Recruiting Project Managers: 5 Situations Where it May Be Time to Bring in a Project Management Recruiting Specialist

Even the strongest HR and IT teams can benefit from a Project Management Recruiting specialist during the recruiting process when it comes to procuring and hiring the very best and most effective Project Managers in the marketplace. Third-party recruiters complement internal teams to tailor the recruiting process to your needs (and they have the extensive network and industry knowledge needed to do so!).

Here are five critical times when it may be helpful to enlist a Project Management Recruiting specialist who can make all the difference:

1. Vacancies Are Slowing Down Critical Projects

When critical projects come screeching to a halt, the ripple effects can be extensive. Key initiatives may stall, goals may be missed, and team members may feel overwhelmed trying to keep things moving. If your organization has had a project manager vacancy open for a while, it’s crucial to consider what may be causing the delay and what can be done to rectify the candidacy issue.

Specialized recruiters have extensive networks and deep insights into the talent market, allowing them to quickly identify candidates who can hit the ground running and alleviate pain right away. They streamline the initial candidate screening process, ensuring that only the most suitable candidates reach the interview stage. By leveraging their existing connections, specialized recruiters can significantly reduce your time-to-hire, enabling you to fill crucial roles faster and get your projects back on track.

2. High Turnover or Failed Hires in Project Management Roles

If your company has faced challenges with project manager retention, it’s a strong indicator that you may need to adjust your hiring strategy. Is there a gap between the skills you need and the skills you’re using to evaluate candidates? Are the right people scrolling past your job posting? A third-party project management-focused recruiting firm can help you understand where the trouble lies and help you make a plan to fix it. They take the time to understand your organization’s culture, values, and project needs. In addition, understanding the role and expectations of qualified Project Managers will help streamline the candidate pool, making your organization more efficient and effective in hiring. Once they know exactly what you need, they’re accountable for finding candidates that meet those needs.

3. You’re Hiring for a Senior, Principal, or Expert-Level Role

You may be searching for someone who will bring a certain level of expertise and provide guidance to the rest of the organization. When hiring for a senior, principal, or highly specialized project management role, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of the skills and experience needed for success. Evaluating candidates at this level can be challenging, and partnering with a third-party project management recruiter can be extremely beneficial. They understand the nuances of project management and are equipped to facilitate interviews or technical assessments that can reveal a candidate’s true capabilities.

4. You’re Hiring a Project Manager for the First Time (or it’s Been a While)

Whether it’s your first time hiring a project manager or several years since your last hire, the talent market has likely changed significantly. Market dynamics, salary expectations, and in-demand skills evolve quickly, and staying current on these trends can be tough if project management hiring isn’t a frequent focus for your team.

The advice and assistance of someone who specializes in recruiting project manager talent will prove super valuable here. They are deeply engaged in the market every day, keeping up with changing trends and salary benchmarks, and their expertise enables them to present opportunities in ways that attract top-tier talent while ensuring that your hiring process remains competitive.Avoid this expensive mistake by using practical skill assessments, reference checks, and behavioral interview techniques. Have candidates walk through past project challenges and explain how they navigated them. Consider involving a third-party expert to help evaluate a candidate’s technical PM skills, especially if you don’t have a deep background in project management yourself.5. Ignoring Project Scale

5. You Need Access to Passive Talent Not Actively Looking

Candidates who have the industry-specific knowledge you need may not be actively looking. You might need someone who has worked in heavily regulated industries, knows a certain project management methodology, or has worked on large-scale projects before. If you need a candidate with specialized experience, a project management third-party recruiter can tap into their network to find them—even if they aren’t actively looking. Specialized recruiters know how to approach, engage, and attract these passive candidates, ensuring that you have access to the best talent in the market, not just those who happen to be looking for a job.Failing to consider this can lead to hiring someone ill-equipped to handle the demands of your project, whether it’s because the project is too big or too small for their experience level.

In Conclusion

Knowing when to bring in a project management recruitment specialist can be a game-changer for your organization. Whether you’re facing extended vacancies, high turnover, or the complexities of hiring for senior roles, partnering with a specialist can optimize your hiring process and ensure you find the right fit for your team.

Project managers are the engine that drives project execution, and it’s important to fill those roles promptly while ensuring the candidate has the domain and project management experience to deliver. Many HR teams are stretched too thin, and an organization’s “go-to” generic staffing firm may not have the expertise necessary to discern differences among project manager candidates, and that is when a specialized project manager recruiting team can make all the difference.

At Project OnDemand, we have tackled these scenarios, have certified Project Managers pre-sourced in our candidate sourcing system, have a rich talent network, and maintain industry-related contacts and relationships by attending project management-related seminars and tradeshows. We have qualified PMP resources on staff to qualify and confirm the capabilities of the candidate(s) being considered. Let them help you find the right project management candidates, now!