Hiring construction workers means managing volume at scale. You're filling multiple positions—carpenters, electricians, laborers, equipment operators—often on compressed timelines. The bottleneck isn't finding applicants; it's screening them fast enough without losing quality. Standard resumes don't tell you whether someone can follow a safety protocol, work unsupervised on a site, or handle the physical and cognitive demands of the role. Hiring managers report that phone screens eat time, spreadsheets break down, and inconsistent evaluation lets unreliable candidates slip through. Raffi, an agentic AI recruiter, solves this by running structured interviews with every applicant who applies to your construction roles. Each candidate answers the same scenario-based questions—how they'd respond to a safety violation, manage a tool shortage mid-shift, or communicate a delay to a supervisor. Raffi scores responses against a rubric you define, so every hire is measured against the same bar. You get a ranked list of candidates ready to move forward, not a pile of unvetted names. This cuts screening time from days to hours and ensures you're comparing apples to apples. Construction hiring moves fast. Raffi keeps pace. Interview and rank candidates automatically, so your team focuses on final conversations and onboarding, not admin. Start screening smarter today.
2,300/mo
Construction recruiting searches
10-15 min
Per applicant interview
$0
Placement / hire fees
Raffi calls every applicant for a 10-15 min structured interview. Not just the top 5 résumés — every one. Result: nobody good slips through.
Conversational AI interview, rubric-anchored scoring, transcripts you can read. You get a top 3-5 shortlist while competitors are still scheduling first-rounds.
SaaS pricing from $199/mo. No 15-25% of first-year salary, no per-hire kickback. Cancel anytime.
Construction labor remains tight. Turnover in construction trades hovers between 20–30% annually, pushing time-to-hire and creating perpetual pressure to backfill roles. Skilled trades—electricians, plumbers, heavy-equipment operators—face acute shortages. General labor pools are more fluid, but seasonal demand and project-based work create unpredictable hiring surges. Teams are shifting: where they once relied on referral networks and local site recruitment, hiring managers now post across multiple boards simultaneously and screen candidates in larger batches. Consistency matters more; hiring on gut feel has given way to structured evaluation. High-volume roles (laborers, helpers) see faster candidate flow but also higher rejection rates in early screening. The trend is toward tools that automate initial evaluation without losing the ability to spot red flags. Candidates expect faster feedback cycles, not longer wait times.
Construction hiring isn't office hiring. You're assessing work readiness in high-risk, physically demanding environments where safety protocols are non-negotiable and credibility matters immediately. Equipment operation requires proof of certification (OSHA, forklift, crane licensing). Reliability—showing up on time, completing shifts—is table-stakes; ghosting or no-shows cost projects money and momentum. Physical capability and willingness to work outdoor conditions and shift schedules exclude candidates on paper before interviews even begin. You can't do this well with generic screening. Construction requires questions that probe safety mindset, problem-solving under pressure, and honesty about experience. Rubric-based scoring prevents subjective hire decisions that lead to rapid turnover.
Anchored to real offer data, not estimate aggregates.
Role-specific, behavioral, structured. Same questions for every applicant — the only way to score fairly.
Walk me through a time you noticed a safety violation on a job site. What did you do, and what was the outcome?
What it tests: Safety awareness, willingness to speak up, judgment under peer pressure
Tell me about a project where a tool or material you needed wasn't available when you expected it. How did you handle the delay?
What it tests: Problem-solving, adaptability, communication, self-direction
Describe a time you had to explain a problem or delay to a supervisor or client. How did you approach the conversation?
What it tests: Accountability, communication skills, honesty
What certifications or licenses do you currently hold, and when do they expire?
What it tests: Credibility, willingness to disclose gaps, compliance readiness
Tell me about a project you worked on from start to finish. What was your role, and what would your supervisor say was your strongest contribution?
What it tests: Verifiable experience, self-awareness, work quality standards
Construction hiring teams typically deal with high applicant volume per role, narrow technical bars, and tight time-to-hire windows. Raffi automates the screening loop end-to-end — every construction workers applicant gets a structured interview within 24 hours, scored against your rubric. You spend your time on the top 3-5 instead of 60 résumés.
Yes. Raffi generates role-specific behavioral questions tied to your scorecard. For construction we anchor on the structured questions hiring managers in this vertical actually use (a few samples are listed above). You can edit any of them before they go live.
Ask candidates directly about current certifications and expiration dates in your structured questions. Request scans or photos of licenses during the offer stage. Raffi can flag certification questions as mandatory, so incomplete answers stop the process before you waste time on unvetted candidates.
Avoid questions about age, disability, family status, or medical history unless they directly relate to job functions and are asked uniformly. Focus on capabilities: can you lift 50 pounds, work at heights, work unsupervised? Document the rationale for any capability screening.
Probe reliability and commitment early: ask about previous no-shows, reasons for job changes, and what stability means to them. Use structured questions to spot candidates who treat work as transactional. Faster hiring cycles also help—candidates who move quickly are often more committed.
Agentic recruiting is recruiting done by an AI agent that takes action on your behalf — not a chatbot or résumé summarizer. Raffi calls every applicant for a structured 10-15 minute interview, scores them against your rubric, and hands you a ranked top 3-5. The work happens autonomously.
Most agencies charge 15-25% of first-year salary as a placement fee — a $90k hire runs $13-22k. Raffi is SaaS at $199-599/mo plus per-action credits, typically landing under $10k/year for a team hiring 12 people. Same shortlist quality, no placement contract.
About 25 minutes to onboard, post your first role, and have Raffi ready to interview applicants. No engineering work, no integration project. Connect your work email, paste a JD, you're live.
Free $25 starter credit. No credit card. Screening live by tonight.