Finding a BIM shaped unicorn in a haystack: Do you need to rethink your talent search?

Finding a unicorn in a haystack: Do you need to rethink your talent search?

As the trends and predictions from the last dbe.careers BIM Salary Guide report, the battle for BIM talent is increasing. If it hasn’t done so already, the conversation in your workplace should move from ‘recovery strategy’ to ‘surviving the construction boom’.

Mike Johnson from specialist recruiter Johnson BIM comments: “The gap between supply and demand is not just wider but is expanding more rapidly than I have seen (in 33 years)’. I see no evidence that this will slow down – in fact, quite the opposite. It is pretty much universally accepted that there is less BIM talent looking now. Every client I am speaking to is concerned about the shortage, and that existing methods of talent acquisition are not working.”

So, what can you do? As well as considering advice on improving your recruitment tactics and strengthening your appeal to candidates, you may also need to rethink your recruitment strategy when it comes to BIM talent.

 

Stop looking for unicorns: Redefine what good looks like

When talent is scarce, assessing what you actually need as opposed to formulating a list of nice-to-haves can make all the difference.

• Rethink the boxes that really need ticking – the skills you can’t do without – and leave others to chase unicorns that will never appear.
• Compromise on experience but not quality.
• Focus on the big things that you cannot teach, such as attitude, pride, solution focus, ambition and the desire to do well:

As Chris Crookes, Managing Director at BIMBox, points out: “The soft skills can be the hardest to learn. The software skills are easier to teach. Of course, it’s important to see evidence of technical and digital aptitude, but candidates don’t necessarily need experience in specific software. In this climate, we’ve realised we’ve got to be a training centre. It’s almost impossible to find the perfect individual with exactly the right portfolio, so look at the potential to develop talent.”

This more proactive approach can help you attract the few stand-out candidates that are available now, before anyone else does.

Although talent is in short supply it is not non-existent. There are some excellent BIM candidates actively looking for career moves but being overlooked because they don’t have specialist technology knowledge and/or projects knowledge.

“I recently worked with a client who had been struggling to find a BIM Coordinator for over three months. Why? Because they insisted on residential project experience. Really? Why? They weren’t designing anything!” says Mike. If you had the choice between no candidate, or an excellent one with no residential experience, which route would you go down?

 

Take on exceptional, affordable talent when it appears

If there is the chance to recruit ahead of the need, this will give you a significant advantage. Being reactive may force you into an auction when a role becomes critical to fill – and you could end up paying over the odds.

This approach might also lead to a bigger question about how to fund BIM roles. Many are project-funded, but innovative employers could start moving towards building permanent capacity that is overhead funded, so the talent is available when they need it. It’s the type of thinking we’d expect from a those that will win the battle for BIM talent.

 

In the meantime…

Because this unprecedented supply shortfall will get worse, dbe.careers is launching a lobby to release more talent, by requesting the Government to allow BIM professionals to work in the UK. We would welcome your signature to help increase awareness and drive this petition through.

 

Using the January BIM Salary Guide to your advantage

If you currently have any BIM roles to fill, the dbe.careers Job Board is the place to advertise for high quality candidates.

One of the keys to increasing advert response is capturing attention and getting the timing right. Every quarter, when we publish the BIM Salary Guide update, we get more attention than at any other time. Over a 500% increase in viewings. See the spikes in February, May and August this year:

The next BIM Salary Guide update will be published at the beginning of January to coincide with the annual increase in candidates looking for new jobs.

We recommend advertising on dbe.careers in January – to reach a wider and more active audience. However, you will be competing with the largest number of jobs advertised as many employers capitalise on the increase.

So, if you want to maximise your advert response and keep one step ahead of the competition, to stand out from the crowd, we highly recommend building awareness with an early advert in December (as well as one in January), differentiating your business as a Good Digital Employer (it takes less than an hour) and, if you have time, doing an interview (like this one with Adam Lamping at thinkproject) or an article to create real interest in you and the opportunity to join you.

Please call Mike on 03333 580 442 if you would like more information.