Across the automotive industry, shops are feeling the effects of the technician shortage. Finding good, qualified technicians is the top priority of many shops. But, where are shops supposed to find these technicians?
Thankfully, there isn’t a shortage of places for your shop or dealership to post and advertise open technician positions.
Where to Find Automotive Technicians
WrenchWay Top Shop Page
Job board competition is fierce—especially for automotive technicians. How can you make your shop or dealership stand out to technicians?
One way shops like Boardwalk Auto Group and Craig’s Car Care are standing out from competitors is by including links to their WrenchWay Top Shop pages in all of their job postings. Top Shop pages provide all the information technicians want to know about your shop before they apply or interview, including:
- History of the shop
- Photos and videos of the service area and employees
- Compensation ranges for all levels
- Detailed benefits information
- FAQs about work environment, career development, and hiring process
- Feed with updates about what’s going on at the shop (i.e., work events, employee recognition, business updates, etc.)
- Open positions with quick apply
- Easy way to contact the shop with questions
Top Shop pages are only great for sharing in job posts. They also make for perfect social content for attracting passive candidates. We’ll dive into social media more below.
Major Job Boards
There are hundreds of job boards available online. Businesses—large and small, and across all industries—advertise on these job boards. While they get a lot of web traffic, the downside to major job boards is that companies have to pay a lot in order to make sure their job ad is seen. This is especially true for shops, given the high number of technician job openings in any given area.
Major job boards shops and dealerships should consider advertising technician job openings include:
- Indeed
- ZipRecruiter
- CareerBuilder
- Glassdoor
- Monster
- Google For Jobs
- LinkUp
- SimplyHired
- The Muse
- Jora
Automotive Industry Job Boards
Sometimes, going where the masses are isn’t always the answer. While the quantity of applicants will be less, by focusing on automotive job boards, you are more likely to get qualified applicants.
Automotive job boards are gaining in popularity. Test out advertising your technician job openings on:
- AutoTechnician.org
- AUTOjobs.com
- NeedTechs.com
- FleetJobs.com
- TechnicianandMechanicJobs.com
- Jobs.AutomotiveNews.com
- AutoJobCentral.com
- AutoServiceJobs.com
- WrenchWay.com/Shops
Reverse Job Posts
Reverse Job Posts flip the traditional job board around and are an easy, free way to connect with technicians.
How it works is technicians fill out a questionnaire summarizing their skill set and what they’re looking for in a shop. All their contact information is kept anonymous. Once their posting is live, shops in their selected area receive an email notification. Then, shops can look at the technician’s profile and decide if they want to send them a message, and, if it seems like a good fit, set up a time to chat.
Access to Reverse Job Posts is available as a part of WrenchWay’s Top Shop memberships.
Social Media Pages
Social media isn’t just for attracting and communicating with customers. It’s also a great place to get in front of more technicians.
Social media is a trusted source for millennials and zoomers to find employment. According to Aberdeen Group, 73% of job seekers under the age of 34 found their last place of employment on social media.
However, it’s important to note that technicians don’t just want to see your “We’re hiring!” posts. Make sure you give them an inside look at what it’s like to work at your shop by showcasing employee stories, team events, and more.
Social media sites that shops should be utilizing to attract technicians include:
- X
- TikTok
- YouTube
Employee Shares on Social Media
Not only should your shop use social media to show off why you’re a great employer, but you should also encourage your employees to share those social posts on their social media pages as well.
Social media content shared by employees gets eight times more engagement than posts shared on your company pages, so this is a great opportunity to expand your reach as an employer!
Employee Referral Program
Employee referrals are a great way to find high-quality candidates. Not only is the cost per hire lower for employee referrals, but referral hires are also 40% more likely to be retained after one year as compared to non-referral hires.
Shops can encourage more referrals by offering an incentive program or developing a simple employee referral program. This doesn’t need to be a costly program, but even offering gift cards for every referred candidate that gets hired can help boost referrals.
Social Media Ads
Social media ads can be a great way to get in front of active job seekers. The targeting of social media ads has greatly improved throughout the years—allowing shops to target job seekers by:
- Location/Geofencing
- Language
- Job Title
- Education
- Years of Experience
- Interests
In addition, social media sites like Facebook and Instagram allow advertisers to create “lookalike audiences” which can help expand the reach of your ads.
Facebook & LinkedIn Groups
Another great way to find technicians is through Facebook and LinkedIn groups. On these social platforms, just search for local or industry-specific groups where it makes sense to post open technician positions. Some social groups are open to join, while others require users to request to join.
The biggest benefits to posting on social groups are that it is free, and it’s a great opportunity to interact with passive candidates (e.g. people who aren’t actively looking for a new job, but they’re open to new opportunities).
LinkedIn Career Page
More and more technicians are getting on LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals and explore job openings. Because of this, LinkedIn Career pages are another way to raise awareness and drive interest in your shop from potential candidates. This is a paid feature from LinkedIn that allows you to show off shop culture, target the right candidates, and showcase your job openings. Costs for a LinkedIn Career page start at $30/month.
Create a Flyer
Promote job openings in your shop by creating a simple flyer. It doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. You can simply add your logo, a few lines of text, and then add a QR code that links to more information about your shop and job openings. Keep these flyers at the service desk, bring them to career fairs, and hand them out wherever you go!
Here’s a sample flyer Lithia Motors created to bring to career fairs.
Your Website
Your shop website may be primarily for customers, but don’t forget about potential candidates. According to HR Dive, 61% of job seekers check out a company’s website before applying.
Consider adding a Careers page on your website. This page should not only list all open positions, but it should also talk about the benefits of your working at your shop.
Since technicians are particularly difficult to find, you can also include a link to your Top Shop page from your website or career page to give them a better idea of why technicians love working at your shop.
Check out this example from Toyota of Seattle. They have a “Technician Careers” link right in their main navigation bar that can be seen on every single page of their website. This easy navigation is a surefire way to ensure any potential technician candidate who comes to their website gets to the right place.
Work with Local Schools and Colleges
The best way to get in front of technician candidates is to get in front of them early!
Building relationships with local high schools and post-secondary schools is a great way to build a bench of future candidates. But don’t just show up around graduation time. Get involved with these instructors and their students early on by offering support and assistance, such as:
- Speaking to a class about automotive careers
- Giving shop tours
- Donating tools, equipment, and/or parts
- Offering internships/apprenticeships/job shadowing
- Joining an advisory committee
By getting your shop in front of students early and helping them learn more about the industry, your shop will be top of mind when it comes time to apply for jobs.
Editor’s Note: Last updated June 2024. This article was originally published in July 2021 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehension.
