Congratulations! Business is booming at your daycare and it’s time to hire additional help. This will be the only time when going onto the job market won’t be met with anxiety and stress. Everyone knows what it’s like to look for a job, few know what it’s like from the other side. Don’t apply a second layer of deodorant yet. We promise this process won’t have any stress so long as you listen to the following tips.
Qualifications and Qualities for Daycare Employees:
Think about what qualities and qualifications you want in an employee. This should be more than the typical hard-working attribute. It will be filling a hole in your service you need to fill. Think about what your daycare needs. Do you need someone who specializes in working with special needs kids like autism? Or are you looking for someone who has experience leading diy craft sessions with small children?
When you are making your list, place them in order of which qualities and qualifications are the most important to the least. You should also think of the skills that are mandatory. Does the candidate need to be CPR certified? If not, are you willing to pay for the training? How much experience does your ideal candidate need for the position? It would be amazing to find someone who checks off every item on your list. The reality is the chances are slim though. You’ll have to make some compromises. You’ll need to think of what you’ll offer to the potential candidates too. Does the job have benefits, flexible schedule, room to grow in the company? The list you create will be used when you write your job listing.
Where to Place Your Job Ad for Your Daycare:
Advertising comes into play once you decide to put an ad for your open position. Don’t place the job listing on any website. The more sites you place an ad on, the more applicants you will get. This might sound great. There are more applicants to choose from but going through all the applications will become a full-time job in itself. This is why companies have hiring departments.
You might not need to place the ad on an online job board at all. One way of finding people is to ask your friends, colleagues, and daycare parents. This guarantees you will get job applicants who have been approved by people you trust. You could also put flyers or a sign near the front entrance of your daycare. It’s old fashioned, but people still read help wanted signs when they walk by. You can place the ad on your website, social media sites, and local teaching programs.
The Interviewing Process for Daycare Employees:
You aren’t the one being interviewed, but you’ll still need to prepare. You are trying to sell your company and the job position as much as the candidates are trying to sell you on them. You’ll have to think of a list of questions you’ll want to ask. These shouldn’t be generic questions. Try and create questions that will give you the best idea of the candidate’s personality. Don’t be afraid to throw out questions or add a few extra during the interview. The questions could also be scenario-based like role-playing.
If you have more than ten candidates you want to talk to, you should have multiple rounds of interviews. The first round could be over phone or Zoom and the second round could be in person. If you are really struggling to narrow down candidates, you could have a third round of interviews where they meet other staff members. This is a great team building exercise for your current staff. Ultimately, you’ll decide who the job goes to, but this makes the staff feel like they are part of choosing who joins their ranks. There is also the option to do a practical examination of each candidate’s abilities by having them interact with the children.
Selecting a Final Candidate:
Once you’ve picked a candidate, you aren’t out of the woods yet. This is the negotiation phase where you’ll have to go back and forth on salary, benefits, and scheduling. Don’t toss out all those other resumes just yet. Remember the interview was as much for them as it was for you. They might decide the job isn’t a great fit for them or they might have gotten a better offer. There’s also the possibility the candidate might not work out after the first couple weeks.
If the candidate you’ve selected works out, congratulations. You’ve officially hired a daycare employee. You should hang onto the information for your other top two candidates. Next time you need to hire, you can keep them in mind. This will cut the process time in half.