If you are running a construction company today, your day is likely a race against deadlines, rising material costs, and a growing backlog of projects. But the biggest hurdle isn’t the concrete pour or the permit office—it’s finding skilled talent.
As we head into early 2026, the data tells a twin story. On one hand, the industry ended 2025 with 292,000 unfilled job openings—a massive jump of 87,000 from the previous year, according to ABC’s analysis. Yet, construction hiring remains a powerhouse, adding 33,000 new jobs in January 2026 alone—that is nearly one in four jobs created in the entire U.S.
The industry is cooling in some areas but heating up in others. Experts predict we will need 350,000 net new workers just to meet demand this year.
Why does this matter to you? Because “post and pray” hiring is dead. Whether you are a GC, a specialty trade firm, or a self-perform operator, you are no longer just competing with the guy down the street. You are in a “war for talent” against government infrastructure projects, utility companies, and energy firms that offer the high stability and “Great Stay” benefits workers crave today. The point is that it’s not just your biggest competitor looking for those same foremen, superintendents, project managers, estimators, skilled trades, equipment operators, and more.
And if you are still using Excel sheets to track applicants and “gut feelings” to make offers, you aren’t just losing great candidates—you’re losing money to your competition. To win in 2026, you need a system that works as hard as your crew.
Here is the 9-step Hoops method to hire better, protect your profit margins, and build a team that actually sticks.
Step 1: Define Your Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP)
The biggest mistake you can make is starting with a job ad. That’s like starting a project without a blueprint. Instead, you need to build an Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP). This is a detailed vision of the specific person who will thrive on your job sites.
To do this, look at your “model” crew members—like your most reliable foremen, superintendents, or equipment operators.
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Focus on Outcomes: Don’t just list what they had (10 years of experience); list what they do. You need someone who can successfully manage a punch list and keep a crew motivated, not just someone who has “owned a hammer” for a decade.
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Understand the DNA: Use your intake process to verify the “soft skills” that matter. Are they good at communicating with the project owner? Can they handle the pressure of a tight deadline?
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Manager Alignment: Identify who the direct manager is and what their leadership style looks like. A candidate might be skilled, but if their personality clashes with the PM, they won’t last through the first quarter.
Step 2: Run a Real Market Check
One of the biggest mistakes employers make is “shooting in the dark” with pay and benefits. If you underpay, you lose great talent to the competitor next door. If you overpay, you strain your profit.
Before you post, you need to know your current local market. At Hoops, we use Hula AI to run real-time market reports.
It’s important to consider factors such as:
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Competitive Salary: What are similar companies paying for that position in your specific city?
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Benefits & Perks: Are competitors offering better per diems, overtime structures, health coverage, paid vacation, retirement benefits, truck allowances, or tool stipends?
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The “Safety” Factor: In 2026, workers aren’t just looking for money and title. Now they’re also prioritizing stability in this unknown economic environment as we settle into The Great Stay.
If you cannot outpay your competitors, don’t fret. You can still out-position them. Maybe you offer no weekend work, a more predictable schedule, a better work environment, a faster path to management, or even a more commutable job site radius.
This research not only helps you know what to pay, but also helps you identify and highlight your leverage.
Step 3: Write a Job Description That Filters, Not Floods
A vague job description is a magnet for unqualified applicants. Your goal is to attract the right skilled talent and filter out the noise.
Use your Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP) work to organize requirements into two distinct categories:
- Must-Haves: These are deal-breakers. Minimum years of experience, specific project-type experience, equipment or software knowledge, required certifications, ability to pass background and drug test, and ability to go to specific job sites, work certain hours, etc. Don’t forget those critical soft skills, too.
- Nice-to-Haves: These are the “bonuses.” Experience with specific equipment, project types, additional certifications, or overseeing crews over x size.
Other Best Practices for 2026 Job Ads:
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Transparency is Key: List the pay, benefits, and job site location at the very top. Candidates in the field are busy; if they have to hunt for the salary, they’ll move to the next post.
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Be Hyper-Specific: Instead of “Commercial carpenter experience,” try “Commercial carpenter with 2+ years framing experience on ground-up retail or office builds.” Leave zero room for interpretation regarding location, schedule, travel requirements, project type, and physical expectations.
- Sell Yourself: Employment is always a two-way street. Tell them about the company, its origins, mission, and values, and why someone should want to work with you.
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Leverage AI: Use tools to ensure no details are missed, and that your JD is keyword-optimized so it actually shows up when people search (Hoops can help with this, too).
Pro Tip: Read our past blog on how to write a killer job description to see how to structure this perfectly.
Step 4: Post Intentionally, Not Randomly
Many contractors post on one job board and hope. Construction hiring requires multi-channel distribution.
Strong channels may include:
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Job boards like Indeed or ZipRecruiter
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Industry-specific boards
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Trade schools
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Referral programs
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Online and in-person networks (including Facebook groups)
Timing matters too. Many field workers browse evenings and weekends. Early Monday 4 AM postings do not perform well.
Also, don’t sleep on Social Media methods. A photo of your crew on-site with a “Join the Team” link can convert better than a boring text ad.
Hoops uses Programmatic Job Advertising, which uses AI to bid on the best channels at the best times. This means your ad moves to where it’s getting the best “bang for your buck.” We’ve also found ways to effectively leverage social media advertising, too.
Step 5: Use a Simple, 5-Minute Screener
These guys are in the field; they won’t fill out a 10-page application on their phone. Use a short, mobile-friendly questionnaire with “knockout” criteria.
Ask:
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Years of experience in a specific trade
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Type of projects worked on
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Certifications held
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Willingness to travel
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Expected pay range
Example: “Do you have a valid CDL?” If they answer “No” and it’s a requirement, they are automatically filtered out. This saves your team hours of phone screening people who can’t actually do the job.
Step 6: Use a Talent Management Software (Stop using Excel!)
Not only will a talent management software, like an ATS (applicant tracking system), help keep all your candidates organized, but it will offer the CYA your company desperately needs.
Federal law generally requires keeping hiring records for one year (or two years for major contractors), though some states require up to four years. A proper ATS keeps you ‘audit-ready’ without the file-cabinet headache.
Plus, talent systems like the Hoops Platform keep your “silver medalist” candidates in a database. If you need a carpenter six months from now, you can email everyone in your database instantly instead of spending more money on new ads.
Step 7: Create a Standardized Scorecard and Interview Process
Interviewing shouldn’t be an unstructured chat, but a structured evaluation.
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Use a Scorecard: One of the biggest construction hiring mistakes is: “We liked the first guy, but let’s see who else is out there.” You lose strong candidates this way. Grade every candidate on the same scale (1–5) against the job description and not eachother. Consider factors like technical competence, project fit, safety mindset, leadership ability, reliability, and culture fit.
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Standardize Questions: Use behavioral questions over situational. Read our past blog on the top interview questions so you know how to ask your questions to get the answers you’re looking for.
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Avoid the “No-Go” Zone: Never ask about illegal or sensitive questions like salary history, age, protected health conditions, and personal life (Title VII compliance). For example, don’t ask “Do you have any medical conditions that affect your ability to climb and work on a roof?”, and instead ask “We require you to be able to climb a ladder and work on roofs 8-12 hours a day. Does that work for you?” Keep it to the work to avoid hiring compliance risks.
Step 8: Extend a Clear, Competitive Offer
Do not delay here. Construction candidates move quickly.
Considering both your market analysis findings and the candidate’s expectations, your offer should clearly state:
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Compensation structure
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Bonus or overtime policy
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Benefits
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Start date
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Reporting structure
Pro Tip: Candidates may still be interviewing, so continue to build “Relationship Capital” even after the offer is accepted. For example, a handwritten note from the owner saying, “We’re excited to have you join the family,” goes miles in an industry where workers often feel like just another number.
Step 9: Onboard With Intention
Earning their loyalty doesn’t end once they come in the door, so don’t just drop them onto the job and “wish them luck”. This is just the start of investing in their success because when they’re more productive more quickly, everyone wins.
Before their first day, you must clear the bottlenecks that slow people down. Make sure the foundation is ready:
- First Day Instructions: Send a clear welcome packet with start times, exact job site locations, and a list of specific forms or gear they need to bring.
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Equipment: The last thing you want is them standing around and waiting for the tools to do the job.
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System & License Access: Verify they have the necessary logins for your project management software and that all required trade-specific licenses are documented and active.
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30-60-90 Day Success Program: Don’t leave them guessing. Define exactly what “success” looks like at the one, two, and three-month marks with clear performance goals.
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Structured Check-Ins: Pre-schedule brief meetings with their manager and HR team to catch frustrations before they turn into resignations.
Remember: Pay doesn’t create loyalty; investment in their success does. If you don’t have an internal HR team to manage this, Hoops offers fractional HR and onboarding support to ensure your new hires are set up to win from hour one.
The Bottom Line: Stop Reacting, Start Building
Running this system means you stop reacting to “hiring emergencies” and start building a talent pipeline. You reduce turnover, stay compliant, and—most importantly—keep your projects on schedule.
At Hoops, we believe in “giving it away.” You can take this proven 9-step blueprint and run it yourself today.
But if you’re busy running a job site, the Hoops Hiring Concierge can handle the heavy lifting. For a small annual membership, you get expert advice, modern tools, and à la carte add-on services anytime, so you only pay for the recruiting support you actually use.
Build Your Winning Team. Hire and Scale Talent.
