Ireland · Talent Lane
Irish cost and PM talent,
on US projects.
Ireland exports construction management talent at a rate out of all proportion to its size, and a great deal of it already sits inside US contractors. This page is about how that move works. Selah does not recruit for employers in Ireland; this is a talent lane into US projects.
Selah recruits for one market, the United States. Ireland appears here because the Irish construction diaspora inside US contracting is genuinely unusual: Irish-trained project managers and quantity surveyors are already well represented on large US commercial projects, which means the route is established and the references are checkable.
It also means the objection this business exists to answer has already been settled in public. The strongest competitor in US preconstruction recruitment is run from Donegal and places into ENR Top 100 contractors. The idea that a US contractor will not work with a recruiter who is not physically in the state is not a theory to be argued about; it has been tested at scale and it is false.
The practical advice is the same as for the UK. Translate the vocabulary before the resume gets read: preconstruction, estimating, cost control, takeoff, buyout, change orders, GMP versus lump sum. Lead with project types, contract values and delivery method rather than with professional credentials that do not carry.
Selah does not sponsor visas and gives no immigration advice. Work authorization is established with the hiring firm before a candidate is put forward, and candidates never pay anything at any stage.
Do US contractors hire Irish construction professionals?
Routinely, and there is an established route. Irish-trained project managers, quantity surveyors and cost managers are already well represented on large US commercial projects, which makes the hiring case easier to make: a US hiring manager can usually think of someone with the same background who worked out.
Is a non-US recruiter a problem for a US contractor?
It has been tested. The firm holding the US preconstruction and estimating niche most convincingly is run from Donegal, Ireland, and counts ENR Top 100 contractors as clients. What matters is whether the person on the phone understands the work, and that is settled in the first ten minutes.
How should an Irish candidate present their experience?
In US vocabulary and with concrete project data. Preconstruction rather than pre-contract, estimating rather than tendering, buyout rather than procurement, change orders rather than variations. Name the project types, the values, and the delivery method, because that is what a US hiring manager is actually reading for.
Frequently asked questions
- Do US contractors hire Irish construction professionals?
- Routinely, and there is an established route. Irish-trained project managers, quantity surveyors and cost managers are already well represented on large US commercial projects, which makes the hiring case easier to make: a US hiring manager can usually think of someone with the same background who worked out.
- Is a non-US recruiter a problem for a US contractor?
- It has been tested. The firm holding the US preconstruction and estimating niche most convincingly is run from Donegal, Ireland, and counts ENR Top 100 contractors as clients. What matters is whether the person on the phone understands the work, and that is settled in the first ten minutes.
- How should an Irish candidate present their experience?
- In US vocabulary and with concrete project data. Preconstruction rather than pre-contract, estimating rather than tendering, buyout rather than procurement, change orders rather than variations. Name the project types, the values, and the delivery method, because that is what a US hiring manager is actually reading for.
Hiring into a US project?
If you are a US contractor open to internationally trained cost and project management candidates, this lane is worth a conversation.