There are a large variety of construction-related skill sets in demand right now; from commercial, residential to public works and industrial. Companies are looking to fill Project Engineering, Project Management, Superintendent, Estimator, and Operations Managers positions in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and East Bay.

Right now, career opportunities are blooming with several great companies. Here are just a few examples:

• A General Contractor in SF has an opening for an Assistant Project Manager. The company is well run with lots of talent and has a history of developing people organically from within; allowing them to advance within the firm as their skills and responsibilities grow.
• A South Bay Engineering Contractor is building one of the most advanced, corporate campus in the region and is seeking a sharp Project Manager to lead construction activities.
• A few residential builders have opportunities for Senior Project Managers and Civil Estimators with an intimate understanding of costing, complex project management, scheduling, and effective construction techniques.
• A Multi-Family Builder on the peninsula is looking for a driven Assistant Project Manager and Superintendent to join their team, leading the development of midrise, high end multi-family developments on the peninsula.

These are just a sampling of the many construction management opportunities in the San Francisco bay area right now; the demand is growing daily for professional staff; So if you have construction experience, a good work ethic, and a desire to advance within a firm now is the right time to reach out and advance your career.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com

1. Keep Your Inquiry Short, Simple And To The Point…
Human resource managers, recruiters and hiring managers are busy people. They are looking at hundreds of inquiries each day. So when you respond to a job announcement via email, you need to stay focused on your message. Highlighting a few points from your resume that are relevant to the position they have available. Focus on your strengths, key attributes, and skills to demonstrate how you would be of value to their organization. The key in the body of the email is to get the hiring manager’s attention; show you are qualified for the opportunity.

2. Use Confident And Positive Language
Be confident in your response. Keep it positive, demonstrate your eagerness to perform, your skills and abilities to do the job. You want to avoid any type of negativity in your response. In today’s marketplace managers receive so many applications for jobs that it is easy for them to skip right over your application and on to the next. So capture their attention, show you can do the job and are eager to perform.

3. Attach A Complete Resume
Make sure you attached you resume to your email!! One of the biggest mistakes applicants make is that they are concentrating so much on the body of the email response that they forget to attached their resume before sending off the email. Your Resume should for professional, focused on the opportunity at hand and contain your complete contact information. Sending a resume that does not have your contact information, is simply wasting your time. The employer needs to know how to contact you!!

4. Submit At Least Two Samples If Requested
When an employer asked for samples of your work, make sure you send them with your resume. The samples will be the key item that will get you in front of the employer. You can have an amazing resume but if your work samples are not up to par, you will never receive a call from the employer. Essentially the work samples will carry more weight than your resume when applying for a position that requires technical knowhow or extensive writing skills. Make sure the samples are exceptional, relevant to the position you are applying for, are correct and do not contain any errors.

By utilizing these basic email response tips when applying for a opportunity via email, will assure your resume will get noticed and increase your chances of being called in for an interview.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com

Today hiring managers and human resource professionals have a host of technological products at their disposal that allow them to manage an applicant pool efficiently and these tools are specifically tailored to the electronic resume. In today’s marketplace the most efficient way to apply for an employment opportunity is to email your resume or submit your resume through an organizations corporate career portal on their website.

The only time you should personally deliver a resume or mail a hard copy of a resume to an employer is if the employer directly tells you to drop off your application in person or mail in a hard copy of the resume in the employment announcement.

If you happen to have personal relationship or contact with an employer prior to applying for an opportunity; contact them and talk with them about the opportunity and ask for a few moments of their time to drop of a resume. Just showing up unannounced may take time and resources away from the organizations busy schedules to talk with you.

2. Following-Up With The Hiring Manager
When you are searching for an employment opportunity your focus is on finding a job, and your daily routines mainly focus on that endeavor. Hiring managers on the other hand have a number of responsibilities and the opportunity you may have applied for with them maybe one of many daily projects they are working on. So, contacting an employer about the status of a position or interview schedule should be planned out. Do not just call and call over and over again asking for a response or leaving multiple voicemail messages. Plan out how you are going to approach a specific opportunity, and how you will follow-up with the employer.

Utilizing a 3 step approach for your follow-up is best.
Step #1 – Submit your resume and wait about 2 days for a response. Should you not hear anything from the employer, contact them to confirm the receipt of your application and talk with them about their hiring/employment process. The hiring timeline, the best way to follow-up with them, who is doing the interviewing, etc. This will show initiative on your part as well as set you apart from all the applicants as someone who is genuinely interested in the opportunity.

Step #2 – Should you not hear back from the employer around the time they stated in your first conversation, attempt to send an email to the hiring manager; stating you had applied for the opportunity and were wondering the status of the position and if it is something you are being considered for. It is best to keep the email short and polite; which will most likely get a relatively immediately response.
Utilizing email in your follow-up communications is a very non-intrusive method of communicating with an employer. It allows the hiring manager to follow-up with you in a manner that works into their schedule and allows them to address daily issues in an efficient manner.

Sept #3 – Should you not receive any response from the employer, wait about a week or so and follow-up with a brief phone call. Should you not talk with anyone leave a polite message and wait for a response. Do not call over and over every day looking for a response.
Throughout your job search process keep applying for new opportunities and following up in a structured manner; even though you may not receive a response from every single application you will be making the most of each potential opportunity.

3. Thank You Notes
Confused as to when to send a thank you note? Well many people believe that they should customarily send a thank you note thanking the interviewer for their time. But this does nothing to emphasize your interest in the position.

Today, when sending a thank you note it should be to thank the interviewer for their time and provide additional information that would provide a meaningful supplement to your conversations and interview. Providing references, writing samples, etc. With the thank you note today, can be a extremely effective tool to use to continue the interview process along and help a hiring manager make the all-important decision to hire you.

Simply sending the thank you note to thank the interviewer for their time, in today’s marketplace is ineffective.

By following these simple steps will make these outdated job hunting methods more effective and help you land the career opportunity you have been seeking.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com

In the past when we thought of oil and gas production our thoughts immediately turned to overseas and the Middle East. Today with the onset of new technologies such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and safe ocean exploration techniques; companies throughout north America have been able to reach new ocean and land deposits which were previously unreachable with the technologies of the past.

This technology has led to an expansion of employment within the oil and gas industries throughout North American from companies large and small looking to capitalize on this marketplace expansion; but individuals seem to struggle to find these jobs and structure a resume to focus their skills for these employer’s needs.

Truck drivers, Welders, Heavy Equipment Operators, Machinists, Oil Rig Operators, Geologists, Engineers, Administration Personnel, Project Managers, etc.. are all needed by these employers and they are willing to compensate employees well above national standards.

Newcomers to the industry need to start their job search by learning the basics about the industry; look at what companies are working in the marketplace, types and locations of projects they are working on, technologies they are using, types of people they are hiring and the skills that are needed do to the jobs they require.

Once you have a general understanding of the market it’s now time to establish some relationships. Talk with HR managers about their needs, network with professionals already working within organizations that you are interested in, go to informational interviews or career fairs, talk with oil and gas industry staffing agencies / recruiters to learn more. Making as many contacts as you can will get you noticed and express your desire to work within this growing industry.

It is also necessary to have a properly structured resume tailored to the oil and gas industry. All the typical resume writing rules apply; but you want to focus your skills to address the needs of hiring managers within the oil and gas industries. Have a properly formatted objective; showcase the skills you have that employers need in the industry. Once you send a resume out, call the employer on the phone, talk with them and express your interest. Always be selling yourself and what you can add to their organization.

As a candidate you need to stand out in a pool of many applicants as the marketplace is crowded with individuals looking for brighter career prospects; your goal is to shine and obtain the career opportunity that will lead to long term career success.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com

Finding a new job takes planning, goal setting and strategic timing to assure you maximize all the benefits you need to find your next career opportunity any minimize the effects of the transition for your family

First, keep your current job!!! Do not quit, unless it is absolutely necessary. Candidates searching for a job that are currently employed have a far better chance in landing a new job than a candidate that is unemployed.

Second, define what you are seeking in your next career opportunity. Is it more responsibility? Do you want to manage people? Do you want to be highly challenged? What location do you want to work in? Are you ok with traveling? What are your salary goals? Think about what motivates you, the work you enjoy and write down your goals before starting to look for a new job.

Third, have your resume professionally written, clean up your social media accounts and take stock of who you know and what professional opportunities maybe available in the marketplace. Research you current employer’s resignation policy or any employment contracts you may have to assure you make a smooth transition.

Fourth, apply for jobs, contact employers and begin your job search. As you maybe currently employed you will want to keep your job search as confidential as possible. Only provide references to potential employers when they are truly interested and ready to make a hiring decision.

Fifth, when you do obtain your next career opportunity; resign with grace. Do not talk bad about your past employer, be courteous. Write a resignation letter giving your two weeks’ notice, thank people and move on. You may need a reference in the future from this employer, so keep things positive. Besides working for them allowed you to obtain your next career opportunity.

Following these simple five steps will assure you will transition to your next career opportunity, easily and efficiently with as little disruption to your family life as possible.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com