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….
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…
Attracting & Retaining Talent :: It’s a War Out There
In November of 2013 Carol & I were invited to host a breakout session at the Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners Growth & Ownership Strategies Conference in Naples, FL. The Breakout Session that we hosted was titled “Attracting & Retaining Talent :: It’s a War Out There.” The topic was marketed as follows: The day…
Slow Hiring Process Like Slow Playing Poker
In the game of poker, slow playing is the tactic of not taking aggressive action when you have a strong hand. The goal is to draw the other players at the table in to keep them playing and to keep building the pot, with the intent of beating everyone in the end after luring them…
Civil Engineering Firms Stretched Thin
As I was perusing the different headlines at CNN.com the other today a headline grabbed my attention: “We Are Working Too Hard.” And as I leaned back in my chair for a moment reading this piece, I began to wonder, “is it time for civil engineering firms to adjust the notches on their belt and…
Losing Great Recruits to the Competition? Here is Why… (Part 2 in a Series)
Today’s blog is the second in a series of entries that will help those executives in the AEC community understand why they might be losing out to the competition when competing for great candidates and top talent. Having recruited civil engineering and architectural professionals for over 15 years I have witnessed some fantastic interviewing and hiring…
Losing Great Recruits to the Competition? Here is Why… (Part 1 in a Series)
Today’s entry is the first in a series that I will be writing aimed at helping those executives in the AEC community understand why they might be losing out to the competition when competing for great candidates and top talent. Having recruited civil engineering and architectural professionals for over 15 years I have witnessed some fantastic…
In Defense of the Land Development Engineer
By Matt Barcus President, Precision Executive Search, Inc. Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC, home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com Over the years I have often seen outstanding land development engineers desire to break into a new area of specialization under the civil engineering umbrella, yet they have found the opportunity to do so to be scarce, at best, purely because they have a background in…
Are CE's Becoming IBMr's ?
By Matt Barcus President, Precision Executive Search Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC, home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com Prior to this current economic downturn a MAJOR topic of discussion was the lack of civil engineers in the marketplace. It did not matter if I was executing a search for a Project Engineer who was an expert in hydrology & hydraulics…