For Employers
Hiring Executive Construction Search Firm Recruiters: What to Expect
Retained search works differently than posting a job and waiting. Here is the process a client should expect before the first candidate ever gets presented.
The first meeting with a search firm should feel more like an intake interview than a sales call. A recruiter who does not ask about your bonding capacity, your bench strength, or why the last person in the role left has not done this long enough to help you.
“Expect a written position description before any sourcing starts. This is not paperwork — it is the filter every candidate gets screened against, and a vague one produces a vague shortlist.”
A retained search firm should also be willing to tell a client no. If the compensation range, timeline, or candidate criteria do not match what the market will bear, that conversation should happen before the search begins, not after eight weeks of silence.
Finally, expect a short list, not a long one. Three to five well-vetted candidates beats twenty resumes forwarded without context, and it is the difference between a search firm and a job board with a phone number attached.