8 Months or 8 Years

8 Months or 8 Years 

July 1, 2026

8 years ago, I placed James as plant manager for a semiconductor company. Today he is leading a major multi plant expansion of the business, providing hundreds of jobs to our fellow Malaysian engineers. So when I reached out again last year, we got recruiting for the business and this story has become one of our top 5 clients at Ental today.

There are candidates who stay 8 months, and then there are candidates who stay 8 years. For the company hiring them, that is the difference between a costly reset and someone who compounds value year after year. I have always believed the 8 year hire comes from a positive experience: how the candidate was approached, their experience during the interview process and then their experience during onboarding.

What made the James placement work for our client? Whilst there were elements of good timing, I found three things to be far more important.

1. The Approach

This happens as we first engage with a candidate. James was a passive candidate but was open to understanding more of the "what could be" of his next move. Knowing this, the first conversation was a casual chat rather than a hard interview. That put him at ease and made the experience better from the start.

2. The Process

Between the first call and the offer, this is about aligning expectations from both ends. I once asked a mentor in the executive recruitment space what advice he would give on senior level recruitment. He told me that whilst it is important to sell a prospect the job, a great recruiter is someone who understands the role well enough to share both sides, the positives and the challenges. James knew the challenges from our very first call, and the fewer the surprises, the better the experience. Knowing exactly what the task was, the ask was a 100% increment, which we managed to secure for him. He was an exceptional candidate, and the client needed an exceptional candidate for the role.

3. The Onboarding

This is what happens after a placement is successful. We manage both sides, candidate and client, well past day one. When James later felt some expectations were not quite aligned, we sat down with HR and the hiring manager straight away to resolve it. A candidate's first 90 days experience is critical and we ensure we're there for them during these key periods. There is literally a book written about the first 90 days.

James is not his real name, but the story certainly is. And that matters, because there is a growing fear of AI taking over hiring. AI has changed our work in many ways, especially the administrative side which is a good thing. But the Approach, the Process and the Onboarding all depend on a real person building a relationship and understanding what is actually driving a candidate's move. That is why we meet our clients and our candidates in person wherever we can, because a screen rarely tells you why someone is really leaving, or what would make them stay. Recruitment agency is a service business I would put in the "low innovation, high relationship" category, and the human element is still what protects a client from a bad hire.

Our team works hard towards building the largest engineering talent company in Asia. In quarter 2 this year, we’ve tripled our billings quarter on quarter, a sign that a relationship first, specialised approach has its merits. Whilst I am proud of that growth, the thing I am most proud of is being part of a community I enjoy working in. As Ray Dalio says, we should always strive for meaningful work and meaningful relationships. For things to become meaningful, you have to work hard at something together: an audacious goal, pursued by a group of people on the same island, rowing the same boat and then celebrating that win together. So do we have the relationships to succeed? Without a doubt.

If you are building out an Engineering or Manufacturing team, we'd love to hear from you.

#TeamEntal #EngineeringRecruitment #RISEwithEntal