Stop Turning Down Painting Jobs Because You Cannot Staff Them.
A proactive recruiting system for commercial painting companies that need dependable field crews, project leaders, production support, and subcontractor capacity—without relying on job boards alone.
Your next hire may not be job hunting
A short follow-up from Lonnie Bos after CPIA Nashville.
The staffing problem is not limited to finding painters.
Commercial painting companies can lose profitable work when they do not have enough people to execute it. The gap may be in the field, in project management, in estimating, in production coordination, or in the subcontractor network that helps you fulfill larger jobs.
Field capacity disappears first
Experienced painters, foremen, sprayers, prep specialists, and coatings crews are often already working. A passive job post may not reach them before a competitor does.
Large jobs expose weak links
A company may have strong sales and estimating but still lack the crew leaders, project managers, or production support needed to deliver the work profitably.
Subs are part of the capacity plan
Subcontractors can extend your reach, but only when you have a dependable way to identify, qualify, communicate with, and activate them when project demand changes.
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Growing past one crew requires a different hiring system.
When a contractor has dozens—or more than 100—people across field operations, fulfillment, project management, sales, and administration, hiring cannot remain an owner’s side task. It needs a repeatable pipeline that supports both employees and qualified subcontractors.
- Separate campaigns for field, office, leadership, and project roles
- Messaging that reflects travel, jobsite conditions, pay structure, schedule, and advancement
- Fast pre-screening for experience, reliability, safety mindset, and role fit
- A practical process for building a bench before the next large project lands
There is real labor pressure behind the staffing problem.
These numbers do not prove what your company will achieve. They show why commercial contractors need a stronger recruiting process instead of assuming the right people will find them.
24,900
Projected annual openings
U.S. painters, construction and maintenance, average 2025–2035. BLS.
349,000
Net new workers needed
Estimated construction-industry need in 2026. ABC model.
3%
Painter employment growth
Projected 2025–2035, about as fast as average. BLS.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Associated Builders and Contractors. Industry statistics are context, not a guarantee of hiring outcomes.
Find the people who are not applying to every job board.
Team Magnet combines targeted digital recruiting, structured screening, optional AI-assisted interviews, and human review to help commercial painting contractors build a more predictable talent pipeline.
Built around how your company actually operates
We can structure recruiting around employee crews, foremen, project managers, estimators, production roles, administrative staff, and qualified subcontractors. The campaign and screening criteria should match your territory, project mix, schedule, compensation, and standards.
What the system is designed to do.
1. Reach employed people
Put the opportunity in front of people with relevant experience instead of waiting for them to search for “commercial painter jobs.”
2. Screen for reality
Use role-specific questions to identify experience, work authorization, travel expectations, safety awareness, schedule fit, and communication before an interview.
3. Add an AI interview option
For appropriate roles, candidates can complete a structured, on-demand video interview. AI can help organize responses and surface relevant notes so your team spends less time reviewing weak candidates. Your hiring team makes the final decision.
4. Create a usable pipeline
Organize candidates by role, location, availability, and readiness so your team can make better staffing decisions before the next project becomes urgent.
Our experience comes from construction and industrial hiring environments.
Team Magnet has supported successful hiring efforts for companies including Basin Precast, Bridger Precast, BlackHawk Manufacturing, Napa, and other construction and operational businesses. We are showing the type of recruiting work already performed—not promising that every commercial painting campaign will produce the same outcome.
“We tried other methods before. Team Magnet just works.”
Mike Wolff
“Lonnie is down to earth, not pushy, and has genuine testimonials of success. The marketing they do has brought me about 5× ROI.”
Caleb V.
15+ hires in under 30 days
Reported result from a construction-related client engagement. Results vary by market, role, offer, and campaign conditions.
40+ employees placed in one year
Reported client result for BlackHawk Manufacturing.
“Team Magnet delivered exceptional results for our manufacturing operation.”
5 employees in 5 days
Reported result when rapid hiring was needed. Timing and outcomes vary by market and role.
Successful hiring across construction
Team Magnet has supported hiring efforts connected to excavation, roofing, concrete, general construction, precast, manufacturing, and other operationally demanding businesses.
From staffing problem to recruiting system.
Discovery
We map your roles, markets, project types, employee structure, subcontractor needs, and hiring bottlenecks.
Campaign setup
We build the message, targeting, screening questions, and candidate path around the roles you actually need.
Launch
Your campaigns go live after the offer, compensation, geography, and qualification criteria are clear.
Review and improve
You review qualified candidates while we use the response data to improve reach and fit over time.
Before you schedule a hiring audit.
Yes, but the campaign and process should distinguish employees from subcontractors. A subcontractor relationship involves different qualification, insurance, scope, payment, availability, and compliance considerations. We can help you build the recruiting pipeline; your team must make the final business and legal determinations.
That is often where a repeatable system becomes more valuable. The hiring structure should separate field crews, foremen, project managers, estimators, production and fulfillment, sales, and administrative roles rather than pushing every opening through one generic campaign.
Yes. Team Magnet has produced successful hiring outcomes across excavation, roofing, concrete, general construction, precast, manufacturing, and other operationally demanding businesses. The proof shown on this page includes reported results such as 15+ hires in under 30 days, 40+ employees placed in one year, and five employees hired in five days. Those results are not a guarantee for every commercial painting contractor; your market, roles, compensation, timing, and hiring process all affect the outcome.
Keep what produces results. Team Magnet is intended to add proactive reach and structured screening where passive job-board recruiting is not producing enough qualified people—not to force you to abandon a channel that works.
We look at the roles you need, the jobs you are delaying or turning down, your current applicant flow, employee and subcontractor requirements, and the locations you serve. If the system is not a fit, we will say so.
Need more capacity to accept the work in front of you?
Book a 30-minute commercial painting hiring audit. We will identify where your recruiting process is losing qualified people and whether a proactive system makes sense.
Or call Lonnie directly at (406) 539-8744.
Some FREE Tools to Get You Started
Download these practical guides to strengthen your team, handle crew conflict, learn what your best people value, and capture better recruiting photos and video. Each PDF is free and ready to use.
Retention worksheet · 2-page PDF
Team CPR
Find out why good employees stay, spot friction early, and turn their feedback into one concrete action.
Conversation guide · 2-page PDF
Resolving Team Conflict
Address tension on a crew with a clear conversation and follow-up plan before it costs you a relationship or an employee.
Employee and employer worksheets · 3-page PDF
Know Your People / Know Your Advantage
Learn what your team actually values and identify the strengths you can honestly use to attract similar people.
Photo and video guide · 2-page PDF
Asset Creative Guide
Capture credible photos and short videos of your people and real work with better light, sound, framing, and a simple script.
Free to use with your team. Each link opens a printable PDF in a new tab.