Hiring guides · Built for employers
Pick the trade and the state and we'll show you which level you actually need, what has to be verified before day one, where candidates in that market really come from, and how long the hire takes.
Type it or choose from the list below. Aliases work — type sparky or HVAC.
Availability, rates and licensing all shift state to state, and that decides your job order.
Levels, compliance, sourcing and screening for that exact combination.
Takes two clicks. No account needed.
Same structure for every trade and every state — so you can scope a role before you post it.
What each level can legally do unsupervised, so your job order asks for the right one.
How many candidates are open to work in that market, split by experience and credential.
Everything to verify before day one — licences, safety, payroll and site access.
Interview questions that actually filter, and the resume red flags worth stopping on.
Open a trade to see its hiring guide, then narrow it to your state.
Most bad trade hires are scoped wrong rather than screened wrong. A job order naming only the trade pulls apprentices and masters into one pile, and the weeks spent sorting them are weeks the role sat open. Every licensed trade splits into a supervised entry level, a licensed level that works alone, and a senior level that can pull permits. Name the one you need, with the rate.
A wallet card proves nothing. Licences are verified against the issuing state board, and lapsed ones look identical to valid ones on paper. Welding adds a second trap: qualifications stay valid only while the process is in continuous use. Start verification during screening rather than after the offer — it accounts for more of the time to fill than sourcing does.
Job boards are the last place a working tradesperson looks, because they are usually already employed. Union halls dispatch quickly if you are signatory, apprenticeships supply people you train rather than plug in, and referrals from your own crew convert best and retain longest. A posting is worth running, but it should not be the whole plan.
The hourly rate is not the cost. Payroll tax, workers compensation, PPE, tooling and a vehicle share typically add about a third before anyone turns a wrench. Classification errors cost more still, and they surface years later rather than immediately. Price the burdened figure when you build a bid.
Set the level and scope from the guide, then reach trades within a radius of your site rather than the whole state.