Navigating the Challenges of Recruiting in the Construction Industry

Recruiting in the construction industry can be challenging, with low response rates and applicants often not meeting the requirements or being a good fit. This challenge is compounded when there is insufficient time to manage a large pool of applicants. 

AI-driven recruitment tools are helping construction companies tackle this issue by automating their recruitment process, enabling them to quickly identify the best candidates that meet their requirements. Partnerships with outside agencies may also help, but the construction industry does not have a long history of using candidate-sourcing companies and that process is not ingrained in their hiring system. 

Effective Talent Solutions to Find the Right Construction Candidates

Finding the right talent for your construction project can be a daunting task. With the ever-changing landscape of the industry, it is important to have a recruitment strategy that takes into account all of the possible resources available.

Construction recruiters must identify their company’s needs in order to find effective talent solutions. This could include using different resources such as LinkedIn profiles or job boards or even attending industry events to network with potential candidates. Often, construction industry professionals are not on LinkedIn, or at best, their LinkedIn profiles are not up to date. Construction recruiters may consider turning to other resources like HireEZ or SeekOut to find candidates and contact data.

It’s important that recruiters understand the needs of those in the construction industry and how these are different from other businesses. By understanding what their needs are and utilizing a variety of resources, construction recruiters will be better equipped to identify and hire the best candidate for any given job.

Cold outreach is one way to get the attention of potential candidates, but it takes time and resources to do it effectively. The traditional approach of sending one message and hoping for a response is no longer enough. To maximize your chances of getting a response, you need to send multiple outreach messages via various channels. This requires both resources and time, but by investing them wisely you can increase your chances of success.

Find the Balance between Candidate Experience and Candidate Mobility

Finding a balance between candidate experience and candidate mobility is an important challenge for any construction firm, from a top 10 general contractor to a smaller company in the top 100. With the need for high-quality candidates and the fact that many of them do not want to leave their current firm, organizations must find ways to provide an attractive candidate experience while still ensuring candidates have the necessary skills and experience. 

This balance can be achieved through thoughtful recruitment strategies that focus on understanding candidate needs, providing comprehensive onboarding processes, and offering flexible working arrangements to accommodate both employer and employee needs.

Good Construction Recruiters Will Know their Candidates

Finding the right candidate for a construction company can be a challenging task. It is important to obtain as much information about the candidate's projects and experience as possible. Additionally, it is important to fight for your chosen candidate and present their resume in an effective manner. Finally, it is crucial to advocate for your chosen candidate and bridge any gaps that may exist between the job requirements and the skillset of your chosen individual.

Recruiters must stay ahead of the curve by knowing what a candidate wants before they make their next career move. Even if they are not openly or actively looking, based on their experience and career trajectory, recruiters can get a feel for if they are ready for a step up or if a change in scenery might benefit their growth.

Hiring for a Large General Contractor

Finding candidates for a large contracting firm comes with the most challenges. Often, these companies will have over 5,000 employees nationwide or even globally. When sourcing candidates for a large GC, it is important to pull candidates that have experience working at companies with a minimum of 1,500 employees. 

Making sure you ask screening questions that target the volume of employees that they work with is crucial before submitting these candidates to the client or hiring manager. Large commercial contractors will decline candidates very easily, so having a constant pipeline and screens lined up is important when keeping the ball rolling with submittals.

Looking for an on-demand partner for construction recruiting? Reach out to us today. We’d be happy to connect and build a plan to help you hire the best talent for your open positions.