Do You Want To Hire A Licensed Land Surveyor? - Use Common Sense And Follow These 4 Tips

Introduction

A recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn today about a job as a licensed land surveyor for a small engineering company in a California coastal city. This job was at a senior level, running the survey department for a joint civil/survey consulting firm. In his initial message the recruiter told me the job paid $70K to $100K a year.

This is in the realm of ridiculousness. That is 1/2 to 1/3 of a reasonable salary for a position in which I would, as a licensed surveyor, literally RUN HALF THE BUSINESS.

I want to share a few tips for the recruiters and the companies that hire them. (I get hit up several times a week about opportunities for licensed land surveyors.) I get a little snarky in the message below, but I sincerely want to help you as recruiters/companies perform more effective outreach. If you follow these four (4) tips, land surveyors like me will be less irritated and you will be more likely to fill your job opening.

Tip #1: Do Your Homework (I can tell if you didn't.)

If you ask me about my interest in a job opportunity and don't know I already have my own surveying business, that means you didn't even look at my profile for longer than 30 seconds. You aren't doing your homework. READING MY PROFILE IS THE BARE MINIMUM YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE YOU CONTACT ME.

If you didn't carefully read my profile before sending me a recruitment message, you are being lazy and spamming people. (I'm not saying business owners might not consider closing their company to take a full-time job with a steady paycheck. However, that is a huge move. You should understand what you are asking for.)

Here is an example of the type of Inmail message on LinkedIn that tells me a recruiter has done their homework. I might actually respond to this type of message:

"Hi Landon. I see you already own a small surveying business, but in these difficult economic circumstances you might be interested in full-time employment at a great place to work. I have a client in Northern California looking for land surveyors that can lead the firm into and through the next recovery. I see you are licensed in California and Nevada, which would make you an ideal fit for this company. Would you be interested in talking to me about this opportunity? I know closing your own business is a big step, but I believe this type of job opportunity is worth considering even that type of serious action."

You aren't doing your homework. You are being lazy and spamming people.

Tip #2: Reality Check Your Expectations For Salary And Workload

If a company is hiring a recruiter because they can't hang onto/find a licensed surveyor there is a 90% probability that either (a) they aren't paying a realistic salary or (b) they are already short-staffed at the leadership level and are running salaried licensed folks into the ground.

Licensed surveyors are in short supply. Baby boomer retirements are going to make this worse. Most land surveyors don't want to play errand boy to a civil engineer that thinks we still do our work with a builders transit and a measuring wheel.

Recruiters: Have you had a conversation about realistic compensation and workload with a company before you take them on as a client?

Companies: Have you got honest punch-you-in-the-face advice from people you trust (outside your organization) about your expectations for a potential land surveyor hire?

Most land surveyors don't want to play errand boy to a civil engineer that thinks we still do our work with a builders transit and a measuring wheel.

If a company isn't starting a search (using a recruiter) with a realistic expectation of a competitive salary, everyone's time is being wasted. The company's time, the recruiter's time and the surveyor's time.

If a company is hiring a recruiter because they can't hang onto a licensed surveyor there is a 90% probability that they aren't paying realistic salaries.

Tip #3: Think About Geography For Longer Than 10 Seconds

Geography is important. You are attempting to hire a land surveyor. They know geography is important. They literally make maps for a living. Think about that for a minute. Land surveyors are also good at math and can do basic cost of living calculations. If you live in a major urban center like the San Francisco Bay Area or the Los Angeles Metro Region, don't ask a surveyor from Redding, Yuba City, Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield, or Barstow to take a job for $100K a year. They can't afford to rent a studio apartment in your city for that salary. Pay a wage that allows a highly skilled and licensed professional to buy/rent a modest 3 bedroom home, open an office in a place with more affordable housing (the California Central Valley is a great example), or support remote work.

I recently had a recruiter tell me a prospective employer would want me in their East Bay office 5 days a week. I asked him if he knew how long the commute from Stockton to that East Bay city was. "An hour?" he said. "Not quite." I said. "Try like 2 hours...if there is no accidents. That's one way." The recruiters response: "That's a long drive." Yes sir. It is a long drive. Your client wants me to make it every day after putting in a solid 10 hours at the office. Here is what I asked that recruiter: "Is your client going to pay me enough to buy a house in the East Bay? They should if they want me in their East Bay office every work day at 7AM."

They can't afford to rent a studio apartment in your city for that salary. Pay a wage that allows a highly skilled and licensed professional to buy/rent a modest 3 bedroom home, open an office in a place with more affordable housing, or support remote work.

Tip #4: Don't Tell Me If I Work Hard And Play My Cards Right I Might Be An Owner On Day - That's An Empty Promise

I don't need to be an indentured servant. Please don't try to wrap up indentured servitude (which includes a large number of uncompensated hours) and make it sound like an ownership opportunity. I don't want to hear about how your company (or your client if you are a recruiter) might make me an owner one day if I work hard and don't upset any of the wrong people. I've been down that road several times already. That promise is empty, so let's not pretend like it has any value in the immediate job offer negotiation.

Consider this carefully: You are asking me to take a management position. You want me to lead a team. You want me to help with business development. You want me to handle clients. You want me to run projects on-time and on budget. You want my surveyor license and my 20 years of experience. I don't need to be an owner at your company once-upon-a-time. If I wanted to run my own business, I already have the skill set and experience to do that WITHOUT YOU. That is why you want to hire me in the first place.

Also consider this carefully: The fact that you are looking to hire a person with my skills and experience tells me you didn't do a great job of transition planning in the first place. Your current licensed surveyor is getting ready to retire and you don't have a young surveyor groomed to take that spot. Now you are trying to outsource. That makes your tentative promise about a future ownership stake even more unconvincing. You need a surveyor like me because you don't have a surveyor like me. Let's not pretend that isn't the case, and don't ask me for the coupon deal. I stopped giving that to my employers in 2004.

I don't want to hear about how your company (or your client if you are a recruiter) might make me an owner one day if I work hard and don't upset any of the wrong people. I've been down that road several times already.

Conclusion

In summary, if you are going to reach out to me about a job for a licensed surveyor on LinkedIn:

1. Do your homework.
2. Be realistic about your expectations.
3. Remember I know about geography, commute times in my area, and how to do basic cost of living calculations. I'm a land surveyor.
4. Don't make empty promises. They have no place in the current job offer negotiations.