Land surveyor working hard to facilitate smooth real estate transactions, land development projects, and large infrastructure projects in Central California and Western Nevada.
In the screenshot below you will see I received two (2) unsolicited invitations to apply for senior surveyor/survey manager jobs in Northern California yesterday. I've been getting 2 or 3 of these a week. This is insanity people. I'm posting this as a public service announcement for giant engineering companies: TELLING YOUR RECRUITER OR HR PERSON TO SPAM MESSAGE EVERY LICENSED SURVEYOR IN CALIFORNIA ON LINKED IN ISN'T GOING TO SOLVE YOUR SURVEY PROBLEMS. No person like me (worth hiring) wants your job for $90K a year at 65 hours a week (on salary) in a major California metro area. Please stop asking. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Hiring one licensed surveyor (even one like me with 20+ years of experience) isn't going to seriously move the needle on your survey backlog. You need 3 or 4 of me. Plus a team of technical people underneath that. So does every other civil engineering company in California. Here is your solution: Build a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with a small survey business like RH. Treat your surveyor well. Pay them promptly. Listen when they give you advice. Do you ACTUALLY want to move the needle on your survey backlog and get projects moving? Hire my team of 14 highly qualified mapping surveyors as a sub-consultant. We can be working on your project next week. Clients: Why are you putting up with this? If your civil engineer can't start projects because of survey delays, cut them out of the middle. Contract directly with a company like RH. We'll get your project moving and we will help keep your design team honest and on-the-ball. You can call/message me at 209-298-7521 or e-mail me at landon.blake@redefinedhorizons.com if you are serious about building a good relationship with a great mapping team. I'll talk to you. A couple of footnotes: 1) I have finally seen the salary ranges on a few of these job offers approach the $150K range. That is just beginning to be reasonable. 2) I don't know if these companies realize all the other companies like them are trying to hire the same surveyor. That is why I'm making this post! PS - HR folks: You have my permission to share this post with your executive management team. #landsurveying #ineffectivestrategy #dontbedumb
As a survey tech I have received numerous messages for tech roles as well. My red flag was about a year ago I received a LinkedIn message saying that the recruiter thought I was a great fit for a survey manager position. My reply was, have you looked at my profile/resume? there is no experience in a survey manger role. The answer? Oh I thought you may be a great fit. So recruiters usually do not look at profiles or resumes just blast away messages and emails hoping a fish will bite. I am sure they are under extreme pressure to get the roles filled yet at the same time don't do the work to get the roll filled appropriately.
Especially when you are listed as President of the 16 person firm and they ask this.....
Thay's nothin... I get those same requests and I live in SC. Someone needs to explain to recruiters that licenses do not travel.
These people should know there boundaries, lol.
Received several of these types of emails also, but the salary is usually hovering in the $60k range in GA! How's that working for you (recruiter)? PLS should be making a Minimum of $150K and up + benefits depending on work area, expectations, etc.
We see the same unprofessional approach in New England. Except it is not just large AEC firms but some of our Land Survey peers.
$300k and I'll run a California survey team with a profit. Silly that the ranges for salary are so low.
WILD
RPLS (TX), PLS (MO), PS (NM) TXDOT Pre-Certified: 15.1.1, 15.2.1, 15.2.2, 15.3.5 ISA Certified Arborist® MW-5723A
4wSame thing is happening in Texas. I get about 2-3 messages a week. Engineering firms looking to add surveying because they feel like (1) they want to capture the revenue and (2) they want to be first with the surveyor fail to realize that there are only so many of us and if we aren't working, there is a REASON. It is very smart to develop a relationship with a surveyor no matter where you are in the chain - owner, project manager, engineer, title, lawyer, etc. - because that relationship is what drives responsiveness. No, random person, I can't do your one-of, $2500 survey and place it in front of my returning, repeat, and long-standing clients that I bill tens of thousands of dollars to each year. I can do your survey, but we are 8 weeks out. Getting more surveyors isn't necessarily the answer, either. Increasing our numbers of new registrants that are under qualified or lack both education and experience is just a long term recipe for disaster.