Construction Curiosities #143
25 Hacks to Win as a Young Construction Professional (2026 Update)
Hey! What’s up?! Matt here.
Welcome back to another Construction Curiosities Newsletter.
This week is for all the fresh college Graduates and Interns jumping into the industry this Summer.
Summary
This week we will look at:
25 Hacks: For Young Construction Professionals
ConTech Corner: BuildSync Livestream Last Call
One Meme: External vs Internal Juxtaposition of CMs
Twenty-Five Hacks
It’s been 3 whole years since I published the last iteration of the “Hacks to Win as a Young Construction Professional” list. Man, does time fly…
There’s a ton of new faces in this industry, and this list was very well received and shared last go. And it’s even been my most popular LinkedIn post of all time. So I thought it was time for an update and a reboot.
Let’s get into it:
25 Hacks to Win as a Young Construction Pro in 2026
RTFC. Read The F’ing Contract.
Take notes. Your memory’s worse than you think.
Keep a to-do list. If it’s only in your head, it’s not happening.
Keep a follow-up list. Half this job is chasing what you’re waiting on.
You’ll get yelled at. None of it’s personal.
Don’t know something? Look it up. Ask AI to explain it. But field verify.
Ask for honest feedback, then act on it. The ones who do are the ones who move up.
Listen more than you talk and ask better questions. Nobody learns with their mouth moving.
Learn what every trade does. You’ll be better for it.
Never say “I don’t know how.” Say “How can I?” Then do it without being followed up on.
Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain. Carnegie rule #1. Undefeated.
Early is on time. On time is late. Late is unacceptable.
Make the call. Right, wrong, or indifferent. Decide and move.
You’ll make mistakes. No biggie. Just don’t make the same one twice.
Respect everyone. From the CEO to the laborer picking up trash.
Do the work. Skip the credit. It’ll speak for itself.
You’ll never know it all. The best 30-year guys know they don’t either.
Get your boots muddy. Walk the job every day.
Grow your network. It’s not what you know, it’s who.
Say yes. You get out what you put in.
Be the one who’s good with the tech. That’s your edge.
Work with AI, but don’t let it do everything. Let it handle the grunt work. You take the field.
Construction isn’t a fallback. It’s a smart bet. Show up, level up, never go hungry.
It’s 2026. Labor’s short, materials cost a fortune. Half the workforce is retiring and few are replacing them. You matter more than ever.
Have fun! We build cool stuff for a living. Enjoy it.
You can download the full list here in a sweet PDF:
In addition, I will be relaunching the Daily LinkedIn “Hacks” series, where I will be going through this list one by one over the next few months.
So if you want to follow along and aren’t yet following me on there yet, go do it now here: Matt’s LinkedIn. And ring the bell so you get notified and don’t have to rely on the algorithm to feed you my posts.
Hope to see you there, and don’t be shy! Join the conversation! We are all growing together!
ConTech Corner
When I was on the Subcontractor side (Mechanical & Plumbing), I despised the submittal process.
Right as you are trying to get the whole project kicked off, vendor & subcontractor contracts negotiated, labor budgets & work plans organized, you’ve got a massive administrative task called Submittals looming. Not only was it reviewing received Product Data for Spec Compliance, but also generating our own Duct Construction Standards and Pipe-Valve-Fittings packages.
I’ve been partnered with BuildSync for the last year because what they are doing is really moving the needle and making the lives better for those PMs, APMs, & PEs deep in the weeds of it.
This week, Tuesday, June 30 at Noon Central, we are going to be diving into both their Submittal Reviewer and their Submittal Generator.
Streaming on LinkedIn Live and the Construction Yeti YouTube channel.
Bring your worst submittal horror story. See you there!
RSVP on LinkedIn: HERE
RSVP on YouTube: HERE
PS - We have over 500 people RSVP’s on LinkedIn, and I imagine there might be a flood post-event to Tom’s calendar. So if you want to cut the line on a personal demo, get a free trial (to throw it your hardest trial submittals), and a Construction Yeti exclusive 20% discount, you can book it with BuildSync cofounder Tom Port here now:
Super Special Construction Yeti Demo Calendly Link
One Meme
The External vs Internal Juxtaposition of Construction Managers.
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See y’all next time! ✌
The line "Keep a follow-up list" is the one I wish every young project person heard earlier. In rail and automotive projects, the biggest surprises were rarely the tasks people forgot to do themselves, but the open loops they were waiting on from suppliers, engineering, or approvals. A clean waiting-for list changes your reputation fast.