Part 1 of a three-part series For the better part of my adult life, I have been going to the gym and working out. I’m in good shape, but for many years I have been stuck with this feeling of being comfortable with the results of the effort I was putting in the gym….
You Want to Hire “A” Players? Some Tactical Advice
A few months ago I had a candidate who we recruited a year ago resurface indicating that the time was now right for him to make a move. This candidate was a five-star candidate. Within three days of that candidate’s resurrection, the Executive Vice President and Sr. Vice President of my client orchestrated an hour-long conference call….
Are You Really Who You Say You Are?
Over the past couple years I have noticed an interesting trend and I am curious to read your thoughts. This trend is: The haphazard awarding of titles to those who do not have the responsibilities to match. Once-upon-a-time a young civil engineer, somewhere, with just a few years of engineering experience, was given the title of…
Are You Happy? Or Are You Really Just Scared?
What I love about my job as “headhunter” is the daily interaction I have with civil engineering professionals across the United States discussing their careers. I love learning about the projects they are working on, all they have accomplished, and what motivates them. I love hearing about their kids or activities they enjoy outside of…
What Super Bowl LI Can Teach Us About Recruiting
As a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, I am an unfortunate expert in understanding the concept of “finishing” or “closing out strong,” or rather, how NOT to. That is, through the course of the last few NFL seasons I have come accustomed to the Eagles failing to “finish” or “close out strong” their opponents, witnessing the…
How to Find that Elusive Purple Squirrel
Stop searching. They don’t exist. Seriously. Waiting for the perfect civil engineer to walk through your office doors can be detrimental to your business and will lead to stagnation, stress, and disappointment. So often times I find employers suffering from “paralysis by analysis” as they struggle in identifying candidates that have the 20 exact skills they are…
Civil Engineering: Taking a Hard Line on Soft Skills
Successful real estate investor Barbara Corcoran once said: So as we leap into 2017 with both feet, make the development of your soft skills a priority. Here are a few reasons why your soft skills are so important: Business Development: Your track record and resume of successfully completed projects may look stunning on glossy marketing…
What is the ASCE Grand Challenge?
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has initiated a “Grand Challenge.” The Grand Challenge asks for a commitment from civil engineers to be innovative in all phases of project planning, design, and implementation. The Grand Challenge’s goal is to reduce infrastructure lifespan costs by 50% by 2025 and to encourage innovation and design for infrastructure sustainability. The ASCE…
A/E Leaders Make Changes: Staff Should Take Note!
When I began recruiting within the A/E industry in 1986, consulting firms purported the ability for staff to choose between a technical track or a management track. In reality, if you were a competent engineer and personable, then you would be pushed up the management track (whether you wanted to or not). If you weren’t…
When Life Gives You Lemons…
With much success comes a certain amount of failure. Over the course of my career recruiting civil engineers I have not only had to turn lemons into lemonade myself, but I have been fortunate enough to coach candidates to do the same. Here are some tips from two decades of recruiting civil engineers on how you can…