Our ability to create a positive culture in our early learning programs is directly related to our ability to hire and motivate staff members who share our goals and who feel good about working together as a community. Finding staff members who are a good fit for your early learning program begins early in the hiring process, with strong job postings that describe your organization and your open positions in a way that stands out to qualified candidates.
Many early childhood educators, directors, and administrators have direct experience with today’s challenging hiring environment, an environment made even more difficult by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
When ECE professionals search for jobs, they often find a long list of centers and programs that are hiring educators and care providers. A job posting with warm language, a list of benefits, and clear information about your program can help your opportunity stand out among the rest of the jobs listed. It’s also a great way to make a first impression, and will increase the likelihood that your program will appeal to candidates who are well-qualified and who align well with your program’s culture, curriculum, and approach to learning.
In this article you’ll find five suggestions for writing a job posting that will put your program’s best foot forward, and lead towards success finding the right addition to your program’s early learning team!
To create an effective job posting, you’ll want to keep the applicant’s perspective in mind. One way to start is to prepare a list of the aspects of the job that will be most important to job seekers and have that list handy when you begin to write the job description. For example, applicants will likely want to know about your program’s philosophy, information about scheduling, the types of professional development opportunities that will be available, and whether or not you can offer paid time off. Because these elements of the work environment significantly impact wellbeing, they will be top-of-mind for those considering a new job opportunity.
You might also consider the things that you love about your program and community, and include those when you list the qualities of your program that make it a great place to work. This helps the applicant to know whether their own values and ideas are aligned with your program. Using welcoming and positive language to describe your program will encourage the applicant to feel excited about the opportunity to be a part of your team.
It’s important to list salary and key benefits like healthcare and 401k opportunities early in the posting to ensure they do not get missed! If you can offer additional perks, such as referral bonuses or discounted tuition for children of staff members, these are also great things to include in your job posting. Postings that do not describe benefits could give potential applicants the impression that they are not available, and lead them to move on in their job hunt.
Consider what steps an applicant has to take to submit their application. Is it an easy process or are there a lot of steps? To appeal to applicants, it should be easy to apply for the job, either by simply uploading their resume to a recruiting website (such as Indeed or Glassdoor) or by sending an email with their resume. Applications that involve a lot of steps, such as answering several questions or uploading additional documentation, make it more difficult for candidates and might deter them from applying. You can always request additional documents and information later in the interview process.
Have you ever seen a job listing that included a long list of requirements and skills that are required for the position? Did it make you feel excited about the opportunity? For many applicants, seeing a long list of required skills and credentials can make them feel overwhelmed. Try to keep the requirements section limited to only the essentials, such as necessary ECE coursework, so that you don’t discourage strong candidates who are missing one or two less important requirements.
To make it easy for potential candidates to find and focus on your job, you’ll want to keep the title short and sweet. Something as simple as “preschool teacher” or “pre-k classroom lead teacher” will help candidates easily find your listing when they are browsing online. If you are using a website such as Indeed, LinkedIn, or Glassdoor, try to select from one of the job titles that they have available (you will see them pop up when you are creating the position).
Long titles might cause job seekers to move on to the next posting, and some job post platforms cut words from the end of titles exceeding certain length limitations. Keeping your job title short and using clear language will help candidates know exactly what the position is and will make them more likely to click on your posting to find out more.
