How long does a superintendent search usually take?
It depends a lot on who is doing the search. If you post the job and wait, it can drag on for months. If you work with a specialist recruiter who is already talking to supers wrapping up their current projects, you can be looking at a short list within a couple of weeks.
Once a search is actually moving, the time usually breaks down like this:
| Stage | Typical time | What drives it | Where a specialist recruiter helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defining the role | A few days | Settling the project, pay, travel and who signs off | Tells you what supers like this are getting paid right now, so the range works the first time |
| Finding and qualifying candidates | 2 to 4 weeks | Calling working supers directly versus waiting on applicants | Goes straight to supers who are working, plus a network willing to relocate |
| Interviews, site visit, references | 1 to 2 weeks | How fast your people can get on the phone and meet someone | You only interview people who've already been screened, so there are fewer rounds |
| Offer and acceptance | A few days | Whether the number is right the first time | Knows what the candidate needs to say yes before the offer goes out |
| Notice and start | 2 weeks, often more | Notice period and whether they're finishing a job | Stays close to the candidate through notice and any counteroffer |
The two stages that blow up a timeline are the search and the notice period. The right recruiter cuts the first one down. The notice period you mostly have to live with.
Why do superintendent searches take so long?
Usually it's not because good supers don't exist. It's because the good ones are running a job right now and aren't reading job boards. Post the role and wait, and you hear from whoever is between jobs. Sometimes there's a good reason they're available. Often there isn't. A specialist recruiter starts from the other end, with supers who are busy on a job and not looking. We wrote more about this in Why Job Boards Don't Find Superintendents.
The rest of the delay tends to be on the hiring side, and it's more common than most GCs want to admit:
- The pay range is based on what you paid your last super years ago.
- Nobody owns the decision, so every candidate has to meet three more people.
- Interviews slip a week at a time because everyone is busy on their own jobs.
- The offer goes out ten days after the final interview, and by then the candidate has taken something else or their boss has countered.
A recruiter who places superintendents all the time sees these same delays over and over, and will tell you when one of them is about to cost you a candidate.
Every week you add gives their current employer, and every other GC calling them, another week to make a move. That's a big part of what causes a construction candidate to reject an offer.
Does it take longer to hire a traveling or relocating superintendent?
Not always. Traveling supers are used to finishing one job and heading to the next, so they're often easier to line up for a set start date. Some of our recruiters work almost only on traveling roles, so they know who is rolling off a project and when.
Relocation is where time can add up. A super moving a family has to sort out a house, schools and maybe a spouse's job. Local is always our first choice. But we relocate more people than we'd like, because for a lot of jobs, especially remote or hard-to-fill ones, the right super lives somewhere else. That's the state of the market right now.
This is where a specialist recruiter pays off. We've built a network of superintendents who are willing to relocate on their own, even for remote and difficult projects, with little or no relocation help from you. That said, searches go much better when the client is open to helping with the move. Even some help with relocation opens up more candidates and usually gets you to a yes faster.
How can a GC shorten the time to hire?
Most of what speeds a search up happens before the first interview.
- Start before you need them. If you expect to win the work, start looking when you're shortlisted, not after the notice to proceed.
- Bring in a recruiter who specializes in superintendents at the start, not after a posting has sat for a month.
- Settle the pay range, per diem, truck or vehicle allowance and any relocation help before anyone gets a call.
- Pick one decision maker and hold interview time on the calendar for the next two weeks.
- Get the site visit or final meeting done the same week as the first interview when you can.
- Make the offer within a day or two of the final interview, put it in writing, and call the candidate yourself.
Why use a recruiter that specializes in superintendents?
A recruiter who posts your job doesn't save you any time. You'd get the same applicants on your own. What saves time is a firm that knows the superintendent market and is already talking to supers who are working right now.
That's our whole business. Construction recruitment is all we do, and we specialize in placing project managers and superintendents. We have a track record with a huge variety of companies, from a top Y Combinator construction tech startup to some of the largest construction companies in the world. We headhunt and we don't post your job. Before you meet a candidate, we've already talked through the project, the pay, the travel or the move, and why they'd leave where they are. So the time you spend interviewing goes to people who actually make sense for the job.
Our standard search is contingency, so there's no fee unless you hire someone we introduced.
Have a superintendent role open? Start a Search or call 305-306-4829, and Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
Frequently asked questions
Can you hire a superintendent in two weeks?
Sometimes, if the right person is free and your team moves fast. A recruiter who already knows which supers are available gives you the best shot. Don't plan around it, though. Rushing to hit a date is how a lot of GCs end up running the same search twice.
How much notice do superintendents usually give?
Two weeks is normal. Plenty of good supers ask for more so they can finish a phase or hand the job off properly. That tells you something good about how they'll treat your projects. A good recruiter stays in touch through that stretch so the start date holds.
When should I start looking for a superintendent for a new project?
As soon as you're fairly sure you'll win the work. Bringing a recruiter in then gives them time to find a super whose current job wraps up when yours starts.
How much does it cost to use a construction recruiter?
Our standard fee is 28% of first-year salary on a non-exclusive contingency search, or 25% if you give us the search exclusively. No fee unless you hire. There's more in our post How Much Does a Construction Recruiter Cost?
What if the superintendent doesn't work out?
Our searches come with a candidate replacement guarantee. The terms are set in the signed agreement.
Do you only recruit local superintendents?
No. We recruit local supers, traveling supers, and supers willing to relocate. We have a network of superintendents who will move on their own, even for remote and hard-to-fill projects. If you can offer some relocation help, the search usually goes faster.
Ivan Duschatzky
Founder
Ivan Duschatzky is the Founder of Construction Headhunters and a construction executive recruiter specializing in direct-hire searches for Project Managers, Superintendents, Estimators, and senior leadership positions across the United States.