TRS Staffing Solutions global strategy to be boosted by Australasia market entry:

June 17, 2010 | 1 Comment

To support the expected business growth in the Asia Pacific and Australian engineering and project management markets, TRS Staffing Solutions is set to enter Australia with a full recruitment offering on 1 September 2010 operating from Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

TRS Staffing Solutions has been matching people and projects for more than 20 years. The TRS Australian business is part of the worldwide TRS Staffing Solutions Group which has representative offices in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East.

TRS Staffing Solutions was established in 1982 to supply staff to a leading United States EPCM contractor for its own international projects.

Since then we have extended our network of clients and candidates and we are now actively supporting project sites across Australia, the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Canada and South East Asia. TRS currently has more than 4,500 contractors around the world and we manage over 270 agency suppliers around the world.

The TRS Australia business will be established to provide a further platform to help TRS source and supply skilled personnel to clients both in Australia, Asia Pacific and internationally, providing direct access to a global pool of experienced technical, engineering and professional services talent.

We have skilled and experienced teams of recruiting professionals that enable us to align our recruiting processes and global databases to meet our clients’ corporate visions.

The TRS Australia business will provide the following services for clients in this region:
- Contract placement
- Direct-hire recruitment
- Managed agency
- Search and selection

Author: Jayson Eichstadt, TRS

$ale$ Manager$ – The Sign of an Improving Market.

June 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment

For months, most recruitment companies have been convincing their consultants and candidates that the engineering recruitment market is improving with stories of approved projects and future investment, but little has been seen on the job boards. Until now…

Generally when a market starts improving, and a cost efficient company wishes to take advantage of this, the first positions recruited for are Sales / Business Development Managers, followed by General Managers for the regional and project offices that follow.

In the last 3 weeks, we have received more requests for talented engineers with BD / Sales Experience than I believe TRS has received in the last 2 years.

What type of candidate makes a good Sales Manager?

The first mistake people make is thinking that ‘Sales is Sales’ and not engineering… Wrong!

Operators want to be able to discuss technical issues and often base their solutions around best technical fit, not just best price. Often the best Sales Managers come from Project Management and Project Lead backgrounds, because at the end of the day, the most important task for the Sales Manager is to understand the customer’s needs and to be able to communicate them to the engineering teams.

Another misconception is that Engineers cannot communicate or sell effectively. Wrong again! Engineers enjoy going on site, dealing with the operator, suppliers, sub-contractors and so on. Indeed a large percentage have worked as independent contractors, been self employed or worked for small consultancies, and have had to sell their expertise and understanding at every interview and meeting they have been to. Engineers on the whole are excellent sales people as they understand their product or service and are selling to someone who wants to hear about it (gauging your friends reaction to you explaining the joys of cement down the pub whilst watching Liverpool V Real Madrid as an indicator of whether you are a good sales person is probably not recommended – chances are they are not interested).

Also, most engineers will have been to university and have had an assortment of jobs. For example, one individual we recently placed had been a magician, double glazing salesman, security guard and so on. This gave them the ability to communicate and understand a wide variety of peoples’ needs. Again, this is key to being able to sell.

So what happens to the Sales Manager next? The typical direction for a Sales Manager would be to establish a territory, for example Brazil. You would then create a client base in Brazil, and before you know it, you are the General Manager of the Brazil Office. It may often be difficult to see a progression from Piping or Process to being General Manager, but the easy route is through Sales.

TRS currently have roles including Renewable Energy in Argentina, Brasil, Mexico, Bulgaria and Romaina. Also, Water in Egypt and Cabling in Italy, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. To see a selection of TRS Staffing Solutions current job vacancies, click here.

For more information about TRS’ engineering recruitment service in the UK, email: info-uk@trsstaffing.com

Author: John Rowlands, TRS