What We Recruit For
Three disciplines.
One standard.
Preconstruction and cost. Project and construction management. Construction consultancy. What a firm builds does not decide whether we can help; what the role actually does decides it. Every mandate gets the same network-first sourcing, the same confidentiality, and a shortlist of people worth your time.
01
Preconstruction & Cost
Preconstruction Managers, Directors of Preconstruction, Chief Estimators, Estimating Managers, Senior Estimators, Cost Managers, Commercial Managers
This is a core discipline of the firm, and it is the hardest seat to screen for from outside it. The recurring failure is a takeoff technician presented as an estimator: someone who can price a set of drawings but cannot carry a conceptual estimate at 30% design, run a scope gap analysis, or explain what they changed after a bid day that went badly. That distinction is drawn in a technical conversation, not from a resume.
02
Project & Construction Management
Project Managers, Senior Project Managers, Project Executives, Construction Managers, Operations Managers, Project Directors
Project and construction management is where the volume and the fee sit. We look for people who have actually held a GMP, run a buyout, and defended a contingency to an owner, on commercial building, heavy civil, residential, multifamily and industrial work. Delivery method matters more than sector here: what a project manager does under CM-at-risk is not what they do under design-bid-build, and a shortlist assembled without that distinction wastes everyone’s time.
03
Construction Consultancy
Cost Consultants, Associate Directors of Cost Management, Owner’s Representatives, Project Controls Leads, Quantity Surveyors
Cost consultancies, quantity surveying practices and owner’s-representative firms are clients in their own right, not merely somewhere to source from. The work is estimating, cost planning, change control and reporting to an owner rather than to a builder, and it takes a different temperament: the hire has to hold a room containing the owner, the design team and the contractor without owning any of them.
Engagement
Three engagements.
One standard.
Whether it is one chief estimator or a project management bench built out over a year, the intake, the screening and the accountability are the same. Every model is built for confidential executive search for mandates that cannot be publicly posted, because in this market that is most of the ones that matter. The fee tracks how much risk you transfer to us upfront, not brand-premium market convention.
Model 01
Contingency Search
For a contractor or consultancy making a single, consequential hire, the chief estimator or the project executive who carries the number. No retainer and no minimum fee; billed only when a Selah-sourced candidate starts. An exclusive mandate as standard.
25%
of first-year cash compensation, exclusive mandate
Model 02
Engaged Search
For a contractor who wants a lower rate without milestone billing. A $2,000 upfront commitment fee, credited in full against the placement fee, is what earns it.
22%
of first-year cash compensation, plus a $2,000 upfront fee
Model 03
Retained Search
For a contractor who wants the deepest exclusive commitment. Milestone-billed in thirds, with a $15,000 minimum fee; the lowest search-fee percentage we publish, because it transfers the most cash-flow risk off Selah earliest.
20%
of first-year cash compensation, $15,000 minimum, billed in thirds
Transparent Pricing
No surprises. Ever.
Contingency Search
25%
of the placed candidate’s first-year cash compensation for an exclusive mandate, billed only when you hire.
- 25% of first-year cash compensation
- No retainer, no minimum fee
- Exclusive mandate as standard; non-exclusive at 30%
- 120-day replacement guarantee
- Net 30 from the candidate’s start date
Engaged Search
22%
of first-year cash compensation, plus a $2,000 upfront fee credited against the placement fee.
- 22% of first-year cash compensation
- $2,000 upfront commitment fee, credited against placement fee
- Exclusive mandate by default
- 120-day replacement guarantee
Retained Search
20%
of first-year cash compensation, $15,000 minimum fee, billed roughly in thirds.
- 20% of first-year cash compensation
- $15,000 minimum fee
- Milestone billing: ~1/3 commencement, ~1/3 qualified shortlist, ~1/3 placement
- Exclusive mandate by default
- 60-day cancellation credit window
- 120-day replacement guarantee
The Terms in Full
What each model commits you to
Contingency Search carries no retainer and no minimum fee, at 25% for an exclusive mandate that runs for the life of the search and does not restrict your own direct sourcing; a client who wants other firms working the same role can have a non-exclusive mandate at 30%. Engaged Search is exclusive at 22%, backed by a $2,000 upfront commitment fee credited in full against the placement fee. Retained Search is exclusive at 20%, our lowest published search-fee percentage, with a $15,000 minimum billed in thirds and reconciled at placement. Across all three, the fee tracks the risk transferred to Selah: the more a client commits upfront or by milestone, the lower the percentage.
On every model, fees are invoiced net 30 from the candidate's start date. Any hire of a Selah-introduced candidate by you or an affiliate within twelve months of introduction owes the full fee, whoever else was involved, and that survives termination of the agreement. Converting an introduced candidate from contract to permanent owes the fee on the same basis. Either party may terminate on fourteen days' written notice, with no termination fee. Candidates never pay us anything, at any stage.
Common Questions
Everything you need to know before the brief.
- What are the three ways to engage Selah Talent Partners?
- Contingency Search: 25% of first-year cash compensation for an exclusive mandate, no retainer; non-exclusive 30%. Engaged Search: 22% plus a $2,000 upfront fee credited against the placement fee. Retained Search: 20% with a $15,000 minimum, billed in thirds.
- How much does construction recruitment cost?
- Contingency Search is 25% of first-year cash compensation for an exclusive mandate; non-exclusive 30%. Engaged Search is 22% plus a $2,000 upfront fee credited against the placement fee. Retained Search is 20% with a $15,000 minimum, billed in thirds.
- How long does a construction search take?
- Every model targets a shortlist of three to five genuinely qualified candidates by day 21. Under the retained model it is usually faster, because the map of who is available is already current rather than built from a blank sheet. Each assumes a proper 45 to 60 minute intake.
- Do you use public job boards or LinkedIn postings?
- No. Every search is conducted through our proprietary network and targeted confidential outreach, no public job boards, no LinkedIn postings, no broadcast outreach. This protects both your confidentiality as an organization and the candidate's current employment position.
- What kinds of construction firms do you recruit for?
- General contractors, CM-at-risk firms, cost consultancies and owner’s-representative firms across the United States, typically privately held and between $50M and $500M in revenue. Qualification is sector-agnostic: what the firm builds does not decide it, the discipline does.
- What happens if a placed candidate leaves within the guarantee period?
- Every placement carries a 120-day replacement guarantee. If a placed candidate leaves within 120 days of starting, Selah runs one replacement search at no additional fee; replacement only, not a refund. It is live once the placement fee is paid in full, and void if the role is filled elsewhere, restructured or materially changed.
- How do you tell a real preconstruction manager from a takeoff technician?
- By having the conversation. Screening here is a technical discussion about conceptual estimating at 30% design, scope gap analysis, buyout and GMP conversion, and about what the candidate changed after a bid day that went badly. That is what separates a shortlist worth reading from the pile a hiring manager screens out personally.
The Guarantee in Full
What voids the 120-day replacement cover
The answer above is the short version. These are the conditions as the search agreement states them. Cover is void if the role is filled from any other source; if the candidate is made redundant, the role is restructured, or the candidate is terminated other than for cause; or if the role is materially changed after placement.
Cover is live only once the placement fee has been paid in full; late payment suspends it, and cover revives from the date payment clears. You request the replacement in writing within thirty days of the departure, and Selah delivers the replacement search within ninety days of that request.
Next Step
Ready to discuss your mandate?
A 15-minute call. No obligation. You get a reply within one US business day.