You spend time crafting a great job posting, you believe that your position is a solid fit for many teachers, but then you finally post and…crickets. Why aren’t candidates breaking down your virtual door? Here are some elements to boost your chances of turning your trickle of applications into a flood.
Think beyond the teaching job
Since teachers got into teaching for reasons beyond money, what can you offer them beyond salary? What do you offer that will make their jobs easier?
Manageable class sizes where they can really connect with students, a faculty that’s collaborative and collegial, and a learning materials budget that allows them to create and access the right resources. Opportunities for professional development can also make a big difference to a teacher who wants to grow in their career.
Of course, all of these things can be hard to create if you don’t already have them. Considering the benefits to your existing staff and reputation are huge, get started as soon as you can and as simply as you can.
Organize monthly faculty check-in meetings for staff to connect on a personal level (they can even be virtual, and definitely hold during work hours or compensate for time beyond).
Arrange recognition for extra effort in the workplace with rewards like time off or faculty awards.
Creating simple professional sharing opportunities like lunch and learns (provide lunch) can be ways to show that you care for your faculty and their development.
You can even get your teachers involved in organizing these workplace elements, just remember to compensate them for any extra time spent organizing them, either through added time off or recognition.
Create a workplace culture and talk about it
All of the above attention to staff and their development will help to signal a workplace that cares about the individual.
But you can also show an interest in the community by creating events around diversity, equity and inclusion. Demonstrate your welcoming spirit through your words, policies and actions. Teach Away’s annual International Education Recruitment Report consistently shows that teachers will flock to schools that seem like they are places where everyone feels welcome.
Once you’ve created that culture, don’t keep it a secret. Make it known around your school community. A regular staff newsletter or recognition event can be a good place to start. You can also talk about it through your job posts – try to go beyond stock phrasing like DEI program and instead be specific about your offerings of lunch and learns, teacher recognition events and more.
If you are going to talk about your culture, make sure you have something to say. Develop your culture and making it consistent before you talk about it and you’ll have your teachers become natural champions of the effort.
Reach out beyond the job post
Once you’ve invested in your workplace to make it the friendliest, most inclusive and fair place that it can be, find other ways to let people know about it.
Ask your current teachers if they can recommend colleagues, and offer compensation for their efforts.
Connect with teachers’ colleges and other training programs to see if recent grads might be interested in your school.
Attend job fairs, both those targeting teachers and experiment occasionally with those that are more general or adjacent (who knows who you might inspire to make a career change?)
Online, make sure that your website is as friendly as your school environment. Capture your mission and values there, and include engaging photos of your staff at work, any facilities you’re proud of, and details of your offerings to teachers.
Capture and include testimonials from satisfied teachers.
Start with words, and when you have the budget, create professionally produced testimonial videos. Use any social media platforms you may belong to as a place to advertise your teaching posts, and create content that highlights the good work of teachers on occasion.
Look for other websites and online forums where teachers hang out and try to engage on there, or follow social media accounts popular with teachers so you can flag them with your next posting.
Revamp your job post for what may be missing
Now that you have invested to create the best workplace you can, make sure that your job post reflects that.
Go beyond just describing salary and workday to include some of that alluring stuff about professional development opportunities, staff collaboration, and culture. Include photos on your school directory page to entice potential candidates.
Making all of these efforts will result not only in a better reputation, but also a higher stack of applications. Along the way, you’ll also create a better workplace where teachers really will be lining up to get in to your welcoming workplace.
Have you downloaded Teach Away’s International Teacher Recruitment Report 2024 yet?
We surveyed thousands of teachers to give you invaluable, first-hand insights into teacher recruitment and retention in 2024. Discover what teachers truly value and desire, and learn how to leverage these insights for your school’s success. Download the International Teacher Recruitment Report 2024.