My advice to Tendering Tradies.

Listen up, tradies. Don’t lose hope if you’re struggling to find work in the construction industry.

There are several ways to find new opportunities, like checking job board websites, networking, contacting staff agencies and checking with the unions.

Tendering is another great way to gain new contracts, but it might be something you have been avoiding because it may feel too hard………or it might just open the doors you need.

What may be surprising is that some of what is required are probably some of the things you are doing already.

Like research, when starting work with a new company, you routinely make sure you know their needs, what types of projects they typically take on, what their values and missions are, and what’s needed for tendering.

Relationship building, if you are successful in construction, you must already be good at networking at events, meeting with potential clients, building relationships with decision-makers in the industry etc. these are great tender qualities.

So, you have found a tender you want to apply for. Sorry to state the obvious but read it. Thoroughly. Then read it again. Get a clear understanding of the project requirements and specifications. Is it something you can handle?

If that is a yes, let’s get prepared. This is when you sell yourself, present your experience as best you can, sing your own praises, and elaborate. Don’t just list your recent jobs. Make sure you point out what you did differently and how you overcame a difficult problem. Tell your story. If formatting isn’t your thing, use a template, find out more about how important the look and feel of the application is in my blog about it here.

Make sure you promote your amazing staff. Having professional resumes included, at least for the more senior staff can make a big difference. Perhaps they live locally for the job making for easy commutes and good neighbourhood knowledge. Convenient, efficient factors like that can push your application to the top.

Your supporting documents are going to be crucial, especially in this industry. Now is the time to check your documents, are they relevant and recent? Health and Safety, environmental and quality documentation must be up to date and up to scratch. If you need help with any of these, I have tons of editable templates ready for you here.

Where does your company stand on sustainability? Most companies will want to know your process and how sustainable your operations are. It’s worth considering this as it will be part of any companies polices.

When submitting your bid, ensure to follow the instructions provided by the client. You must meet all deadlines and requirements, so all your hard work doesn’t go to waste. Trust me, I have seen it before and it’s devastating.

Win or lose, please learn from your experience. Ta

king the time to evaluate your experience and learn from it will help you to refine your approach and improve your chances of success in the future.

Valuable construction contracts can be game changers. Go for it.

Kristine Daw is the Managing Director of Dawtek, a Melbourne-based company specialising in tenders and proposals, technical writing, business documentation, copywriting, editing and creating business templates. Kristine and her small team have a range of clients including small businesses, multi-national corporations, all levels of government and not-for-profits. 1300 DAWTEK or dawtek.com.au

If you’d like to connect with a tender writing professional with almost two decades’ worth of experience, let’s organise a time to chat.

I’m also on social media so I’d love to connect with you via our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.  And don’t forget about our closed Facebook group The Tender Hub – learn more.