Busting the Most Common Recruitment Agency Myths
Recruitment is an incredibly important part of any company. After all, bringing top talent on board is what keeps your construction business growing and moving forward.
Being in the staffing industry, however, we’ve overheard more than our fair share of misconceptions or, as we like to call them, myths.
We all understand that recruiting agencies get a bad rap. And sure, there’s no denying that candidates and would-be employers alike will sometimes have an off-putting encounter with a recruiter, but more often than not, the criticism will usually get down to a clear-cut lack of understanding about what it is recruiters actually do.
Recruitment is a tough and incredibly challenging job, so listening to the same myths being thrown around time and again annoys us to say the least. These myths often keep many job seekers and those looking to hire a candidate from using our services.
So, we think it’s high time to bust some of these myths.
Myth: All construction staffing agencies are the same.
Truth: Different recruiters have different styles. If you’ve had a bad experience with a recruiter in the past, that doesn’t mean the next recruiter you work with won’t be great.
PDDM Solutions is not your typical recruiting agency. Our personality is very much down-to-earth and thanks to our energetic team and efficient processes, we know how to get the job done.
Myth: Construction recruiters work only for their commissions, not finding you the right candidate
Truth: Recruiters have your best interest at heart. Many people are suspicious of recruiters because it might feel as though they are only interested in a meal ticket. Or, in other words, their commission.
Believe it or not, making a placement and earning a commission isn’t everything in the recruitment business. Recruiters genuinely care about finding organizations the right fit and, equally important, finding the right candidate for the given job.
Yes, most recruiters work with a commission structure. Nevertheless, reputation is everything in the recruitment industry. If a recruiter endorses someone for a specific job that’s definitely not a match, it just doesn’t bode well for his or her skills as a recruiter. After all, it’s their job to be sure that the skills and personalities are a match, for both the candidate and the potential employer.
If a recruiter isn’t straightforward about the job, there’s a high likelihood the candidate will fall away almost immediately, which leads to no commission whatsoever and a ding to his or her reputation as a professional recruiter with both the candidate and the employer.
Myth: Some otherwise potential candidates believe that automation will eventually take all the jobs in construction
Truth: A growing number of job seekers are concerned that if they opt for construction careers they will eventually be replaced by some type of automation. From 3D printers to robot-powered heavy equipment, the use of automation is on the rise in many professionals across the country, including this one.
However, construction hasn’t had the kind of impact on construction that it has in manufacturing and comparable industries. True, the industry requires professional humans to operate and manage these automated systems. However, there’s still a high demand for both skilled and unskilled labor.
If automation in the construction market offers anything, it’s an opportunity to move forward. The chance to operate these machines can provide someone the training and skills to be sought after throughout his or her career.
Myth: Recruiters don’t have an impact on hiring decisions.
Truth: While a recruitment agency might “just” be the middleman, if a recruiter has a trusting connection with the potential employer’s hiring manager, their judgment will be respected and will be taken on board.
Hiring managers have been known to sit on the fence when it comes to starting a new candidate more often than one might imagine, and it’s frequently the recruiter’s industry know-how that pushes them over the top, one way or the other.
To insinuate that the recruiter has no influence on whether a candidate gets hired is nonsense.
Myth: Construction recruiters don’t really understand the role they’re recruiting for.
Truth: Of all the myths presented here, this is the one that bothers most construction recruiters the most. Any respectable recruiter understands their niche inside out, and this might even include things the candidate or hiring managers are not even aware of themselves.
An appreciation of the role is critical to discovering the best talent for our clients – if not, we couldn’t deliver. We all learn early on that we have two ears and one mouth for a purpose, so listening to and identifying both the candidate’s and the hiring manager’s needs before we set out to fill a position is no doubt the most significant part of the recruiting process.
Talk about industry know-how. PDDM Solutions provides comprehensive construction and project management capabilities for all related design and construction activities to include managing and monitoring the project through pre-design, conceptual design, design documentation, bid/negotiation, construction and project close-out.
Myth: All construction is hard work, making it difficult to find good candidates
Truth: You betcha! Physical labor can be tough, and one of the most difficult recruitment challenges to overcome is the notion that construction jobs wear down the body.
This myth is actually based on a decades-old view of construction. Sure, it involves physical labor, but with today’s government regulations and advances in technology, there’s much less direct physical strain for workers to withstand.
Beyond this, not all jobs require physical labor. There are also plenty of desk and design jobs, as there are jobs inspecting jobsites or estimating costs and budgets. Plenty of job openings also take place in the outdoors with little or no need for strenuous physical work. Fact is, a substantial part of the job is performed prior to anyone lifting a single thing on the jobsite.
Myth: Most any construction recruiter can help me search for qualified candidates
Truth: It’s far more helpful to find a specialized recruiter. So, if you’re a construction firm, you need to be partnering with a firm that focuses on construction industry recruitment.
As one career coach explained it, most recruiters opt to specialize in specific jobs not only so they can become niche but to construct their own network of opportunities. “You should do your research first to find out which search firms work with people in your industry. That way, you will not waste time contacting search firms that don’t fill positions in your line of work.”
As was noted above, PDDM Solutions offers more than specialized knowledge as a recruiter, but a significant amount of know-how in the construction management business.
Myth: You have to handle construction recruiting all on your own
Truth: The recruitment process can be quite overwhelming to take on alone. In-house HR professionals have an assortment of other responsibilities to be concerned about other than solely recruiting and interviewing, making it tough to commit the correct amount of time and resources to hiring.
There are any number of benefits of recruiting agencies, but perhaps one of the utmost is the weight of their experience, know-how and resources they can take off your plate.
Your HR people and our recruiting agency can partner to establish an effective hiring strategy, simplify the interview process and position the very best candidates in the precise roles the first time around.
Myth: There just aren’t enough good candidates for hire in the construction market.
Truth: One of the everyday challenges of recruiting in construction lies in the quality of the candidates’ attributes. If you receive an excessive number of candidates who seem unimaginative, unsuitable or unhappy with the work, it doesn’t necessarily mean this is simply the way workers are nowadays. More probable, you’re seeking candidates with the wrong game plan.
The usual day-to-day techniques of construction recruiting frequently bank on finding those who are desperate to hit upon any job and would rather find any other type of job than construction. No doubt, many of these type workers could adjust and learn to love to do something in construction. However, recruitment challenges are made so much more overwhelming when these are the only sort of candidates you’re coming up with.
Take a pause and think about your company’s game plan for recruiting and hiring. Are you outfitted top to bottom and have the necessary resources to do each competently? Many businesses are not, so when they recruit, they simply don’t possess the resources to focus on the recruiting process in a productive manner.
In this instance, you should give serious consideration about a recruitment agency that’s focused on construction recruitment. They can perform as a completely resourced recruiting and hiring team for your company.
Myth: A construction recruiter will withhold critical information in order to make a placement.
Truth: A good recruiter will be as honest and straightforward as possible. After all, it’s in everyone’s best interest to be on the same page when it comes to hiring an employee. They will provide as many details as possible to a prospective candidate about the company to ensure the candidate knows exactly what they are signing up for. Likewise, they will be upfront with the hiring manager concerning the qualifications of every candidate they present.
Myth: Construction employees are always placed in hazardous work conditions. It makes it difficult to convince a candidate that construction is a safe occupation
Truth: Construction work most often takes place independent of any extremely hazardous condition. Nobody’s climbing unprotected on scaffolding 70 stories up any longer. Why would you do that when you can use a drone or crane? The industry’s threat issues have been dramatically reduced owing in no small part to regulations and technology.
For instance, workers are obligated to receive training to keep themselves and one another out of harm’s way in any type circumstance. Moreover, in any setting that might present an unsafe condition, workers will always be given this information upfront as well as the choice to opt out.
As previously mentioned, there are plenty of jobs that don’t even include any type of interaction with potential hazards.
Myth: A construction company should select their candidate based solely on job skills and background
Truth: Of course, it’s important to make certain you’re selecting a candidate who has the right skillset and experience to be successful, but these are not the lone influences to be taken into consideration. You also must make sure the candidate is a good fit with your organization’s culture.
This is significant because if you hire even one new person who’s not tied into your culture, it can have an adverse influence on everyone. It will also add to your employee turnover rate as bad culture types by and large end up leaving not too long after being hired or eventually need to be let go.
There are techniques available to help you take into account cultural fit in your hiring strategy. It begins by clearly explaining your culture and values and describing them in any advertising for an open position, so you appeal to candidates who are aligned from the get-go.
To obtain a better understanding, you can also try getting to know candidates on a more personal level over a coffee or casual lunch, or having them join in a company social event to help ensure a fit with your team before hiring them.
Overcome these popular recruitment myths by partnering with the right construction recruitment agency.
As we’ve just described, the construction recruitment process can be packed with myths and uncertainties that can thwart the hiring manager from successfully bringing in the talent required. Working with a qualified recruiter can help avoid these recruitment ordeals and acquire peace of mind.
However, not all construction recruitment agencies are the equal – the secret to success is to partner with the one who is the exact fit for your business. That’s why at PDDM Solutions, we’re obsessive about recruiting and committed to taking the time and effort to genuinely appreciate your business and its requirements.
Why not give us a call for your next recruiting search!
