Construction Management Recruiting is all we do.

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• Do We Ever Really Know Anyone?

  As a leader, you’ve probably asked yourself this question more than once: Do we ever really know anyone? It’s a pressing question that strikes at the heart of hiring, team building, and, yes, knowing when to part ways with an employee.

  In today’s fast-paced business environment, many decisions are made quickly. We’re pressed to hire fast, get results, and build momentum. But here’s the reality: hiring someone is more than just checking off boxes on a resume or being charmed during an interview. It’s about truly understanding who that person is—their character, their resilience, and whether they can adapt and grow with your company.

  So, how do you hire smart and avoid costly mistakes? How do you know when it’s time to pull the plug and fire someone, even when it’s uncomfortable? Let’s dive in.

  Hiring: It’s About More Than Skills

  Resumes will tell you a lot about what a person can do. But a resume won't tell you who a person is. You’ll see their experience, achievements, and skills—but the paper won’t reveal how they handle adversity, work under pressure, or integrate into a team. Those critical qualities? They only come out with time, and unfortunately, often too late.

  The solution? Prioritize character as much as skills. Grit, passion, and a growth mindset are equally as important as technical prowess. You want someone who’s not just capable of doing the job today, but who can evolve with the needs of your business. This means asking tough questions in interviews and looking beyond surface-level charm.

  Ask yourself: How will this person respond when things get tough? Do they have the drive to push through challenges, or will they crumble at the first sign of stress? Culture fit, adaptability, and character are just as crucial to long-term success as skills and experience.

  Red Flags to Watch For During the Honeymoon Phase

  The first few months of employment are often a "honeymoon" period. Everyone's on their best behavior, eager to prove their worth. But, if you're paying attention, there are subtle signs that can clue you in on deeper issues.

  Do they make excuses when they don’t hit targets, or do they take accountability? Do they ask questions that show curiosity, or are they just coasting? Are they a team player, or are they already showing signs of toxic behavior?

  These red flags are often easy to ignore in the beginning because you're invested in the success of your hire. But ignoring them is risky. Pay attention to patterns of behavior early on—because patterns solidify over time.

  Knowing When to Fire: The Hard Truth

  Letting someone go is never easy. As leaders, we tend to be hopeful. We want to believe in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. But there’s a point where hope turns into costly optimism.

  If you’ve done your best to mentor, coach, and provide feedback, and the issues persist—it’s time to face the truth. Holding onto someone out of guilt, fear, or optimism can be damaging to your business and your team. Every day you keep someone who isn’t performing is a day your business is losing traction, energy, and culture.

  Firing isn’t about being ruthless; it’s about protecting your company and making room for the right people. It’s also about being fair to the individual. If they aren’t thriving in your environment, they’re likely better off in a place where they can grow. Dragging out the process helps no one.

  Conclusion: The Art of Hiring and Firing

  At the end of the day, no, we don’t ever really know anyone—at least not right away. But we can get a lot better at discerning character and potential. By prioritizing grit, resilience, and cultural fit as much as skills, we can make smarter hires. And by recognizing when it’s time to cut losses and let someone go, we protect the integrity of our team and our company’s future.

  Hiring and firing aren’t just business transactions. They’re pivotal decisions that shape your company’s trajectory. Be savvy, be discerning, and most importantly, be willing to make the tough calls. Because in the end, your company’s success hinges on the people you choose to keep—and the ones you choose to let go.

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• Three Rules for Success

  The path to success itself a misnomer. While it is technically a path, it is often a treacherous path typically having a steep incline and a steep decline at certain points in the journey. I believe that is why the term “ladder to success” seems to be more commonplace. The term "path" conjures visuals of somebody strolling on flat level ground barely exerting themselves going down something paved, or at the very least well cleared. Success often requires more of us than we have to give. It is often uncharted. Success requires, at least in my own personal experience, operating at a very high level, giving the work at hand everything that I've got, maintaining a positive attitude - even when everything is saying that I should not remain positive - and honestly - success just requires grit. The reason most people are not successful, I believe, is because they quit when things are tough. If you never quit, you can never fail. To help you along your journey to success I would like to share with you three personal rules I tend to live by:

  1. Advise yourself as you would your very best friend. I cannot take credit for this strategy as it is an adaptation from Jordan Peterson's book The 12 rules for life. Oftentimes when I am consulting others on dilemmas and I ask them a very simple question, the response is usually quite simple as well. I ask them simply this "if your best friend was in this exact same situation what would you advise them? " and the answer is always the same. The advice rolls off the tongue in an almost effortless fashion. I always follow up by saying this is the advice that you should take. For whatever reason we do not give ourselves as much grace, care, concern, or favor as we should. People will oftentimes treat themselves worse than they would treat others. Start treating yourself like somebody you really care about and things will improve dramatically for you. You will start to make wise choices, exert discipline, and delay gratification.
      
  2. Don’t quit on yourself, just take a break. - Can you imagine if every time an NFL player got hurt or had a severe injury requiring surgery they automatically quit and started doing something else? As an outsider looking in we tend to think that would be crazy or outlandish behavior. But that is what we see people do in the corporate world every single day. Hit a roadblock, quit. Not making progress fast enough? Quit. The main difference between millionaires and everyone else is not intelligence, it’s grit. Millionaires have a grit and a resilience that most do not possess. You don’t have to run your own business or work 100 hours per week to be successful. Just become an expert at your craft. You can apply the 10,000 hour rule. Become an expert, the value will follow. And on that journey of 10,000 hours, celebrate the small victories and take a break when you are weary and feel like quitting. You probably don't need to quit - you are probably just low on energy. Take a break once in a while!
      
  3. Remember your why. Another strategy I use to stay charging down the path of life is to remember why I do what I do. In the low moments, and the alone moments, your purpose will pick you back up and give you a burst of energy - should your "why" be something that connects with you on a deeper level. Your "why" will motivate you when nothing else will.
      

  About ME: I'm a Construction Management recruiter, and CEO of Hire10 (www.hire10.com) based in Winter Park, FL. If you are hiring or are a job seeker for Construction Management, Architecture, or Engineering - we would love to help you! Please don't hesitate to reach out and get the conversation started. We can talk business, recruiting, life, or whatever you like! EMAIL: ken@hire10.net

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• Candidate Quality > Everything

  To the outsider, recruiting is nothing more than forwarding along a resume we received after placing an advertisement out on the internet. To those of you who have had the pleasure (sarcasm) of working inside of a recruiting agency - you know it is much, much more than simply placing an ad and emailing a profile. I wish it were that easy! There are so many steps: building a company brand, building web technology, implementing a database, placing thousands of ads, making connections with hundreds of candidates, countless hours of phone screens, checking references, formatting and proofreading resumes, sending out resumes, emails, calls, interview prep, numerous follow-ups, scheduling, post-interview follow ups, and the list goes on and on. The reality is that we spend thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours and often times we have nothing to show for it. That's the risk we take for the big reward.

  Whether you place someone or not has nothing to do with the aforementioned steps. You will do those either way, trust me. Whether you place someone or not has everything to do with candidate quality. Yes, candidate quality. The one metric that can often times be hard to define, yet it means everything to the clients we serve.

  In this week's recruiting rant I will try to distill the often ambiguous term "candidate quality" into four key areas. Here goes.

  1. Tenure. Full stop. I am listing this first for a reason. Job hopping is the #1 way to discredit yourself and your career. Employers believe if you have left employers in the lurch many times before, that you will do it again. And 9 times out of 10, they are right. Job hoppers continue to jump. They think they can stop doing it, but they can't say no to an extra dollar, or they have hidden behavioral or skill issues that are only revealed once on the job for a few months. Checking a solid reference or two will alleviate this...somewhat. A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 5 years or more at each job demonstrates stability and reliability. Tenure also means if someone is resigning a valuable job, they are sacrificing something good for something better. That sacrifice leads to commitment. Job hoppers are always leaving something they deem worthless and therefore have very little invested in the role, thereby making the new role virtually worthless. A candidate can have everything else, but if they can't stick around when times get tough, they are not worth the paper their resume is written on. How to score Tenure on a 1 to 4 scale: 4 - All jobs over five years, awesome! 3 - Minimum of three to four years at each job, okay. 2 - Majority of jobs three years or less, bad. 1 - Very jumpy, stay away!
      
  2. Relevant Skill & Experience. This is somewhat self explanatory. How relevant are the person's skills and more importantly experiences to the position at hand? Did they complete projects? Were the budgets similar in size? Did the projects have the same building materials? Does the person know ProCore and P6? Screen the person heavily against the job description - you won't be disappointed you did! Here's how to score Relevant Skill & Experience on a 1 to 4 scale: 4 - Perfect fit, has all (or almost all) of the requested criteria! 3 - 50-75% Skill Match, pretty good. 2 - Less than a 50% skill match, proceed with caution. 1 - No Relevant Skill/Entry-Level, strongly recommend against.
      
  3. Brand Names. Brands are everywhere and we buy them because we trust the product behind the brand. In this case we trust the training, processes, and management behind the company brand. We trust that the employee we are hiring has been trained and managed well by their former employer. Having an employee who has previously worked for strong brands will give them the pedigree necessary to operate at high level in your organization. Conversely, if you see a resume full of companies you have never heard of, often times (not always) that person has not had the exposure to the same training, processes, and most importantly scale that will be necessary to navigate their next job. Brands matter and if you say they don't, it is most likely because you don't have them.???? Here's how to score Brand on a 1 to 4 scale: 4 - Every brand known, impressive! 3 - Most brands known, pretty good. 2 - Maybe one reputable company. Eh. 1 - All companies unknown. Run!
      
  4. Location. This is last for a reason. It's last because a relocation solves this one...most of the time. Most of the time, if someone moves, its fine. But everyone can agree it is not ideal. Relocations go wrong. Housing issues, new schools for the kids can be an issue, or heck, maybe the person doesn't like the traffic of Atlanta, the heat of Miami, or the constant rain of Seattle. Your ideal (not necessarily best) candidate will always be the down the street, will love the company location and have a nice commute into the office. Whether they work remote or not, proximity matters! Here's how to score Location on a 1 to 4 scale: 4 - Local, perfect! 3 - In-State/Area, strongly consider! 2 - Regional, proceed with caution. 1 - National/International Relocation, they better be "all fours" otherwise!
      

  Then, for a more impartial method, instead of using boilerplate terminology like "they are great" or my personal favorite "rockstar", you can use a discrete algorithm to score and thereby present your candidate based on facts, not feelings. As Ben Shapiro so famously said "Facts don't care about your feelings". In the overly emotional world in which we live, being objective and impartial with each and every candidate, based on the criteria above, will serve you well and you will thereby command respect from your peers and competitors alike - based solely on your recruiting prowess and pellucid objectivity.

  About ME: I'm a Construction Management recruiter, and CEO of Hire10 (www.hire10.com) based in Winter Park, FL. If you are hiring or are a job seeker for Construction Management, Architecture, or Engineering - we would love to help you! Please don't hesitate to reach out and get the conversation started. We can talk business, recruiting, life, or whatever you like! EMAIL: ken@hire10.net

  IF you are a recruiter looking for a new home and you want to be treated with respect, managed like an executive, and to gain access to our prestigious 65 billion dollar client list, reach out to me personally. If you can figure out how to get me on the phone, you have passed the first gauntlet of the interview. Good luck!

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• Calling all Construction Management Recruiters!

  Admittedly this blog post is aimed at recruiting YOU, my fellow construction management recruiter!

  Many people try their hand at recruiting. The majority of those people concede their recruiting careers in defeat and move on to easier roles in business development and talent acquisition. But for those of you who can power through and find success in our industry we believe you should be handsomely rewarded for your efforts. 

  Recruiting is equal parts personal performance and team sport. Can a two man shop in a garage do well recruiting, sure they can. Can they do better if they are on a 30 person team generating leads, flipping and splitting deals, and signing new accounts every day, of course! It’s why armies don’t go to war with two people on the front lines. They go with an army. If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. The strength (and size) of your team will ultimately determine your success long term. A strong team protects you during slower months and tough economies.

  Does your company have a track record of success? We do.

  Does your company have a 401k? We do.

  Does your company offer equity and profit sharing? We do. 

  Instead of making a bunch of bloated, out-of-touch executives (many of whom are strangers to you) rich at a massive company, while you get 5-10% commission, bring your talents to an innovative 8 year old company with an excellent growth trajectory and a scrappy start-up mentality. 

  Want to have fun every day in a fun and positive remote environment? Come work here.

  Want to work remotely 100%? Come work here.

  Want to be handsomely rewarded for your efforts? Come work here.

  Want to take one more job and never have to look for work ever again? Come work here.

  Want a job that provides unlimited PTO and puts family first? Come work here.

  Want a company concerned with substance and not empty “Best places to work” awards? Come work here.

  Want to do direct placement and not temp or temp-to-hire? Come work here.

  Want a national territory and to not be confined to recruiting your local or regional markets? Come work here.

  Want a leader who inspires you and recruits every single month just like you? Come work here.

  Want to be off work from Christmas to New Years? Come work here.

  Want a place to call home where you can influence policy and processes? Come work here.

  Want a place where you can advance through the organization without politics or competing with hundreds of other internal applicants? Come work here.

  We are currently hiring proven producers with excellent tenure, a winning attitude, and a focus on personal and team performance. We can and will make you a stronger offer than what you make today.

  If this sounds like you, please text me directly at 407-591-1970, Ken Brown, President & CEO.

  
  
  
  
   

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• A quick guide to checking references!

  References are one the most important and valuable things you'll do during the recruiting process. I'll explain why. The average reference call only takes a couple minutes, but during that time so much can be learned about the candidate. Avoiding a bad hire can save your client tens of thousands of dollars and your recruiting team hours, days, and weeks of valuable time. Small time investment, huge returns. Additionally, relationships can be built, referrals can be made, and new business can be generated. It's one of the most authentic phone calls you can make. It's not a sales call, however it is one of the easiest ways to generate new business in addition to avoiding a major pitfall in the form of a bad hire. Bad hires lose clients. Great hires solidify clients. 

   

  You should start every reference by obtaining the name, position of the individual with which you are speaking, as well as ascertain the business relationship between the individual you are speaking with and the candidate for which you are checking a reference. This not only allows you to follow up with additional questions, but it allows your client to reach out and verify the information as well as ask any follow-on questions they may have.

   

  Without further ado, here are some questions that you can ask when checking references.

   

  1. What was it like to work with this candidate?

  This is a nice softball question to start with as It gets the individual loosened up and it's a very open-ended question that can go in any direction. Don’t be afraid to dig in to any answer where it may seem the person is withholding information.

   

  2. What are this candidate’s greatest strengths?

  Again, this question is a great place to start because it is vague and positive. The individual may reference the person's soft skills or they may get into specifics. If the person goes with soft skills make sure to ask a follow-up question about how they handle their job responsibilities. If the person gets into responsibility specifics, make sure to ask a follow-up question regarding soft skills.

   

  3. What were this candidate’s biggest areas of opportunity while you worked together?

  Now that the person has been warmed up, you present a question about the person's shortcomings. This question is phrased in such a fashion where it encourages the person to specifically name the weaker areas of the candidate. This is one of the most critical questions on this list. A good recruiter will not skip this question, nor will they move through it very quickly. When the person does give you areas of opportunity, ask follow-on questions to dive deeper into the individual’s qualifications. Clients respect recruiters more when they deliver the whole truth and do not try to make their candidate seem like a perfect candidate. If you want to build genuine relationships with your clients make sure that you give them the whole story, every single time.

   

  4. What was one of this candidate’s biggest accomplishments while you worked together?

  I love this question because oftentimes in the latter stages of the recruiting process the client is on the fence about making an offer or increasing the salary to meet the candidate’s expectations. When you arrive at these junctures, being prepared with candidate accomplishments is enough ammunition to successfully place your candidate. The answer to this question alone is worth the time invested checking the reference.

   

  5. If you could hire this candidate again, would you? Why or why not?

  If someone is eligible for rehire they are undoubtedly a worthwhile prospect.  If they are not eligible to be rehired, dig into why not and see if they need additional training or are generally not well suited for the role.

   

  6. Why did this candidate leave your company?

  This question is a really good one because you can see if the candidate’s story lines up.

  Oftentimes candidates will be untruthful about being fired. If you discover that your candidate is lying to you I strongly recommend ending the recruiting process with them.  If they were fired, this question will allow you to dig into the reasons why they were terminated and uncover issues that may potentially be deal breakers for future employment.

   

  7. How did this candidate handle challenges?

  This question will tell you a lot about how the candidate handles difficult situations and works under pressure. Pressure in the new job will undoubtedly arise as time goes on, do a good job with this question to make sure the person you are placing in the role will be able to successfully navigate the upcoming challenges.

   

  8. Tell me something about this candidate that might not be listed on their resume.

  This is a great opportunity to find out about your candidate personally. Do they go out of their way to build relationships with team members? Are they extremely detail-oriented? Are they extremely coachable? Are they really into sports? Are they family-focused? Many of the things that you will learn by asking this question will allow your candidate to become more relatable to your client and oftentimes there will be things you'll discover that other people notice that your candidate may have unintentionally omitted from the interview that makes them a stronger candidate overall.

   

  I've only listed 8 questions that I like to ask for a quick reference, however I highly recommend adding other questions that pertain to the specifics of the position. No matter what you decide to do - do not skip the reference, it will be one of the most valuable investments of your time that you will ever make as a recruiter.

  
  
   

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