The Candidate's Market: Hiring Tips for Construction Professionals

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that by the year 2020, construction will be one of the occupations with the fastest rate of growth. This growth means more jobs for various roles within the construction industry, including Project Managers and Superintendents.

CyberCoders recruiters are currently leading the charge in hiring for these specific roles all around the country. We spoke with three of CyberCoders’ top construction recruiters, Jon Quickel, Aaron Wilks, and Roble Hussein, who shared their insight on everything you need to know when searching for a new role.

What are the 3 things a candidate should keep in mind when looking for a new opportunity?

“Ideally, candidates should consider why they’re searching in the first place, what’s most important to them (salary, role, responsibility, company or growth), and if the position aligns with their career goals” – Roble Hussein, Executive Recruiter 

“A well-known reputable company and the commute to the office/project sites, a higher paying salary, the type of projects they’d get to work on (is it is something new and challenging or in the same vertical they like to work in? ), and lastly a healthy pipeline of work where they know they will be able to work on multiple projects and not just one and done.” – Jon Quickel, Sr. Executive Recruiter

“Three things the candidate should keep in mind are the robust project pipeline, employee tenure, and the market.” – Aaron Wilks, Sr. Executive Recruiter

What are the hottest markets and locations for professionals in the construction industry? 

Jon Quickel shares the hottest markets:

• Commercial (mid & high-rise office space, data center construction, malls, retail, etc.)
• Multifamily/Mixed-Use/Hospitality (apartments, condos, hotels, etc.)

Roble Hussein shares the hottest locations:

• California - Bay Area (San Fran, San Jose, Sacramento) Los Angeles, Orange County
• Texas – Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Nashville, Mid-Atlantic Region, Philadelphia, New York

What is the client looking for in a candidate applying for a Project Manager or Superintendent role? 

“They’re looking to see if a candidate has a good general contracting company background, the types of projects they’ve worked on, what their role is (Lead Superintendent, Sr. Superintendent, Sr. Project Manager, etc.), the size of the project, and growth patterns” –Roble Hussein

“Clients are looking for tenure and experience with specific project types.” –Aaron Wilks

“Clients are looking for people coming out of reputable companies (typically direct competitors) where they’re working on the same type and scale of a project that this new company works on. Companies like to see these candidates coming out of a big name in the area/industry, and they tend to stay away from people coming out of unheard of or smaller companies.” –Jon Quickel