Terus Construction is a diversified transportation infrastructure and heavy civil construction company with operations across BC. When their HR manager of over a decade received an offer from their headquarters in their home province of Quebec, it left them with the task of finding a replacement. Senior recruiter, Karen, welcomed this assignment and got straight to work.

As a company of over 500 employees, the client needed a candidate who had experience in a larger corporation. It was also preferred that they possessed experience in the construction industry since working as an HR manager within this sector has unique characteristics and it was important that they had the ability to navigate it. Another key requirement was experience working with unions. Although this was not a main component of the job, it was still important that the selected candidate was knowledgeable in this area. Lastly, many of the company’s work sites are distributed throughout the province and would require travel outside of the lower mainland.

In her search, Karen found many interested potential candidates, but most did not possess any union experience. Working with these organizations requires a specific skill set such as bargaining and dealing with grievances, in addition to other labour relations. She sent a first round of candidates to the client, but unfortunately they weren’t successful. This can be discouraging, however Karen took it in stride and persevered. Upon further searching, she discovered a candidate who she felt was exactly what the client was looking for. This candidate had experience in the construction industry and with unions. Karen sent her profile to the client and she was ultimately hired. Not only did she have the right expertise, but she also had great synergy with the team. At Goldbeck, we understand that the value in persevering to get the job done.