There's an old truth in fishing: fish can tell when you're desperate. The same goes for recruiting. When a client reaches out because they needed someone yesterday, I know it before they finish the first sentence. And the candidates I work with know it too.

After nearly a decade of placing talent in the Building Envelope industry, the pattern is consistent: the companies that struggle most with hiring are the ones who wait too long to start. They treat recruiting like a fire alarm, something you pull only when the building is already burning. The companies that consistently attract strong candidates do the opposite. They plan ahead, they forecast, and they start conversations before they're desperate.

Why Reactive Recruiting Always Costs You

When you're in a pinch, you're not recruiting. You're shopping for whatever is on the shelf. The best candidates in this industry aren't on the shelf. They're working, they're valued where they are, and a career move is not something they take lightly.

For many of the glazing, cladding, or DFH professionals I work with, a new opportunity isn't just a personal decision; it's a family decision. If relocation is involved, a spouse may need to consider their own career, kids may be switching schools, and a home with a sub-4% mortgage rate is going on the market. These aren't decisions people make in two weeks.

A great candidate might be genuinely interested in your company and still need 90 days before they can realistically say yes. When companies hire in a panic, they don't have 90 days. So they either pressure candidates who aren't ready, miss the right person entirely, or settle for whoever is available. None of those outcomes serve the project or the company.

The Value of Starting Glazing and Cladding Searches Three to Six Months Early

The placements I'm most proud of are the ones where a client comes to me with a vision months before they're ready to hire. Not "we need a PM next week," but "we have a project ramping up in Q3, we'll need senior project management, and we want to be ahead of it."

That kind of forward-thinking changes everything about how a search unfolds. Instead of rushing, I can identify the right candidates — people I genuinely believe in, people I would hire myself if I were running a glazing company. I can begin early conversations, letting them know something interesting might be on the horizon. No pressure. No hard sell. Just planting a seed.

Those early conversations matter more than most companies realize. A candidate who hears about an opportunity in January, when they're not actively looking, has time to sit with it. They can talk it over with their family and arrive at the table ready to have a real conversation. Compare that to the candidate who gets a call on a Tuesday and is expected to make a life-changing decision by Friday. That's not a recipe for a successful hire.

What a Real Recruiting Partnership Looks Like

Forecasting your hiring needs works even better when you're doing it alongside a recruiter who knows the glazing/cladding industry. When a client calls me to map out what they'll need three to six months out, I start working immediately — not to make a placement, but to start building relationships with the right people.

That's the difference between a transactional search and a true recruiting partnership. In a transactional model, you call a recruiter when a position is open and expect resumes within the week. In a partnership, we're talking regularly. I understand your pipeline. I'm already in conversations with candidates who might be a fit long before your project kicks off.

The result is that when you're actually ready to hire, the groundwork is already laid. The candidate has had time to consider the opportunity, their family has adjusted to the idea, and you're not choosing between whoever is available; you're choosing from people who are genuinely excited about joining your team.

Start the Talent Conversation Before You Need To

If you have projects ramping up in the next two quarters, the time to think about your leadership team is now, not when someone gives notice. Map out what your team will need in the next three to six months. Then call a trusted building envelope recruiting partner and start that conversation.

The companies that win on talent aren't the ones with the fastest reaction time. They're the ones who never had to react at all.