Hire Perspectives helps top engineers and engineering employers understand the hidden signals behind hiring, career movement, technical credibility, and talent decisions across automotive, aerospace, energy, and motorsports.
Someone gives you a phone number and says, “Give me a call.”
You send them a scheduling link.
It seems like a small thing. You have a system. Your calendar is organized. You prefer video calls, and the link makes it easy for someone to choose a time.
But they already gave you a way to reach them. What happened to picking up the phone?
In recruiting, I take the path of least resistance to the first contact. That means I reach out to the candidate or client contact through the method they first make available. I do not try to force them into contacting me through my preferred method.
I prefer Zoom over telephone calls. I like being able to see the person I am speaking with. Facial expressions matter. Being able to share something on the screen matters. There are good reasons for wanting that kind of conversation.
But getting someone into a Zoom conversation requires more effort. It creates another step, another decision, and another opportunity for the conversation not to happen.
When someone provides a phone number, especially through a higher-level introduction, I use the phone number. No question.
Someone has already helped make the connection. They have identified a person worth speaking with and provided a way to reach them. My responsibility is to follow through. Asking that person to enter my scheduling process adds work to an introduction that already has a clear next step.
The first objective is not to get someone into Zoom. The first objective is to establish contact.
Before the first conversation, I know why I want to speak with someone. I may see a strong match for an engineering opportunity. I may know something about a company’s hiring needs. I may recognize a problem that Top Engineer can help solve.
An engineer may be focused on a design review, a production issue, or a deadline. An engineering leader may be managing a team while carrying the workload of an unfilled position. My message arrives in the middle of responsibilities that already matter to them.
Now I am asking for their attention. How much effort am I asking them to make before they even understand the value of the conversation?
A phone call may give us enough time to establish why I reached out and whether there is a reason to continue. An email reply may answer the one question they need answered before agreeing to a meeting. A brief exchange on LinkedIn may reveal that the timing is wrong, or that there is a better person to contact.
Each of those exchanges can move the relationship forward. Insisting on a different platform can delay the very information we need to decide what comes next.
Over time, I have proven statistically that I have more success building a relationship when I use the first available contact method. That experience has shaped the way I approach recruiting. I pay attention to the opportunity someone has given me to communicate, and I start there.
There is also something worth examining about what we call an efficient process.
A scheduling link can save time once two people have decided to meet. Before that decision, it can become another unanswered request. The same tool can help or hinder depending on when we introduce it.
We need to evaluate the whole result. A process that saves me a few minutes but leaves a worthwhile conversation unstarted has a cost. I may never learn whether that engineer is considering a move. The employer may never hear how we could help with a difficult search. Neither of us gets enough information to make a useful decision.
Establish contact. Understand enough about each other to identify interest and alignment. Then agree on the next conversation and the best way to have it.
Once there is a reason to continue, moving into Zoom becomes a natural progression. We have something specific to discuss. Perhaps we need to examine an engineer’s career direction, review the scope of a position, or understand why a search has stalled. The meeting now serves a purpose both people can recognize.
I can explain that purpose directly: “Let’s set aside some time to review the role and what you want from your next opportunity. We can use Zoom so we can go through the details together.”
This applies on both sides of recruiting. Engineers can pay attention to how a recruiter or hiring manager invites them to respond. Employers can examine how much work they require from someone who has only just expressed interest. Every early step deserves a simple question: Does this help us move forward, or have we added it because it suits our internal process?
Put this into practice with your next introduction. Use the contact method provided. Make the reason for reaching out clear, and give the person something specific to respond to. The immediate outcome is an exchange that helps both of you decide whether there is a reason to continue.
During that exchange, learn enough to make the next step useful. Ask what matters to the engineer in their next opportunity, or what the employer needs the person they hire to accomplish. Listen to the answer. You should leave with a clearer understanding of fit, timing, and purpose.
Before arranging a longer meeting, explain what you intend to accomplish together. Then choose the format that supports that work. The outcome should be a conversation people arrive prepared to have, with a shared understanding of why they are there.
Finally, look at your results. Track which first contacts receive responses, which develop into meaningful conversations, and which progress toward placements. Compare similar outreach so you can distinguish a helpful process from a personal preference. Let those results guide what you keep and what you change.
The larger outcome is an engineer moving into meaningful employment and an employer gaining someone who can do the work the team needs. That requires assessment, judgment, and follow-through. Making first contact easy gives that work a chance to begin.
The next time someone gives you a phone number, pick up the phone.
Have a blessed day!
James Beine
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