The best construction recruiting firms in 2026, grouped by how they charge

There's no single best construction recruiting firm. There's a best firm for how you hire and how you want to pay for it. This guide compares nine firms by fee model, using only facts each firm publishes on its own site. Two of the nine publish their fees. That alone tells you something about this industry.

How we compared

• Fee transparency. Does the firm publish what it charges?
• Guarantee. Is there a published replacement or satisfaction guarantee, with real terms?
• Focus. Is construction the core business, or one practice among many?
• Speed. What does the firm publish about how fast it works, and which clock is it measuring?
• The fine print you can't see. Candidate ownership and off-limits terms. Nobody publishes these. Ask before you sign, including with us.

We researched ten firms that show up when owners search for construction recruiters. Nine made the guide. We cut one regional generalist where construction is one of eight practice areas, and one firm whose site blocked verification, because a guide built on published facts can't include a firm whose facts we couldn't check. All facts pulled July 2026.

The comparison

Flat monthly fee

Persevus (that's us)

Omaha, Nebraska. Founded 2016, running direct-placement recruiting since 2020. Engagements run $2,500 to $8,300 a month depending on what your hiring needs, from ongoing pipeline coverage up to a full active outreach program. Flat, and those are the real numbers. No percentage fees, so the bill doesn't grow because the hire earns more.

A dedicated recruiter and an account manager run every search through the Career Gap Method: we work out what a candidate would actually move for before you ever meet them. That's why 97% of the offers our clients extended were accepted, measured across every offer from 2022 through 2026, and why the average search runs 29 days from kickoff to accepted offer. You own the candidate pipeline. Your people are never off-limits inventory behind our fee.

Best fit: owner-led companies with 20 to 500 people that hire more than once a year and want recruiting costs to stay flat while they grow.

Contingency, with fees published

Only two firms we researched put their pricing on the internet. Both are here. Whatever model you choose, a firm that publishes its numbers has made your first phone call shorter.

DAVRON

Tampa, Florida, operating since 1997. DAVRON publishes its full fee schedule: 20% to 30% of first-year salary depending on which payment plan you pick, with guarantee terms tied to each tier. Coverage runs from field trades to project executives, nationwide. The firm publishes a 90.37% candidate retention rate and a 90.25% offer acceptance rate. If you want traditional contingency with the numbers on the table before the first call, this is what that looks like. (Source: davron.net, fee schedule and construction pages.)

TruPath Search

Tempe, Arizona, founded 2002. TruPath publishes the most detailed pricing disclosure we found: 23% to 25% contingent depending on role type, 30% to 35% retained by seniority. Construction roles covered include estimators, inspectors, project managers, superintendents, and foremen. Worth knowing: the firm's core brand is manufacturing recruiting, with construction as a secondary practice. (Source: trupathsearch.com, recruiting-fees and construction pages.)

National, multi-office

Michael Page

The US construction division of PageGroup, headquartered in New York with eight US offices. Michael Page states it has more than 200 construction recruiters and publishes two operating metrics: five days to send an offer to a qualified candidate, and roughly 134 construction jobs filled per month. Fees and guarantee terms aren't published for the US practice. If you're staffing across metros and want the biggest bench on this list, this is it. (Source: michaelpage.com construction pages.)

Goodwin Recruiting

Exeter, New Hampshire, founded 1999, with recruiters distributed nationwide. Goodwin offers three ways to pay: contingency, retained billed in thirds, and a financing option that spreads up to $20,000 over as long as 48 months. Percentages aren't published. The financing angle is unusual and worth a look if cash timing is the constraint. (Source: goodwinrecruiting.com, FAQ and construction pages.)

Kaye/Bassman International

Plano, Texas, founded 1981. Its construction and real estate practice reports more than 5,000 search engagements, the longest track record in this guide. Retained and contingency work for general contractors, specialty contractors, developers, and design firms. No fees, guarantees, or terms are published. The most history on the list, and the least public detail. (Source: kbic.com construction practice pages.)

Construction-focused boutiques

Amundson Group

Houston, Texas, founded 2020, veteran-owned. Amundson publishes the sharpest speed claims in the guide: first qualified resume in 7 hours on average, a shortlist in 7 days, and more than 1,200 placements with 190+ in the last twelve months. Focus areas are heavy civil, site development, paving, data centers, and rail. Contingency, percentage not published, with 30/60/90-day post-placement check-ins. (Source: amundsongroup.com.)

Trueline Talent

Portland, Maine. Trueline started as a construction trade publisher and launched its recruiting practice in 2018; it claims a network of 50,000+ professionals who aren't on job boards and offers a full replacement guarantee, though no time window is published. Roles include carpenters, engineers, estimators, and project managers across 200+ US markets. Contingency, percentage not published. (Source: wearetrueline.com.)

Bradsby Group

Denver, Colorado, founded 2004 and employee-owned. The construction division names its footprint plainly (Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Illinois) and reports more than 1,000 construction placements. Retained and contingency, percentages not published. (Source: bradsbygroup.com construction pages.)

What nobody publishes, and what to ask before you sign

Across the ten firms we researched, eight publish no pricing at all. None publish candidate-ownership or off-limits terms. Most guarantees have no stated time window. None of that makes a firm bad. It means the contract matters more than the website.

Five questions for any recruiting firm, including us:

1. What do you charge, in writing, before the search starts?
2. If the hire leaves in 90 days, what exactly happens?
3. Who owns the candidates you introduced if we part ways?
4. Is the recruiter on my search dedicated to my account, or working my role alongside thirty others?
5. How do you know a candidate will say yes before I meet them?

That last question is the entire reason our acceptance rate is what it is.

FAQ

How much do construction recruiters charge? Among firms that publish pricing: DAVRON's schedule runs 20% to 30% of first-year salary by payment plan, TruPath runs 23% to 35% depending on model and seniority, and Persevus charges a flat $2,500 to $8,300 a month depending on scope. Most firms publish nothing and quote by phone.

What's the difference between contingency and flat-fee recruiting? Contingency pays the firm a percentage of the hire's salary at placement, so the fee scales with compensation. A flat fee fixes the price up front regardless of salary, which changes what the firm gets paid to do: fill the seat with the right person, not the highest-priced placeable one.

Should I use a national firm or a specialist? Bench versus depth. If you're hiring across multiple metros at once, a multi-office national firm brings coverage. If the role is close to the core of your business, a specialist who lives in your kind of work brings sharper screening. Either way, the questions above matter more than the logo.

How fast should a construction search move? The published claims measure different clocks. Michael Page publishes five days to send an offer to a qualified candidate. Amundson publishes a seven-day shortlist. We publish 29 days average from kickoff to a signed acceptance. Ask any firm which clock they mean: first resume, shortlist, or an accepted offer. Only the last one fills the seat.

If the flat-fee group sounds like your situation, book 30 minutes with Alex. Bring the role you're trying to fill. You'll leave with a straight read on whether we're the right tool for it, and you already have the other names if we're not.