors used a qualitative approach to explore recruiters' perspectives on determining engineering leadership potential during busy career fair interactions. With employers consistently ranking leadership as an important characteristic to demonstrate during on-campus recruiting activities 2 , Handley, Lang, and Erdman sought to understand how a student could effectively demonstrate leadership during these busy recruiting activities.…”

“…With employers consistently ranking leadership as an important characteristic to demonstrate during on-campus recruiting activities 2 , Handley, Lang, and Erdman sought to understand how a student could effectively demonstrate leadership during these busy recruiting activities. 1 The Handley, Lang, and Erdman findings suggested that recruiters first wanted to hear about engineering students' experiences within student organizations, engineering projects, and internships or co-ops. However, it was not enough to name involvement in these experiences.…”

Leading from the Bottom Up: Leadership Conceptions and Practices Among Early Career Engineers

“…Research from Handley, Lang and Erdman (2016) investigated the perspectives of on-campus recruiters who were looking for leadership among engineering students in their final year of studies [10]. They found that recruiters were seeking students who had been involved in activities outside the classroom and had the ability to articulate the learning gained from these experiences.…”

“…They found that recruiters were seeking students who had been involved in activities outside the classroom and had the ability to articulate the learning gained from these experiences. The three engineering leadership themes they identified were communication (selfawareness), connection (big picture thinking) and confidence [10].…”