Case studies · Construction & property
Construction and property roles, filled
A BIM-led design technician, a commercial estimator and a residential property manager. 48 candidates worked, 13 presented, and the fastest of the three closed in 27 days.
Senior CAD Technician (Revit) — modular construction
A multi-disciplinary design and build group working across architecture, development and modular construction · Modern methods of construction
- Time to fill
- 44 days
- Package
- £35,000–£45,000
- Location
- Rural Lancashire, on-site — drawing from across the North West
Strong Revit capability is not rare. Strong Revit capability in timber frame, modular and system-built residential work, held by someone willing to commute to a rural Lancashire site, is a much smaller field. The client was open on background — architectural, engineering, modular or manufacturing design all counted — which is the only reason the search converged.
Four candidates were worked and two were put forward. Both were interviewed and one signed. On a percentage fee, a four-candidate search and a 150-candidate search are billed on the same salary; on a fixed fee they cost the client the same either way.
Pipeline — candidates reaching each stage
- Sourced & screened 4
- Internal interview 2
- Presented to client 2
- Client interview 2
- Hired 1
Four candidates worked. Two reached the client, both were interviewed, one signed.
Two candidates presented, two interviewed, one hired. Precision beats volume when the brief is narrow.
44 days from brief to filled.
Senior Estimator — bespoke joinery
A well-established joinery business delivering commercial interiors, furniture and fire-rated work · Joinery & fit-out
- Time to fill
- 81 days
- Package
- £50,000–£55,000 package
- Location
- East Midlands, site-based
This was not a standard estimating brief. The role carried the commercial lead on site as well as the pricing — job costing, margin control, and the escalation point for site matters — with fire door compliance becoming a growing part of the work. That mix of commercial and operational responsibility narrows the field to people ready to step up rather than sideways.
Fourteen candidates were worked and eight reached the client, of whom seven were interviewed. A client interviewing seven people is not a client being difficult; it is a client taking a senior decision carefully. The search ran 81 days and the fee did not move.
Pipeline — candidates reaching each stage
- Sourced & screened 14
- Internal interview 11
- Presented to client 8
- Client interview 7
- Hired 1
Seven of the eight candidates presented were interviewed by the client.
Eighty-one days and seven client interviews. The fixed fee absorbed every one of them.
81 days from brief to filled.
Property Manager
A firm of property managers, valuers and chartered surveyors with over 125 years of trading history · Residential property management
- Time to fill
- 27 days
- Package
- £22,500–£28,000
- Location
- Greater Manchester, office-based with travel
Managing a residential portfolio is a job of organisation under interruption: inspections, AGMs, contractors, landlords and tenants, and the occasional out-of-hours call. The client wanted temperament as much as experience, which is a hard thing to screen for on paper and the reason 30 candidates were worked to produce three worth presenting.
The client interviewed all three and hired one. The screening work sat with us, which is where a fixed fee puts it.
Pipeline — candidates reaching each stage
- Sourced & screened 30
- Internal interview 6
- Presented to client 3
- Client interview 3
- Hired 1
30 candidates worked, three presented — the client interviewed all three and hired one.
30 worked, three presented, three interviews. The filtering is the service.
27 days from brief to filled.
How the fee works
Every role on this page was delivered on the same basis: a fixed fee, agreed before we start, with no percentage of salary attached. The straightforward search and the difficult one cost the client the same.
That is the point of the model. A percentage fee charges you more for hiring a better-paid person and rewards us for the easy search. A fixed fee puts the risk of a long search where it belongs — with us. And if we do not fill the role, you get every penny of your fee back.
Every figure here comes from our own placement records. Clients and placed candidates are not named. Full detail on the model is on our Guaranteed Hire page.
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