ESL works with multiple recruitment agencies, and their clear preference is to bring people on permanently where they can. That breadth means the candidates who fit their brief are contacted often, by multiple recruiters at once, which makes it harder to hold their interest through a clean, fast process. Both Mechanical Engineer roles needed to move quickly before strong candidates were snapped up elsewhere.

This is where knowing the market pays off. Several of the candidates we put forward were people we already knew well, so when ESL's timelines and their availability lined up, we could move fast with confidence rather than starting a search cold. One Mechanical Engineer search took four weeks because our strongest candidate was going through a difficult personal period, we stayed in contact rather than letting the search restart. The role required two engineers, and the second search closed in three weeks; across both, 6 CVs were submitted, 2 candidates interviewed, and both placed, filling every seat needed. The Senior Civil Engineer search took six weeks, with a 5:4 CV to interview ratio reflecting the closer scrutiny a more senior hire demands.

ESL's own process helped: a two-stage interview, an initial call with the director followed by a more technical conversation with the wider team. It's a structure candidates have consistently responded well to, and one that let us move people through cleanly once they were engaged.

All three placements closed with a 100% offer acceptance rate, in a market where ESL competes with every other company in the sector for the same shortlist of people. That outcome came down to already knowing the right candidates, and having an efficient interview process in place.

We continue to work with ESL, trusted to bring them the right people when they need them, while keeping them informed on what we're seeing in the market and advising on the best way forward.