Hiring Mid-Career Talent: Tips for Construction Companies

September 24, 2024

Boasting above-average job growth compared to the rest of the job market, the construction industry is a hotspot for up-and-coming talent. However, that means you’ll need more experienced team members to train and manage new hires, provide seasoned business expertise, and help you navigate industry trends.

That’s where mid-career talent, or workers 10-20 years into the industry, are especially helpful. In this article, we’ll review how your construction company can effectively recruit and hire mid-career talent to help your company reach new heights. Let’s dive in! 

1. Understand How to Appeal to Mid-Career Talent

Just like recruiting for any other industry, hiring managers need to understand what motivates their ideal candidates to apply. Recruiting mid-career talent requires a different approach than entry-level professionals.

Appeal to Mid-Career Talent by:

Surveying Mid-Career Talent

There’s no better source of information on mid-career talent than the candidates themselves. Ask them about their motivations, combining quantitative and qualitative methods for a well-rounded picture. Then, use this data to guide your recruitment efforts. 

Offering Competitive Benefits

You might think “benefits” comprises details like pay, paid time off, workplace giving opportunities, and health insurance. However, experienced mid-career talent are looking for above-and-beyond benefits like internal mobility, networking opportunities, and professional development funded by your company. 

Looking at Construction Industry Trends 

Contextualize your recruitment efforts with trends shaping the overall construction industry. Research how the industry and the general labor market are performing so you can efficiently source and recruit mid-career talent.  

2. Optimize Job Descriptions for Experienced Talent

Most mid-career talent professionals will learn about your open positions from a job board. Making a great first impression with an effective job posting will help them remain engaged and apply to your organization.

Here’s how to write an effective job description for experienced candidates:

Highlight Benefits that Keep Team Members Loyal

Remember those benefits we talked about in the last section? They should be the spotlight of your job postings to attract the best candidates. Ensure your benefits are tailored to mid-career talent, highlighting details that promote long-term stability and career development. 

Define What a Successful Candidate Would Look Like

Attracting candidates unqualified for your role can slow down the process. So, set your expectations for the role upfront to save both your time and your applicants’.

Define what an ideal candidate would look like in terms of skills, traits, and experience. Be as detailed as possible when describing skills—for example, instead of saying an ideal candidate is “proficient in construction software,” you could say “proficient in CAD software and knowledgeable of the latest building codes in our area.”

Use Industry Lingo While Remaining Approachable

While you want to appear knowledgeable about construction, you should still aim to be approachable. Balance your use of construction jargon with accessible language that makes candidates feel welcome and supported.  

3. Highlight Success Stories and Long-term Projects

Mid-career candidates want to know that, if hired, they’ll be joining a highly successful and capable team. Reassure them by showing your wins and how you’ll achieve short- and long-term growth.

Demonstrate Your Company’s Track Record by: 

Leveraging Recruitment Data

JazzHR suggests promoting your company’s most impressive recruitment metrics, like retention rate, to show candidates that you have a loyal team that enjoys working for your company. 

Showcasing Staff Career Advancements

From interns to upper managers, every staff member at your company has a story of how they got there. Pull the most compelling stories from staff members (with their permission) about how the company has supported their growth. Also, share metrics like average project completion turnaround and safety incident rates to show your team’s overall prowess. 

Detailing Successful Projects

Mention your most notable accomplishments, especially those well-known in your area, so candidates understand your capabilities.   

Teasing Upcoming Projects

If you have upcoming projects you can mention publicly, sharing interesting details can keep your candidates engaged and excited to apply. 

4. Use Industry-Specific Channels

General job boards like LinkedIn are great places to find entry-level talent without many connections in the space, but Lever suggests branching out for mid-career talent recruitment. After all, mid-career professionals know which niche channels show the most relevant opportunities. 

Some Industry-Specific Channels to Leverage Include:

• Large-scale professional association conferences and events, like the Associated Builders and Contractors’ yearly convention
• Niche job boards, like ConstructionJobs and ConstructionJobForce
• Local construction trade fairs, like city-specific Build Expos

5. Engage Existing Connections

Building a relationship from scratch during the hiring process takes more time than engaging individuals who already understand how your company works. Plus, you have an entire team that can act as the points of connection to a wider network.

Look for Existing Connections by:

Re-engaging Old Talent Pools

Chances are your construction company uses hiring technology to streamline your workflows and keep track of candidate details. The best recruiting tools allow your construction company to move candidates into different talent pools based on their experience with the hiring funnel. 

For example, you can easily find mid-career talent who already knows your company by searching for past candidates that you didn’t decide to hire. Then, you can reach out to them to see if they’re looking for a new opportunity they’re qualified for.

Leveraging Referral Programs

Potential candidates are more likely to trust and apply to your construction company if someone they know already works there. Referral programs are a win-win for you and your employees—you get candidates who are more likely to engage with your company, and your employees get an incentive for every successful applicant they source, such as a small bonus or an extra day of paid time off. 

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As you start looking for talent, remember that it takes time for these best practices to fall into place. Set a consistent timeline to review your strategy with your team, playing to your strengths and improving on your weaknesses. That said, with consistent iteration, you can use these tips to create a holistic hiring strategy that appeals to mid-career talent and helps you build your dream team. 

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