u/thedotrecruiter

I recruit in the electrical testing / field service space, and I’ve been trying to get better at explaining the work to people who are not in the industry.

It is harder than it sounds.

“Electrical testing” can mean a lot of different things depending on where someone works.

Some people are more apparatus heavy. Some are more relay/P&C. Some are doing commissioning. Some are doing maintenance testing. Some are in substations. Some are in data centers. Some are chasing outages. Some are testing breakers, transformers, switchgear, cables, CTs, PTs, grounding systems, relays, batteries, or whatever else gets handed to them that week.

The job title usually gives you enough to start the conversation, but it does not always explain the actual work.

I wrote some thoughts on it here if anyone wants to check it out:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/electrical-testing-harder-explain-than-people-think-joshua-vq5wc

For the people actually doing this work, how do you usually explain your job to someone outside the industry?

I recruit in the relay/P&C and electrical testing space, and we just put out an article trying to take some of the mystery out of relay testing.

https://southernstaffinggroup.com/resources/taking-the-mysticism-out-of-relay-testing

Funny timing because I screened a relay tech right after we posted it, and the call reminded me how broad that title can be.

One person says “relay tech” and it could mean SEL, Doble, Manta, Megger, Omicron, end-to-end testing, line carrier work, CT/PT checks, SCADA, commissioning, maintenance, troubleshooting, transmission, distribution, generation, or just getting thrown wherever the utility needs help that week.

That is where I think recruiters can mess it up.

If I only hear “relay testing” and do not ask follow-up questions, I still do not really know what that person does.

For the people actually doing this work, what do you think gets missed the most when recruiters or companies talk about relay/P&C roles?