The Point Where Things Slow Down Most civil engineers hit a point in their career where things start to stall a bit. You’ve done the work. You’ve earned your stripes. You’ve made it to Project Manager or Senior Project Manager. You’re running projects You’re busy You’re doing everything “right” And yet… That next step...
The Opportunity Most Firms Are Missing A lot of smaller civil engineering firms are missing a very simple opportunity when it comes to attracting talent. They have little to no online presence. And in today’s world, that is a problem. What Candidates See…Or Don’t See No website.No LinkedIn company page.No...
The Toughest Part of the Job Sometimes the hardest calls in recruiting are not the wins. They are the ones where a candidate did almost everything right… And still does not get the offer. When Everything Looks Right on Paper I had one of those calls today. Strong background Interviewed well Solid leadership...
One of the Toughest Stretches Early On Studying for the PE exam might be one of the hardest stretches of your early engineering career. Long days.Late nights.Weekends that don’t feel like weekends. It’s a grind. First, Credit Where It’s Due If you’ve already passed the FE and earned your EIT… That’s...
The Experience vs Opportunity Debate One thing I’ve always found interesting about the civil engineering profession is how tightly leadership opportunities are tied to years of experience. And not just loosely tied. In many cases, almost dictated by it. A Different Start When I first got into recruiting, I had...
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 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 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...
The Question That Reveals Everything There’s a question I heard recently that stuck with me. Simple. Direct. A little uncomfortable. “Who is your replacement?” That one question tells you everything you need to know about how a firm thinks about talent. Because if there’s hesitation…If there’s no clear answer…That’s not...