Aaron Witt

CEO, BuildWitt

Shawna is a superstar in every regard!! We were lucky to find her and brought her on before we probably should've from a financial standpoint. We never questioned the decision. She was huge in helping us grow our business early on as we learned how to build a hiring process from scratch.

As we doubled in size and then again to about 75 full-time people, Shawna was there every step of the way, writing job descriptions, writing interview guidelines, training others how to interview, developing a system to screen for core attributes, and effectively communicating with all candidates. We were often flooded with applications and drinking out of a fire hose, but Shawna never asked questions—she kept moving. After we grew ourselves, she went on to help many of our customers do the same.

Construction companies desperately need better hiring practices to accommodate the next generation, and Shawna has the skills to make it happen. Unfortunately, we were a victim of our ambition and scaled back toward the end of 2022. Without the need for much hiring, we could no longer put Shawna's effort and knowledge to work. I recommend her to anyone serious about recruiting great people, hiring for more than resumes, and caring for people through the process. Not only is she great at her job, but she's a great human overall.

Jesse Gemberling-Johnson

Chief Talent Officer, MFCA

Matthew Moser

Owner, Sunset Valley Construction

Shawna built us a top of the line hiring system built into a platform she recommended to us. It's seamless to use and simple to me, a person who isn’t the most technologically advanced!

The hiring system has saved us tons of time in our hiring process, but also proven to work after we got 79 applicants to a position where everyone thinks nobody is available.

She also helped bring out the best in our company and really poured her 20 years of hiring experience into it.

She also helped me as a super busy business owner be more disciplined to hire great people the proper way.

We have great people working for us that prove her work, and I highly recommend using her products and service!

Update: Since Shawna got involved with our hiring process about 18 months ago, we’ve hired 12 people. 

Only 1 out of those 12 have quit. We really struggled finding and retaining people that had values which aligned with our culture prior to her helping us build our disciplined hiring system.

And please note that bringing the disciplined side of the hiring process to us was one of the biggest parts. How many of us had/have a system, yet aren’t disciplined enough to use it?

We are finally working with 12 people that enjoy working together for a common vision, rather than people bringing their own agenda for SVC to work. If you know, you know. It’s real, and it’s not easy to remove from a company.

Hiring is unfortunately only one piece to the puzzle of business, however I’m grateful she helped us lock it down and helped us prioritize culture vs. skill set and experience. 

Benjamin Holmgren

Consultant, Kestaa

I got to watch Shawna in her element when we doubled the size of our team in ninety days, from 30 to over 60 people. She's not "a recruiter," just waiting to get a huge cut of the pie after placing a candidate. She helps you build systems to attract, hire, and onboard the kind of people you want on your team. The key difference? She builds the system that generates repeatable results.

She will teach you a whole new approach and mindset. She can see the gaps in your process and help you quickly fill them. Shawna is not in this business for a headhunting fee. She builds partnerships for the long term, because she truly cares about people. If you're trying to hire more qualified team members but your current results aren't cutting it, I highly recommend working with Shawna!

Wally Adamchik

Owner, Firestarter Speaking & Consulting

Looking for 100 ideas to post on social media?

Here are 6 of them.

95. Can you share an “Ah-ha!” moment that changed how you view the workforce?
96. When it comes to your company, what are you most proud of?
97. Do you have an employee story you’d like to share (e.g. someone you’re particularly
proud of)?
98. Let’s talk about an elephant in the room. This industry faces challenges with
mental health. How are you addressing that?
99. What’s the funniest or most interesting thing you’ve seen on a job site?
100. Share any outtakes/blooper reels from the interview

Notice this is 95-100. Recruiting Guru Shawna Armstrong created the list and she can get you the other 95. 

You will NEVER be looking for content ideas again...and trust me, some of you NEED this...

your LOOK AT US and how great we are posts are getting pretty boring.....everyone has a backhoe, it isn't special!

If you want to attract people you need to be attractive, this list from Shawna will get you there.

Amory Scott

Vice President, Strategic Management & Mission, Scott Bridge Company

Shawna was easy to work with and flexible to our company’s needs. She has a wide breadth of knowledge in the recruiting industry as a whole as well as the construction industry. The quality of her job posting and social media copywriting work was excellent!

Shawna always responded in a timely manner and communicated with clarity and transparency. She provided a shared project database, which was very helpful for keeping us informed on her progress. so we weren’t in the dark.

Zach Rose

Founder, Forge Construction Recruiting

I have been recruiting for the construction industry for 5 years and Shawna helped me significantly improve my efficiency for finding "good" candidates quickly. While it's relatively easy to find candidates with a technical skillset, contractors wanted more than just technical skills they were looking for "fit".

By meeting with and discussing this observation with Shawna, she gave me the tools to ask better screening and interview questions to expose and illuminate the characteristics and habits of candidates that would identify each candidates match to the need. I believe that Shawna is an invaluable resource and can help any company struggling to find more good candidates.

Colt McCarthy

President, Venture Drilling Supply

In the past, most of the hiring burden fell on me as the president and owner. When we needed to add or replace employees, I felt overwhelmed knowing the capacity I would need to give up to help our team. I knew I needed to equip my team to participate in the process, but I didn't have much to pass on.

Shawna helped us build the foundation for our hiring and recruiting process and trained our team on how to execute it. It's still challenging to find the right candidate, but I know we are doing all the right things along the way as we work in our new documented process. In the end, our team has been equipped to lead the hiring process in their space. That is a huge win for Venture Drilling Supply!