We’ve mentioned before that other owners a childcare center have said hiring is the hardest part of the process and that is no over-exaggeration. Your first problem is going to be getting the news out that you are looking for people. The way an advertisement looks broadcasts a lot about your company, who you are, and what you expect from your applicants. What your advertisement looks like and says about the job is just as important as where you place it. If you’re looking for a certain type of employee, you should check with different job sites or job placement agencies that might be able to offer you more qualified applicants than Craigslist or a random cork board at the shopping center. Though sometimes those can work just as well. You should use all the resources you can, especially those that are free and offer a large outreach. If you cast your net wide, you have a better chance of reeling more applicants into sort through. Without a wide cast, you will have fewer applicants, all of which may not be able to deliver what you’re looking for in a childcare center professional.
After you bring in the applicants comes the screening process which can quickly become tedious and time-consuming. It can also become very repetitive as you read over a jumble of words on the application and/or resume, meet a face for the first time, and ask questions that generally receive very similar answers. Do your best to pay attention and to prepare yourself ahead of time for the individual that you’ll be meeting. Prior research on the individual, which can even be as simple as glancing over the resume, can help ease some of the annoyance of the screening process. If possible, read over the application before you call the individuals in for an interview, that way you can weed out those who are not at all what you’re looking for and use up minimal time and resources doing so.
With targeted research and advertising, you focus your hiring efforts more on areas where there may be more qualified childcare center applicants and eliminate time that could be wasted by those who are not even slightly qualified for the position. You should focus on keeping all the resumes and applications properly organized so you do not make mistakes when talking to the interview by mixing them up with another applicant or showing that you really didn’t read their resumes prior to this moment.
Place as much useful information about your northern childcare center as you can in the advertisement without it becoming wordy. Think about what you’d want to see if you were a job seeker. What information would tell you that this job would be a great opportunity and one that you wanted to be a part of? State the job title and a brief description. State the full time or part time status and maybe other compensation. You don’t have to go into heavy detail, that’ something you can do once they’re in the door at the interview.
If you’re looking for part-timers, you might have more luck posting on college campuses where the students usually do not have the time to work full-time, but are happy with part-time opportunities. If you’re looking for full-timers, you might look for students graduating with degrees in childcare center operations that are looking for jobs on the college campuses. By doing this sort of focus work with your advertisements, you up the chances of getting great applicants while lowering the chances of wasting an incredible amount of time with a ridiculous number of interviews.
On the application, try to gather as much information on their background as you can. Whether this is through application or resume doesn’t really matter, but the more you know the applicant, the easier time you will have during the interview process. In order to obtain more information, you can always ask for references and cover letters stating the applicant’s interest in the position at your childcare center. Having this information saves a lot of time by allowing you to scan their basic information that will give you a basis for their experience and personality.
References offer the added bonus of others giving account for the individuals work. References can’t be 100% trusted. So even if you call the references prior to an interview and they give glowing responses, make sure to always interview the individual as well or you may end up making a huge mistake with friends representing someone who they aren’t.
Multiple documents for each candidate also gives you more to compare in the case that you have an incredible number of applicants, but only a couple of positions. This means you have more ways to compare them side-by-side and whether they will fit in at your northern Kentucky childcare center.
You should definitely be choosy when you’re picking staff for your childcare center, but don’t make your staff requirements unreachable or so high that the price of those specialists costs the same as three fresh college graduates who would work just as well with the kids even if they don’t have as much experience. Once you’ve picked the winners out of the applications, whether it’s two or twenty, it’s time to give them a call and schedule the interviews immediately and great ready to staff your childcare center.
All About the Childcare Center Business: The Hiring Process
All About the Childcare Center Business: Interviewing and Compensation
All About the Childcare Center Business: Orientation and Training
All About the Childcare Center Business: Expectations
All About the Childcare Center Business: Staff Complications
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