By Valerie Jimenez, Bold Entity

Almost every contractor I know has sung some version of the same song: “We don’t need marketing.”

And when they’re talking strictly about lead generation, that’s often true. Many subcontractors have strong relationships, repeat customers, steady referrals, and more opportunities than they can realistically take on. In fact, for some companies, the sales pipeline is not the biggest constraint on growth.

The bigger constraint is … people.

Projects have to be managed. Bids have to be prepared by careful, capable estimators. And of course, field work requires skilled tradespeople. If a company can’t attract and retain the right people, growth becomes difficult to sustain.

In other words, the labor shortage isn’t just an HR problem. It’s a business development problem.

Luckily, smart marketing can help solve it.

Marketing is often misunderstood – most contractors think of it as something to do when you need more leads. But at its core, marketing is just a fancy word for communication – how the right audience understands who you are, what you value, and why they should trust you.

Yes, this applies to customers. But it also applies to employees.

The reality is, people you want to hire have choices. Some might be actively job-searching; others might be open to the right opportunity if it feels more aligned with their goals, values, or future. But before they submit an application, answer a recruiter’s call, or agree to an interview, they’ll search you up on Google, look at your website, and click on your social media pages.

That’s where marketing becomes part of your recruiting strategy.

Recruiting is so much more than posting a job – it’s  about building enough trust, clarity, and interest that top professionals can imagine working for your company. So how do you use marketing to recruit top talent?

1. Strengthen your “About Us” and “Careers” pages.

Many subcontractors’ websites are written almost entirely for customers. They explain services, capabilities, past projects, and markets served, but say very little about what it’s actually like to work there.

That’s a huge missed opportunity.

Your “About Us” and “Careers” pages are powerful recruiting tools.

“About Us” should answer basic questions a candidate may have about your company. How long have you been in business? Who leads the organization? What kind of work do you do? What markets do you serve? What values guide the company? What is the firm known for? What does your team take pride in?

This information matters because candidates are looking for signals: is the company stable? Is leadership visible, and credible?  Does the firm have a clear direction? Do you tackle interesting projects? Does your workflow align with what they want to do?

Your “Careers” page shouldn’t simply be a place to list openings. Instead, it should also speak directly to the candidate experience by helping candidates picture your work environment.

Put up photos of real employees, job sites, training moments, and company outings. If you host employee appreciation events, show them. If you invest in safety training, show it. If you participate in community events, show them. If your field teams work on technically complex projects, show the work.

People trust what they can see.

Don’t be scared off by this – every photo doesn’t have to be perfect. Yes, professional photography is better, but if you use visuals that are authentic and intentional, candidates will get a real sense of what it’s like inside your company.

Try this exercise: Visit your own career page, as if you were a job-seeker. Would you understand what kind of company it is? Do you get a sense of the work, the environment, the team? How easy is it to apply? Do you feel confident that somebody will actually evaluate your application? Don’t ignore that last question: you’d be shocked at how many companies ignore the applications that come through their website, which means that great candidates – who have literally sought them out – fall through the cracks.

2. Show what makes your company different.

Here’s how most subcontractors describe themselves: They do quality work. They’re relationship-driven. They’re family-oriented. They care about safety.

Those things may all be true. The problem is that they are also common.

Today’s candidates are not only asking, “Can I get a job here?” they’re asking, “Is this place right for me?”  But when companies say the same thing, candidates have no real way to choose one over another.

How can smart marketing help answer that question? Start by identifying what actually makes your company different. Not what sounds good, but what is true.

Maybe your shop is known for taking on highly technical work. Maybe you have a strong training program that gives younger employees a clear path to advancement. Maybe you’re deeply involved in the community. Maybe you’re faith-driven. Maybe you’re family-oriented in a way that shows up through policies, events, flexibility, or leadership decisions. Maybe your team is especially social and relationship-driven. Maybe your company enables people that want to be challenged to grow quickly.

The point isn’t to appeal to everyone. The point is to be specific enough that the right people will recognize a fit.

A company that’s intense, fast-moving, and performance-driven should not try to describe themself as relaxed and easygoing, just because that sounds appealing. A company that’s deeply values-based should not hide those values because it’s afraid not everyone will relate to them. A company that specializes in complex work should not market itself as if all projects are the same.

When companies are too generic, they attract generic interest. When they’re specific, they help people self-select.

A practical way to uncover your “vibe” is to ask your current employees a few questions. Why did you choose to work here? Why have you stayed? What kind of person does well here? What surprised you about the company after you joined? What are you proud to tell others about your work? What would you want a future employee to know before applying?

Their responses can become the foundation of your recruiting message.

Now look at the work itself. What projects would make someone proud to be part of your organization? Are there project photos, case studies, or stories that show the level of complexity or craftsmanship involved? Are there team members who can give a quote about how they’ve grown because of the type of work you do?

The strongest recruiting messages are not invented. They’re discovered inside the company – and then amplified.

3. Make sure your online presence matches your reputation.

Your reputation already exists. The question is whether your online presence supports it … or weakens it.

Candidates will look at your website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Business Profile, employee reviews, project photos, videos, news, and leadership profiles. Each touchpoint sends a message.

If your shop is known for doing excellent work but your website and social media look dusty and outdated, that creates a disconnect. If you tout a strong culture but there are no photos of your team anywhere, that’s a disconnect. It’s an especially powerful disconnect if you say you care about people, but employee comments or online reviews suggest otherwise.

Candidates may not judge your company on one item alone, but they will look for patterns. Does the story feel consistent? Does this firm appear organized? Stable? Does it seem like leadership cares? Does the online presence match what the recruiter or hiring manager is saying?

This is especially important when you’re recruiting people who already have jobs. Someone who is happily employed is taking a risk by considering a move, so they want to be confident that the opportunity is real, the company is stable, and the culture is what it claims to be.

One practical way to see your company through a candidate’s eyes is to use an AI search tool to conduct a “brand audit” so that you know what a candidate might see, question, or notice, before they ever speak to your team.

This type of search won’t tell the full story of a company’s culture, but it can reveal what your public presence is communicating.

Next, ask AI: What would a candidate believe about us based only on what they can find online?

If the answer doesn’t match the company you know, use marketing to close the gap.

Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean a subcontractor needs to post every day. It does, however, suggest that the public-facing presence should be more intentional, up-to-date, and consistent. One strong update per week can go a long way if it shows things like project progress, team wins, employee milestones, safety achievements, training, and community involvement.

It’s also important to remember that your online reputation is not only about what you say about yourself, it’s also about what others write. Companies need to pay attention to online reviews, community comments, and employee feedback, and respond appropriately whenever possible. Marketing can communicate a story, but it cannot cover up a problem. Your internal reality and your external messaging need to match.

* * *

Marketing can never replace HR, strong leadership, competitive compensation and benefits, ongoing training, or a well-defined culture. But it will make those things visible to the talent pool you need.

For subcontractors facing labor challenges, the solution is not just to post more jobs or call more recruiters. It’s to ask a more fundamental question: Are we giving the right people enough reasons to choose us?

If the answer is unclear, marketing may be one of the most practical places to start.

 About the author:

Valerie Jimenez is the Founder and CEO of Bold Entity, a strategic marketing firm that helps commercial construction and industrial companies strengthen their positioning, visibility, recruiting, and business development outcomes. Her work has helped contractors reduce recruiting costs by up to 82%, improve market recognition ahead of successful ownership transitions, and reposition second generation companies for high growth. Bold Entity clients maintain an average of 35% annual growth by becoming better positioned to win the right opportunities.