Recruitment for telecom and field service companies

Where technicians come from

Technicians are local hires. A broadband company expanding in Lucknow needs people who know Lucknow's lanes, so recruit near the cluster rather than importing staff from another city. Build standing links with a few institutes and keep going back each placement season.

• ITIs for electrician, wireman and electronics mechanic trades
• Candidates holding Telecom Sector Skill Council certificates
• Polytechnics for diploma holders who can grow into O&M engineers
• Referrals from current technicians, paid after the joiner's probation
• Local job fairs for helpers and trainee installers
• Former call centre staff for service coordinator roles

A practical test for every role

Interview questions tell you little about a technician. Twenty minutes with real equipment tells you a lot. An FTTH installer candidate should make three fusion splices, check the loss on a power meter, crimp and test a patch cable and set up a router. A splicer should read an OTDR trace and point to the fault. A rigger should climb a practice tower to ten metres with full harness, keeping one hook attached at all times. An AC technician should find a planted fault in a split unit.

Service coordinators take a mock customer call in the local language and in English, then assign five sample tickets across a map of the city. For every field role, check the driving licence and ask whether the candidate owns a two-wheeler, because most technician jobs depend on it.

Rollouts and fixed-term hiring

A six-month fibre rollout in a new town needs thirty extra technicians who may not be needed afterwards. The Industrial Relations Code permits fixed-term employment, and people hired this way are full employees for the length of their term, so issue proper fixed-term appointment letters rather than informal arrangements. Raise one requisition for the rollout, and it closes by itself once every opening is filled. Good performers from the rollout are the first people to consider for permanent openings later.

Keep the pipeline short

Technicians who wait a week for an answer join a competitor or a delivery app. Move candidates on the pipeline board from New to Screening to Interview to Offer on the day of the test where you can. Send the offer as an online link the candidate accepts or declines. For engineers and team leaders, the resume match score helps shortlist from larger applicant pools, and candidates choose their own interview slot from the times you offer.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Raise a requisition for each cluster opening or rollout project, with the number of technicians and the target joining date.
2. Share the careers page link and QR code at ITIs, polytechnics and job fairs, so candidates apply through the multi-step form.
3. Record practical test results as screening notes on the pipeline board, and move candidates the same day where possible.
4. Use the resume match score and self-picked interview slots for engineer and team leader roles.
5. Send offers as online accept or decline links, and move accepted candidates into onboarding with the correct employment type.

Read more about recruitment in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions