23 Years in Construction Recruitment | What Has Changed

If you hire or work in construction, the way you find people has changed almost beyond recognition since 2003. What makes a good match has barely changed at all.

I founded Maxim Recruitment in 2003. Since then I have placed quantity surveyors, cost managers, quantum and delay analysts as well as claims consultants in the UK, Canada and further afield. This post is for employers planning their next hire and professionals weighing up their next move. It covers five changes in construction recruitment and what they mean for you.

1. Finding people got easier. Judging them did not.

In 2003 we found candidates by phone, through personal contacts and from our own CV database. Today LinkedIn can show us thousands of quantity surveyors across the country in seconds.

AI now goes further. It can screen CVs, draft adverts and handle admin. We use it carefully and moderation, and it saves time.

The problem is that a search returns job titles and keywords. It cannot tell you qualitative information about their character or standing within the industry and their future potential. In claims, quantum and delay expert work, it's that level of detail that determines whether someone succeeds.

2. Employers want more than technical skill

A client hiring a quantity surveyor used to ask mainly about valuations, variations and final accounts. Those still matter. Now the same client also asks about commercial judgement, how the person handles clients and whether they can confidently report to a board.

In claims and disputes, clients now ask for experience in specific methods of analysis, such as time impact analysis or as-planned versus as-built. They also ask whether the person has supported or given evidence in adjudication or arbitration and the skills and personality they can project.

For employers, a tighter brief finds a better person. For candidates, your CV needs to show what you did, not just where you worked.

3. Candidates have more information, not more certainty

Anyone can now compare salaries, read employer reviews and apply in a few clicks. That is a real gain.

It has not made decisions easier. Salary is one factor. Progression, hybrid working, the type of projects and job security often matter as much. Many senior roles are never advertised, because employers would rather approach people quietly.

4. Similar job titles hide very different people

A quantity surveyor from major rail projects is not interchangeable with one from residential fit-out. A quantum expert with international arbitration experience is not interchangeable with a commercial manager who has prepared a few claims.

Knowing where these people work, and who might move, and what roles and skills fit together takes years of conversations. It also means we can tell an employer plainly when a role is hard to fill because the salary is too low or the brief asks for too much.

5. What has not changed in construction recruitment

Recruitment is still about people. Employers want a recruiter who understands their business and sends a few strong CVs, not a pile of weak ones. Candidates want someone who listens and represents them honestly.

That trust takes time. Much of our work comes from employers and candidates we have known for many years.

Where a recruiter helps, and where it does not

We help most with roles that are proving hard to fill, we find people who are not actively looking, and facilitate job moves that may well not have otherwise happened.

Summary

• Technology has made it far easier to find a volume of construction professionals, but has not made it easier to judge them without considerable effort and experience.
  
  
• Employers now want commercial judgement and specific expertise, especially in claims, quantum and delay
  and this requires time and skill to evaluate this during interviews and assessments.
  
  
• Candidates have more information but still have to weigh salary against progression, projects and flexibility leading to a lot of time being wasted if the brief and the target candidates are not understood at an early stage.
  
  
• Similar job titles hide big differences in experience, so market knowledge and experience matters.
  
  
• Good construction recruitment still depends on trust built over time.

Hiring, or thinking about your next move?

Maxim Recruitment has specialised in quantity surveying, cost management, project management and claims and disputes since 2003. We have offices in the UK, Hong Kong and Canada.

Employers: contact us for a confidential conversation about your next hire.

Candidates: browse our quantity surveyor jobs and quantum, delay, claims and dispute jobs, or call our UK office on 0116 473 5358.

Steve Thomas
Construction Recruitment Director, UK & Canada
Maxim Recruitment
LinkedIn

Steve is responsible for Maxim Recruitment in the UK and Canada. He is based in the Maxim head office in Leicester, UK and the Toronto office in Canada. He regularly travels to meet employers and job seekers and attend construction industry networking events in the UK, Canada and worldwide. Steve has over 25 years of experience in construction and property recruitment and enjoys working with many repeat clients. He manages dedicated search and headhunting assignments for a range of premium UK, Canadian and international clients.