We understand that today’s pandemic has created unusually difficult hiring dynamics for you as child care business owners, and we would like to help you advocate new ways of reaching out and finding talented candidates. According to the data, 80% of child care businesses are struggling to find hires due to safety concerns and many other reasons resulting from COVID.
The hiring crisis that we are currently in calls for out-of-the-box ideas to find new hires, and turning to your local community colleges and universities are great places to begin your search. Colleges are a great resource to have in your toolbox because they contain a sea of potential volunteers, interns, recent graduates seeking employment, substitutes, tutors, part-time and after-school child care providers, special-education instructors, and many more!
Do not limit yourself to only looking at early childhood education programs within a college but also explore opportunities for hires within childhood psychology programs.
If you are looking to fill other positions within your company, for example, HR, you may also want to look at human resources or business programs within a college. Colleges are eager to pair with businesses because successful students finding a job after college reflects positively in the statistics of their school.
Not sure how to begin your recruiting process through colleges? Hopefully the pointers I provide you with below help get you started.
How to Reach Out:
- Contact department heads and try to be as targeted as possible. Communication can become lost through the grapevine and someone may drop the ball. When you contact the head of the department be as specific as you can in what you are looking for and ask who the go to person would be to make this happen.
- Reach out to multiple admins and faculty members within that department. Department heads are busy people and sometimes they just can’t respond. Instead of twiddling your thumbs while you wait, browse faculty profiles and find commonality to lead with. Email or call those individuals to start a conversation and tell them what you are looking for.
- Some colleges have outreach coordinators or a staff member in charge of community engagement programs. Contact this person. Each department may have their own or there might just be one for the entire college.
- Most college departments will have an internship or practicum coordinator that you can reach out to.
- Reach out to departments on social media. This includes alumni networks, ECE department pages, etc.
- Contact department heads and try to be as targeted as possible. Communication can become lost through the grapevine and someone may drop the ball. When you contact the head of the department be as specific as you can in what you are looking for and ask who the go to person would be to make this happen.
What to Say:
- Let the person you are contacting know who you are and lead with commonality. Leading with common interest shows them that you are investing in building a valuable relationship with them. Maybe you both like the same sports team. Always lead with common interest before diving into your needs.
- Be as specific as possible. State what you are looking for and what you need to accomplish your goal.
- Ask what their needs are and create incentives for partnering with your business.
- Most college departments have a job bulletin board where students can look for current employment opportunities. Ask to be included.
- Ask what resources they have for students and how you can get your name out there and share that you are hiring. Colleges often have databases with a list of businesses that have offered internships in the past. Ask to be included in that list.
- Ask to get on a marketing email list with that college. Colleges send out emails advertising career opportunities to students and alumni. Also, ask if you can obtain an email list of alumni and students.
- Create a PDF advertisement and ask if educators can post it on their course sites. Colleges use online programs such as D2L and Blackboard, where students access their course information, extra credit opportunities, and events within their college. Ask for your flyer to be included.
- Find out how you can outreach by talking to college classrooms about your company and program. Lead with your company’s culture, values, incentives, and benefits to entice future employers.
- Let the person you are contacting know who you are and lead with commonality. Leading with common interest shows them that you are investing in building a valuable relationship with them. Maybe you both like the same sports team. Always lead with common interest before diving into your needs.
- Remember that part of partnering is marketing. Market yourself and your business.
- Remember that part of partnering is marketing. Market yourself and your business.
Additional Steps That You Can Take:
- Join college alumni networks and groups on social media. Groups can include student clubs, organizations, or a specific department that you could recruit from. For example, maybe the college has a social media site for their child care education program or their child care program after school club.
- Offer paid internships or credit for college courses. Providing incentives is a great way to find potential employees. Internships offer you the opportunity to gain extra help while allowing a senior to complete their course requirements and earn a little extra income. If they are a perfect fit, hire them permanently after graduation!
- Join college alumni networks and groups on social media. Groups can include student clubs, organizations, or a specific department that you could recruit from. For example, maybe the college has a social media site for their child care education program or their child care program after school club.
