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BUSINESS NEWS PENNONI OPENS TALLAHASSEE OFFICE: FIRM CONTINUES TO EXPAND ITS SOUTHEAST REACH Pennoni (Hot Firm # 48 for 2016), an award- winning multidisciplinary firm, is excited to announce the opening of the Tallahassee, Florida office. The office is located at:

with clients in the Tallahassee area on new and exciting opportunities.” Duncan earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Florida State University and his master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of South Florida. He worked for McCarthy Associates, Inc. as project manager from 2010 to 2016. Duncan is a registered PE in Florida. His project management skills have allowed him to manage each project from the early schematic phases all the way through the construction phase to the completion of the building, and Pennoni is confident and anticipating his success in managing the brand new office in Tallahassee. Duncan has expertise in the use of finite element computer design software, including RAM Structural System, SP Mats, SP Wall, STAAD Pro, and Enercalc. He has worked extensively on both large-scale and small-scale projects and specializes in the design of concrete buildings, steel buildings, masonry buildings, wood-framed buildings, precast concrete, post-tension slab design and composite steel framing, and will apply his knowledge to assist future employees and retain a growing list of clients and projects.

3254 Capital Circle SW Tallahassee, FL 32310

The office is led by Justin Duncan, PE, who joined Pennoni in March with the acquisition of McCarthy & Associates, Inc. As office director, Duncan is responsible for managing and developing the Tallahassee office and offering support to existing customers in the Southeast through the recruitment of regional staff and the launch of business development initiatives. “We are very excited with the opening of our new office in Florida’s state capital. McCarthy & Associates, a division of Pennoni, has been operating successfully throughout the state of Florida from offices in the Tampa Bay area and Delray Beach for over 30 years,” said Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Growth Joseph Viscuso. “’As Partners for What’s Possible,’ we look forward to working

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

❚ ❚ Filling out employment applications. Guess what? Someone who is at a mid- to high- er-level in an AEC firm and who is currently working in their job may be willing to look at another opportunity with an open mind. But that does NOT mean they will fill out a job application. That is way too much to ask, especially early in the process. As a formal- ity after an offer is made and accepted is another matter. But why throw this hurdle up needlessly early on? I don’t get it! ❚ ❚ What to offer. If someone is currently making $130,000 a year, they are NOT – I re- peat NOT – going to work for you for $95K a year. That is actually really hard for some people to understand. NO one is going to take a huge pay cut to work for your company. I am NOT talking about unemployed people here whose last job paid $135,000. I am talking about people who are still employed but open to considering something else. We have seen this more than once this year and it is hard to understand. Is an employer who makes offers like this delusional? I think so. ❚ ❚ Who job candidates talk to. Most job candidates – particularly those at a higher level – and again, those who are currently employed – do not want to meet with HR people as a first step. No offense to HR people – I was one myself long ago. But rather than someone who screens and doesn’t know much about the specific role, why not use the hiring manager as the first point of contact? Again – the candidate is there – possibly reluctantly – considering a job change. A bad boss is the No. 1 reason people leave jobs on their own volition. Who the potential new boss is will be extremely critical to the job candidate’s decision making process. Let’s get the boss involved. And also, be careful NOT to let that dopey blurter that many of us have on staff insult the job candidate. Like the southern engineer “jokingly” calling the job candidate from the northeast a “Yankee.” Or the department head with no social awareness skills making critical com- ments about the job candidate’s alma mater. Or the disgruntled principal who just regularly trash-talks the company – calling the firm “they” instead of “we” and making cynical comments about their own firm. We have seen all of these happen in the last six months. Dumb! The bottom line is this: Yes, it is hard to hire people today. But if you aren’t having success doing what you are doing why not take a hard look at your process and who is involved and consider making changes? What have you got to lose? MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s founder and CEO. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

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THE ZWEIG LETTER October 17, 2016, ISSUE 1172

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