In past blogs, we took a high-level approach on how to choose the right engineering service provider and how to choose the right engineering candidate. Past work examples should be one of your top considerations when hiring, whether it be a firm’s portfolio or a candidate’s. This week, in our two-part blogs series, we outline five reasons to ask for a portfolio before hiring engineering services.

1. Provide context for past jobs
   Portfolios provide a specific example of how a firm’s engineering services solved a client’s problem. They give insight to real-life scenarios, painting a picture of both the challenge and solution. Portfolios add context so you can see specific, data-backed examples of a time when a company’s engineering services provided value.
2. Show proven success
   If you’re looking to hire an engineering services provider, you want to make sure that their services have been successful. It is easy for firms to list specialties and skills, but without quantitative results, you can’t confidentially align your expectations. Ask for concrete example of how they applied those skills to achieve a certain result.
3. Demonstrate understanding of your industry
   Is your industry very specific? In engineering, there’s a wide variety of fields and areas of expertise that a firm may specialize in. Looking at an engineering team’s portfolio will give you a better understanding of the type of work that a provider typically does and can tell you if their experience matches what you’re looking for.
4. Adds credibility
   Companies generally need consent from their clients to include them in a portfolio or case study. This means if the firm and client’s relationship ended on positive terms, they should have ample examples or recommendations to share with future prospects. Case studies are a great resource to determine a firm’s credibility. As a prospective customer, it’s valuable to see how others benefitted from working with your provider.>>> See some of TriMech Services’ past projects in our Case Studies section
5. Case studies tell a story.
   Portfolios or case studies tell more than any about section can ever tell. They outline the background, challenge and solution of an engineering question. Look for things like strategy, technology, timeline, outcome and other indicators that the firm you are thinking about hiring took an organized approach to providing the engineering resources they promise. If you want more information on how an engineer service provider solves problems, a case study is a great way to take a peek at their processes.

Any reputable engineering services provider will have access to case studies, testimonials or other previous examples to assure you of their quality of work. Especially when it comes to engineering projects, an engineering service provider should be able to prove their capabilities and have examples of their qualifications. Hiring engineering services can be a hard decision, but doing your research and exploring your options can make it easier.

TriMech Services offers exceptional design engineering—and we can prove it! Just check out our case studies.