Timelines depend on the market and the role. Plan for a multi-week process from starting a search to an accepted offer, plus two to four weeks of notice before the person starts. We set expectations on the first call and update you as the search moves.
By Eric Dickerson, Founder, Gulfstream Strategic Placements. Last updated: September 6, 2026.
The calendar breaks into four parts, and only one of them is sourcing.
Week one: definition. Scope, pay range, sector experience, travel, and who signs off. Searches that stall usually stall here, not later. If the pay range is below your market, the search does not fail in month three — it failed on day one.
Weeks one to three: sourcing and screening. A commercial HVAC PM who is good at their job is already employed. They are not applying. Reaching them takes direct outreach, and a passive candidate typically needs two to four conversations before agreeing to interview. On a recent Southwest data center search, we presented qualified candidates by working a named target list of mechanical contractors.
Weeks two to six: interviews and decision. This is where most of the drift happens. Every week you take to schedule a second interview is a week a competitor uses to make an offer. Passive candidates read slow processes as disorganization.
Weeks four to twelve: offer and notice. Two weeks' notice is the floor. PMs mid-project often give three or four weeks, and some finish a closeout milestone first. Relocation adds two to six weeks on top.
Sourcing and screening. Interviews. Closing the offer. Notice. Each stage adds time, and the total depends on the market, the pay range, and how specialized the role is.
We do not publish an average time-to-fill across all HVAC PM searches. Our published figures are specific closed searches, and averaging them across sectors and metros would produce a number we could not defend. Ask us for comparable searches in your market instead — that is a fair comparison.
One thing to do this week: write down the pay range you will actually approve, and the three experiences the hire must have. Those two lines cut more days off a search than any sourcing trick.
It depends on the role, the market and the pay. We set expectations on the first call and update you as the search moves.
Data center, semiconductor, and biotech pools are small, so those searches typically take longer.
Two weeks is the floor; mid-project PMs often give three to four weeks.
No. We publish specific closed searches rather than a blended average.
Talk to a recruiter about your search