Securing Interns in 3D Printing and Robotics for Client Success

The Client

Our Client, an organization in Virginia that primarily deals with 3D printing, robotics, and coding, aimed to fill a Digital Coach Maker role. For this position, the Client needed Software Developer interns with niche skills like 3D Printing and Robotics. The Client also needed candidates exclusively from Harrisonburg, VA, and those pursuing graduation from any Virginia-based university or college.

The Challenges/Opportunities

1. Complex Job Title: The title “Digital Coach Maker” was unclear to candidates, significantly complicating recruitment. Many potential applicants did not understand the roles and responsibilities of this role. As a result, there was less interest in the position, leading to fewer applicants and making it more challenging to attract suitable candidates.
2. Limited Pool of Interns: Intern positions are often hard to fill, and the specific demand for expertise in 3D Printing and Robotics made it even more challenging. This scarcity created an important task in finding the right individuals, as the combination of these specialized talents further reduced the pool of suitable candidates. As a result, finding and hiring the best interns with the necessary skills becomes a very challenging undertaking.
3. Niche Skill Requirements: The Clients sought interns proficient in 3D Printing and Robotics, skills typically found in experienced candidates rather than student applicants. Recruiting individuals with these advanced technical talents, yet still in their student years, posed an additional challenge.
4. Geographic Restriction: The Client wanted interns sourced exclusively from Harrisonburg, VA. This geographic restriction reduced the number of potential candidates, making finding suitable interns who met all the requirements more challenging.
5. Academic Restriction: The candidates needed to be enrolled in and working toward graduation from any college or university in Virginia. This academic criterion further reduced the pool of qualified candidates, limiting the search to students from particular universities.
6. Communication Barriers: It was difficult to schedule calls with candidates because many had demanding academic schedules. It was also difficult to organize interviews at times that worked for both parties.

The iQuasar Solution

1. Leveraged Handshake portal and Liknedin : Handshake is one of the biggest professional networks and job boards in the country for college students and recent graduates seeking internships and jobs. By posting in Handshake, we increased our visibility among the intended audience and reached a larger pool of possible interns. We have also used extensively LinkedIn in the search for people, utilizing its advanced search facilities in pinpointing and making contact with some really good applicants matching the requirements with the right skills and experiences. Using these two channels, we could thereby reach out to a number of potential candidates at different universities and colleges.
2. Focused Skill Assessment: To ensure candidates possessed the necessary specialized skills in robotics and 3D printing, we conducted comprehensive screenings and evaluations. Confirming their expertise involved technical assessments and real-world demonstrations. Only those meeting the stringent criteria for the role progressed as we meticulously evaluated their capabilities.
3. Targeted Outreach: We directed our attention towards students from various universities and colleges in Virginia. We maintained active communication with career services to secure referrals and recommendations, engaging with student organizations, placement cells, and student services within these institutions. This targeted strategy enabled us to reach a potential applicant pool that conventional hiring methods might have overlooked.
4. Flexible Scheduling: To accommodate candidates’ availability, our team extended shifts and convened meetings outside of typical business hours. We conducted flexible and easy interviews using virtual meeting platforms. By being courteous and flexible with our scheduling, we made sure we could contact prospects at times that worked for them, which increased the likelihood of successful interactions.
5. More Comprehensible Job Title: To ensure candidates understood the function, we clarified the job description and listed the position as “Digital Coach Maker” in our job postings. By making the job title clear and offering comprehensive details about the role, we were able to attract applicants who were suitably qualified for the position. .

How Our Solution Created Value for the Client

iQuasar offered a solution by establishing a specialized team of staffing professionals to explore intern recruitment more deeply. We created multiple strategies to find recent graduates for internships. With the help of this all-encompassing approach, we were able to offer our customer competent individuals who met a variety of needs. We effectively dealt with the considerable obstacles this recruitment initiative posed by using a variety of sourcing channels, carrying out in-depth skill assessments, focusing outreach efforts, and considering candidates’ schedules. Our efforts ensured that the Client’s urgent staffing demands were satisfied with excellent resources, finally proving our dedication to customer satisfaction and proficiency in handling challenging hiring situations.

Our interns helped the client to enhance 3D printing capabilities, optimize workflows in robotics, and develop new innovative solutions. That is how our tailored recruiting approach ensured not only the filling of open positions for the client but also guaranteed real operational efficiency and better project results by laying a solid groundwork for further hiring initiatives and continued client success.