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….
Civil Engineer
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…
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…
Stuck In "No Man’s Land?" Here Is One Way To Get Out…
No man’s land. You all know what that is, right? Literally speaking, it is a piece of land that is unoccupied, or under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. You may also understand it as that place in the ocean, usually thigh deep, where when a wave rolls in you are…
Has Your A/E Firm Taken Over Your Identity?
Are you known as a civil engineer, architect, landscape architect and planner OR are you known as an employee of your employer? Recently an outstanding executive engineer was set to interview with my client. This engineer had worked as a leader in his firm for 20 years. At the start of the process, he told…
It’s Not About The Title or The Money: Stop Lying To Yourself!
If I had a penny for every time a job seeker told me that they would not reject a job offer based upon the title or the money, I could have bought an island years ago! Stop lying to yourself. Inevitably, 95% of job offer rejections center around money or title. That is acceptable and sometimes even reasonable. However,…
Legalized Marijuana Use Grounds For Termination Within A/E Firms?
The legalization of marijuana use in Colorado and Washington is causing an uprising within the A/E marketplace. It has been reported that firms are trying to determine policies that take in consideration federal and state laws while being mindful of employee and client safety. Speaking with operations and human resources executives on the legalized use…
Civil Engineering & The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi
As I have been enjoying the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi on TV I began to consider the unique engineering and construction of infrastructure necessary to pull off such an amazing feat. The infrastructure must not only be able to satisfy the expectations of the 2014 Winter Olympics, but it must be able to satisfy…
Civil Engineering Salaries: Does Yours Measure Up?
Received a call today from a civil engineering Senior Project Manager. During the conversation he asked me “How does my salary measure up against others?” Over my 25+ years of recruiting, this is one of the most frequently asked question. And, it is not easily answered. Salaries range widely across the US. Benefit packages range widely…
Salary Compression: Engineers Penalized For Loyalty
Salary compression has several definitions. It can be described as a pay inequity when new employees receive salaries higher than those salaries being paid to the current employees in similar jobs. Whether at an Executive Vice President level or Project Manager role, it can be demotivating to an existing employee. As we all know, salaries…