What are your charges?
We make no charge to candidates for finding them a new position. As we are dealing with experienced engineering staff, the Client pays us for a successful introduction only.

If you are a Client (recruiting organisation) then our fee becomes payable when a Candidate commences employment with you (and is subject to our standard terms and conditions which can be forwarded on request). All of the work involved in sourcing and screening candidates, placing adverts, arranging interviews, providing feedback and agreeing salary and start date incurs no charge. We charge only for a successful introduction.

How long will it take to find a new position?
This very much depends on how active your industry is at the time you register with us, although typically we would expect the entire process to be completed within one to three months, from initial contact with us to starting for the new employer (and can of course be subject to your notice period). This covers everything from CV preparation and presentation, arranging first and second interviews, offer acceptance and working this notice period if necessary. We have had experiences of procedures as short as a few days, and some that have taken several months, although these are extreme cases.

Do you just specialise in service engineering?
Yes – Sprint Engineering Recruitment deal only with field engineering vacancies, although on occasion we will take on other engineering-based roles, such as Works Manager, QA Manager where our candidate search capability enables us to find suitable candidates that other traditional advertising might miss. We do, however, have another specialist division within Sprint Recruitment Limited which specialises in business to business field Sales Recruitment, further details of which can be found at www.sprintsales.co.uk.

Do you cover the whole country?
Yes. Our offices are in the Midlands, and with the expansion of the internet and email this allows us to provide complete coverage of the whole of the UK.

Do you provide temporary/part-time or just permanent staff?
We specialise in permanent staff and are not set up to provide temporary or part-time staff.

What happens when I forward my CV to you?
If you are applying for a specific vacancy that we have advertised, we will review your CV against the job specification and make an informed decision on your suitability. If, on the basis of your CV, we feel that you are a suitable candidate for the client, we will contact you to go through the vacancy with you and to gather any additional information that we might need before we are able to present you to the client. At this stage your CV will be processed into our internal database, which records your skills and other data and allows us to match you against other vacancies on our books and any new vacancies that we take on in the future. Although this system is very effective our Consultants always try to “think outside the box” and this system of matching is used only as a support arm. We prefer to take a personal view on each CV as engineering skills can often be transferred into new industries and markets. It does, however, ensure that no relevant opportunities are overlooked!

If you are applying speculatively, we will, again, review your CV and contact you if we feel that we are able to help you in your search for a new position. Again your CV will be processed into our database so that should there be any future vacancies that match your profile we will be able to contact you and discuss them at that time.

Do I need to send my CV to you every time I see a relevant vacancy on your site?
No. Once we have your CV on our system, if you see a vacancy that we are advertising and for which you would like to apply, you need only to contact us and let us know. It is most likely that we will already have matched you with our suitable vacancies anyway.

What type of companies do you recruit for?
We recruit for the entire range of businesses, everything from small start-up companies who are building their engineering team, through to blue-chip global companies who are recruiting for a National Service Manager and everything in-between.

Do I have to come to your offices to register with you?
No. Although we do endeavour to meet most candidates in person to gain a greater understanding of their requirements and skills, we also welcome approaches from candidates whose location restricts a meeting in person. Because of the growth of the internet, email and mobile phones, we are able to carry out an in-depth review with you by a variety of methods, which allows us to gather as much information as is required to allow us to act on your behalf.

I don’t want to work for a competitor – can you help me change industries?
Yes. As a successful engineer, you will have skills that are transferable to different industries. You may have to consider that a complete change of industry could attract a slightly lower basic salary initially, although a change to a similar industry should result in a similar or higher salary.

If I am unsuccessful at interview, will I get any feedback on why?
Yes. Wherever possible we will provide detailed information on why you were unsuccessful. Generally we are then able to give pointers to improve your performance at interview, and we have prepared an Interview Guide to help with this.

I have received a job offer through you but I have some questions concerning the offer and the contract of employment – can you give me any advice?
Yes. We have over eighteen years’ experience in the recruitment industry and we also have access to an experienced specialist employment law solicitor who is able to provide us with advice on all matters of employment law and employment contracts. So if you do have a contract with a clause about which you are unsure, please discuss it with us and we will be able to get you the best up-to-date legal response to allow you to negotiate with your potential employer. Alternatively, we would be happy to conduct those negotiations for you.

Do you send my own CV to your clients? I’m concerned my boss will hear I’m looking for a move.
No. All of the CVs we send out have your name and home address, and the name of your current employer removed.
We do, however, give a description of your current employer’s business to ensure that new employers understand the markets in which you operate, and an outline of your location and status. This ensures complete confidentiality. Your name is given to a client only on arrangement of interview. Further details on your CV and its preparation can be found under our CV Guide section.