Writing a maintenance engineer job advert that gets replies

Open any job board and search "maintenance engineer". You'll see the same advert forty times.

"We are seeking a highly motivated multi-skilled maintenance engineer to join our dynamic team. Competitive salary. Excellent benefits. Must be a team player with a can-do attitude."

No pay. No shift pattern. No idea what the kit is. A good engineer reads two lines and moves on, because nothing in it helps them decide.

Meanwhile your vacancy has been open for three months, and the two fitters covering it are on their tenth weekend in a row.

Engineers who are any good already have a job. Your advert has to give them a reason to ring you instead of staying put. Vague adverts don't.

Lead with what they'll ask first

Think about what an engineer asks a mate who works at your site. What's the money? What are the shifts? What's the kit like? Is the manager any good?

Answer the first three in the first few lines.

• Pay. Put the number or a real range. "Competitive" reads as "low". If there's a shift allowance or an on-call payment, put that in too. Our post on what engineers earn in your area shows where to check your number.
• Shifts. Spell out the pattern: 4 on 4 off, days and nights, 12-hour shifts. Say how often the on-call comes round and what it pays.
• Kit. Name it. The PLC platform, the drives, the main machines. "Allen-Bradley and Siemens, servo-driven fillers, a palletiser and stretch wrappers" tells a controls engineer far more than "a modern, dynamic environment".

Then say what the job really is. How much is breakdown, how much is PPM, how much is projects? How many engineers on each shift? Is anyone on their own at night? An engineer who's been the only fitter on nights for five years will look for that line.

Ask for what the job needs

The wish list is where most adverts go wrong. Mechanical and electrical, PLC programming, robots, 18th Edition, HNC, ten years' experience, forklift licence, IPAF.

That person barely exists, and the ones who do aren't reading your advert. Split it in two. What the engineer must be able to do on day one, and what you'll train. Our post on fitters, electricians and controls engineers helps you work out which one you're really hiring.

Be careful with tickets. If the job means working on fixed wiring, the 18th Edition may matter. If it doesn't, don't list it as a must-have. Every ticket you add cuts the pool.

There's a legal side too. GOV.UK says you must not state or imply in an advert that you'll discriminate against anyone. Phrases like "highly experienced" should only go in when they're actual requirements of the job. Otherwise you could discriminate against younger or older people (GOV.UK, discrimination in recruitment). So "10+ years' experience" needs a real reason behind it. Describe the skill you need instead: "can fault-find a three-phase motor circuit on their own".

The same goes for disability. A job specification must not exclude disabled people from applying. GOV.UK's own example is a driving licence: if occasional travel could be done by train, the advert shouldn't ask for one (GOV.UK, recruitment and disabled people). If your on-call engineer has to reach site at 2am, a licence may be a real need. If they don't, leave it out.

And watch your wording. "Young, energetic team" reads as an age preference. "Recent apprentice" does too, unless you're hiring for that reason. Keep the advert about the work.

Make it easy to reply

Good engineers won't fill in a six-page form for a job they're not sure about. Most of them are on shift when they see your advert.

• Give a name and a phone number. A real person they can ring before they apply.
• Take a CV by email, or a phone call, as the first step. Ask for the long form later, if at all.
• Say what happens next and how quickly. "We'll ring you within two working days" is a promise. Keep it.
• Ask for a date of birth only if the job has a legal age requirement. GOV.UK says it can go on a separate equality monitoring form, which the person selecting shouldn't see.

Then reply fast. The engineer who applied on Monday has probably applied elsewhere too. If you take two weeks to ring back, someone else will have rung first.

Put it where engineers look

Use the job boards, but don't stop there. GOV.UK runs a Find a job service for employers in England, Scotland and Wales (GOV.UK, advertise a job). Ask your own team to share it. Engineers know engineers, and a word from someone on the inside beats any advert.

Think about where you advertise, as well as what you say. GOV.UK warns that where you advertise can cause indirect discrimination. A spread of places reaches more people anyway.

Count the cost of the empty post

Every week the job sits open, someone covers it. Usually your own team on overtime, getting more tired. Every breakdown on that shift runs longer with one engineer short. Our post on the real cost of a vacant engineer post puts numbers to it, and why vacancies sit open for months covers what else slows a hire down.

So while the advert runs, decide how you'll cover the gap. Book outside cover for the nights and weekends, so your team isn't burning out while you wait for the right person. Then, when they apply, use interview questions that show real skill.

What to do on Monday

1. Read your current advert as if you were an engineer. Does it give pay, shifts and kit in the first few lines?
2. Cut the requirements to what the job needs on day one. Move the rest to "we'll train".
3. Put a name and phone number on it, and promise a reply within two working days.
4. Agree how the vacancy is covered until the new engineer starts.