Quest for the Best

The Quest for the Best Talent

:+ : Interview with Tasha Anderson, recruiting manager

Q: October means college recruiting season for MacDonald-Miller. How did our college recruiting approach change over the course of the pandemic?
A: Oddly, it helped. During COVID we were able to go anywhere virtually. There was no cost to travel, so it presented a great opportunity to widen our net and meet new people.

Q: What are some goals for our recruiting efforts this year?
A: We’ve always worked to instill DEI in our hiring process because we know diversity drives creativity and ingenuity into our business. One of our goals is to look for talent by exploring new channels to help broaden our funnel with a wide pool of qualified candidates and bring the opportunity of a MacMiller career to schools that may not have previously been exposed.

Q: How did you go about that?
A: One of our project managers has been instrumental in developing a relationship with Prairie View A&M. Prairie View A&M, a historically black college or university (HBCU), offers a degree in construction science. The PM and I visited Prairie View A&M in September and are already planning more opportunities to connect.

Q: What excites you about partnering with Prairie View A&M?
A: What really stands out is the energy and care they have put into their program. They want to give students the tools and skills to be successful. They’ve done an incredible job of preparing their students for the real world.

Mechanically speaking they have a great set up! We were so excited to learn they have their own fabrication center on-site with welding, 3-D printing, and even laser cutting, Revit, electrical engineering and architecture. They’re wanting to do even more to cater to the mechanical industry which is something we want to invest in. We can be a partner to help ensure their programs are in alignment for what it takes to be the best in the industry.

They’re the level we’re looking for, their perspective will be different from talent we find locally, and we value that. This year, we began to recruit on campus for interns and full-time graduates for our 2022 summer. Their students share our values and have A+ talent. It’s a cultural add, with humble, hungry, curious, smart individuals.

Adding Prairie View A&M to our list of top tier construction programs to recruit to MacMiller is a win/win. By bringing the MacMiller brand and culture to other schools, we build our future pipeline and strengthen our internal teams.

Q: Speaking of building our pipeline, what other schools did MacMiller visit this year?
A: With the help of many of our MacMiller team, we were able to be present, either virtually or in-person at 6 schools in addition to Prairie View A&M: the UW, WSU, University of Idaho, Montana State, Colorado State and Oregon State University.