An open notebook with a pen resting on a blank page beside a coffee cup, suggesting the pause before a considered decision.

The Difference Between Hiring for Skills and Hiring for Judgment

The strongest senior hires you’ll ever make are the ones where you screened for judgment. The costliest failures are the ones you screened for skills alone. Almost nobody interviews for the first, and almost everybody thinks they already do. This is the last piece in a series about senior hiring in the Western New York …

A woman listening attentively to a candidate during a job interview, illustrating the diagnostic value of listening in the first ten minutes.

What a Principal Should Listen For in the First Ten Minutes of an Interview

  The resume tells you what the candidate has done. The first ten minutes tell you who’s actually sitting in front of you. Most principals spend that window asking instead of listening — and miss the whole interview. In my last post, I made the case that most AEC firms run senior interviews as a …

Two professionals having a candid conversation across a table in a modern office, illustrating a senior-level job interview.

The Biggest Mistake AEC Firms Make When They Finally Land the Interview

In a market where the best people aren’t looking, getting a strong candidate in the room is the hard part. Most firms then spend the next hour undoing it. Getting a good senior candidate to sit down with you right now is an achievement. I wrote last time about why the best people in Western …

Cover Letters Are Dead — And That’s Not a Bad Thing

There’s been a flurry of discussion lately in the architecture world about whether cover letters are still relevant. Archinect published a thoughtful series that captured a range of perspectives — from those ready to declare the cover letter extinct, to those still clinging to its formalities. Here’s the thing: this cover letter debate misses the …

What Makes Me Think You’re Lying on Your Resume 

You’ve probably worked hard to craft your resume. You’ve listed your experience, emphasized your strengths, and positioned yourself to stand out. But here’s the truth: I’ve reviewed enough resumes—particularly in the construction, architecture, and engineering world—to know when something feels off. And when it does, I can’t ignore it. I don’t jump to conclusions. I …

The Resume Red Flags That Make AEC Executives Hit Delete

Picture this: You’ve got 15 years of rock-solid experience, a portfolio of $50M+ projects, and references that would make your grandmother proud. Yet somehow, your resume is disappearing into the architecture, engineering, and construction resume black hole. Sound familiar? We’re about to dissect some real resume failures, decode what architecture, engineering, and construction hiring managers actually look for, and hand you a proven playbook for landing those interviews.

What employees Really Care About

How to Wow Your New Boss – 5 Ways to Start Your New Job Right

Congratulations on landing that new job! You probably expect to get some onboarding and training from your new employer to ensure that you are successful in your new role.

But are you also thinking about what you can do to make your new boss glad they hired you?

Here are five things that you can do to wow your new boss at your new job.

Is Your Trendy Resume Hindering Your Job Search?

Every day we receive and review countless resumes, many of which are visually stunning. They come with colorful sidebars, intricate designs, and multi-column layouts that are quite impressive. At first glance, such trendy designs might seem to reflect a candidate’s attention to detail and creativity.

But here’s the million-dollar question: Are these eye-catching designs helping or hurting your job search?

Interview Like a Pro: Boost Your Construction Team with These Tips

In the world of construction, finding the right talent is pivotal to success. The cornerstone of this talent acquisition process? Effective candidate interviews. Whether you’re seeking skilled finish carpenters and painters, estimators to calculate project costs, or project managers to coordinate multiple subcontractors, effective candidate interviews play a vital role in securing top talent.