The title
tells you less than you think
Two candidates can both be called Project Manager and have
completely different levels of responsibility.
One may have led a £20 million programme, managed the client
relationship and held commercial responsibility from mobilisation to final
account. The other may have managed a defined workstream with major decisions
retained by a Contracts Manager or Project Director.
Neither experience is automatically better. The question is which
one matches the outcome your business needs.
This is why effective construction recruitment cannot rely on job
titles or keyword matches alone. The useful evidence sits underneath the title:
project value, package complexity, team size, contract type, reporting line,
decision-making authority and measurable results.
Start
with the outcome, not the duplicate
A narrow brief often asks for someone who has held the exact title,
worked on the exact project type, lived in the exact location and followed the
same career path as the previous employee.
That may feel safe, but it can reduce an already limited talent pool
without improving the hire.
Before searching, define what the successful person must achieve in
the first 6 to 12 months. Do they need to recover a delayed project, establish
an estimating function, strengthen compliance, manage several live packages or
build client relationships? Once the outcome is clear, the employer can decide
which requirements are essential and which could be flexible.
CIPD guidance recommends selecting people based on their ability to
perform the role, contribute to the organisation and develop. Skills-based
assessments and realistic work samples can add stronger evidence than
unstructured interviews alone.
Ask for operating detail
Good construction interview questions move from broad claims to
specific evidence.
Instead of asking, "Have you managed large projects?",
ask:
•
What was the contract value and
your personal package value?
•
Which form of contract applied?
•
How many direct reports and
subcontractors did you manage?
•
Which decisions could you make
without approval?
•
What was the programme position
when you joined?
•
Which commercial or technical
risk did you identify?
•
What changed because of your
involvement?
•
What would your client or
director say you personally owned?
For an Estimator, explore tender values, take-off software, pricing
responsibility, supplier relationships, win rates and handover involvement. For
a Quantity Surveyor, examine procurement, variations, valuations, notices, loss
and expense, final accounts and margin protection. For a Design Manager,
explore information release, design risk, compliance, clashes and coordination
across consultants and delivery teams.
Test evidence,
not interview polish
Construction businesses sometimes overvalue confidence in an
interview. A polished communicator can still lack the required technical depth,
while a quieter candidate may have delivered exceptional results.
A practical discussion can reduce this risk. Ask the candidate to
review a short project scenario, explain how they would approach a problem or
talk through a genuine piece of work with confidential details removed.
The aim is not to catch anyone out. It is to understand how the
person thinks, prioritises, communicates and makes decisions.
Assess
motivation as carefully as experience
A candidate may be technically capable but still be the wrong hire
if the opportunity does not match what they want next.
Clarify why they are considering a move, what they want more of,
what they want to avoid and what would make them stay with their current
employer. Discuss location, travel, working pattern, package expectations,
project preferences and progression honestly.
This reduces late-stage withdrawals, rejected offers and early
resignations. It also allows both sides to make a better-informed decision.
A stronger
shortlist creates less work
A good shortlist should make the hiring decision easier. Three
properly qualified candidates who understand the role, want the move and can
evidence the required capability are more useful than fifteen loosely matched
profiles.
HunTek combines market mapping, direct search and detailed
qualification to help built-environment employers understand not only where a
candidate has worked, but how they operated and what they delivered.
If your current brief is producing plenty of CVs but few credible
interview options, the issue may not be the market. It may be the way the role
and evidence have been defined.
Looking for the right next step? Search HunTek's latest construction jobs.
Employers who need a more evidence-led shortlist can review our recruitment process or contact HunTek.
Sources
•
CIPD, Recruitment process
factsheet: https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/recruitment-factsheet/
•
CIPD, Selection methods
factsheet: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/selection-factsheet
•
CIPD, Inclusive recruitment
guide for employers: https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/guides/2023-pdfs/inclusive-recruitment-employers-guide_tcm18-112787.pdf
•
CIPD, Workforce planning
factsheet: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/workforce-planning-factsheet/