If you are trying to grow your civil engineering firm in a major metro but operating out of one office, you may be making hiring harder than it needs to be. I get it. Office space is not cheap. Build-outs are not cheap. Rent, furniture, technology,...
“We need someone who has already done this exact job.” Same title. Same responsibilities. Same type of projects. Same market. Same client base. Same everything. In other words, a lateral move. On paper, that request makes sense. If a civil engineering firm needs a Project Manager, Department Manager,...
Last night’s NFL Draft had a moment that felt very familiar from a recruiting standpoint. The Pittsburgh Steelers were reportedly on the phone with Makai Lemon, the USC wide receiver they expected to draft. And this was not just some fallback option. Lemon was one of the top...
You’re a civil engineering leader. You spent the entire day juggling client calls, proposals, project deadlines, staff issues, utilization, budgets, and trying to keep projects moving because your team is already stretched thin. It is now 8:30 at night. The kids are finally upstairs. And now it is time...
Dear civil engineering firms that are using AI to conduct candidate interviews: Please continue. Sincerely, Recruiters and companies that still believe humans should talk to humans. That may sound a little sarcastic. It is. But only because this trend deserves a little sarcasm. In a hiring market where civil engineering firms are...
One of the toughest recruiting lessons I have seen recently had nothing to do with technical ability, experience, or interview performance. It had everything to do with transparency. A few weeks ago, I was working with a candidate who had spent more than 20 years with the...
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...
Before LinkedIn…There Was Hustle I’ve been recruiting civil engineers long enough to remember when none of this was easy. No LinkedIn.No databases at your fingertips.No automation.No AI helping you clean things up. Just you, a phone, and a whole lot of effort. And if you wanted to be successful,...
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...