A Shift That’s Hard to Ignore Over the past five years, there has been a major influx of private equity into the civil engineering profession. Firms are being acquired.Companies are being aggregated.Platforms are being built across multiple regions. In some cases, very large ones. If you’re in this industry,...
The Hire That Didn’t Make Sense on Paper Last week I placed a Land Surveyor with one of my clients. On paper? He wasn’t the obvious choice. He spent the first 7 to 8 years of his career in surveying. Solid foundation. Then he left the industry entirely for...
The Pattern I Keep Seeing I’m in the middle of a search right now. But honestly… when am I not? And like I always do, I start mapping the market. Who’s strong Who’s growing Who’s stable Who’s quietly bleeding After nearly 30 years recruiting civil engineers, certain patterns jump out fast. And there’s one...
The Phrase That Sounds Harmless…But Isn’t “We’d like to see a few more candidates before we decide.” On the surface, that sounds reasonable. Measured. Thoughtful. Strategic. In reality? That’s usually the moment you’re about to lose the candidate you actually want. What That Statement Really Means Let’s translate it. You’re not saying: “We’re making...
The Moment That Catches People Off Guard Counteroffers feel personal. They feel like validation.Recognition.Proof that you matter. But here’s the reality. Counteroffers are not random.They are strategic. What Actually Happens Behind the Scenes Recently, I worked with two civil engineers who both had the exact same experience after giving notice. Multiple meetings Emotional...
The Most Misleading Title in Civil Engineering What does “Project Manager” actually mean at your firm? After 25+ years in executive search focused exclusively on civil engineering, I can tell you this with complete confidence: There is no universal definition. I’ve worked on hundreds of PM searches across the...