In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain top educational staff, it is more important than ever to promote what your college can offer to educators looking for the next step in their career journey. With so many colleges looking for candidates, why should lecturers choose to apply to your college? Whether you want to attract those new to the profession or more experienced staff, these five rules will help you attract the very best educational talent.
Make it clear how you support and reward staff
One of the most important factors when it comes to choosing a college to apply to is how well staff are valued and supported. Educators' workloads can be overwhelming, and the pressures that come with ensuring that your learners make the expected progress can be stress-inducing, so staff need to know how they are going to be supported by senior leaders and that their efforts will not go unnoticed. This doesn’t just mean token gestures such as cake in the staffroom every now and then, but rather providing examples of how your college has created a culture of looking after their staff’s wellbeing and making them feel as though their hard work is appreciated. Make it clear in your job advert that teachers at your college are valued by senior staff, and that their wellbeing is a priority.
Offer opportunities for professional development
In order to attract educators looking to progress in their careers, you need to make sure they are aware of how the college can facilitate this through training and leadership opportunities – in fact, including career development in an advert has been proven to increase the number of applications received. Explain what your college can offer in terms of continued professional development (weekly sessions, INSET days, mentoring/coaching from outside consultants), with reference to any particular schemes you may use that can upskill their practice in those areas.
Showcase your college’s strengths
As well as including the obvious ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating in your job advert, be sure to mention other things that you are proud of. Has your college made a difference in the local community? Have you been awarded any quality marks from professional organisations? Mentioning these achievements could mean that you connect into the values of those strong applicants, and they will be more likely to apply.
Reach out to trainees
A great way to find amazing staff is to make contact with the thousands of trainees completing their courses and looking for jobs for the next academic year. Advertising your vacancies on university platforms and the FEjobs job board will allow you to engage with enthusiastic educators.
Streamline the application process
Everybody knows how busy teachers are, so the application process needs to be as quick and simple as possible. Long application forms can be off-putting and demotivating, so adverts with the ‘Fast Apply’ tool on FEjobs are much more likely to attract applicants who have limited free time. Candidates simply have to create an account with FEjobs and their application information can be saved and re-used multiple times, meaning that they can have more time to personalise their personal statement to each individual college and fully showcase their suitability for the role.
About the author
Emma Johnston
After graduating with a BA in Communications from Bournemouth University, Emma worked in public relations and marketing before deciding to undertake a PGCE at Kingston University and begin her journey as a primary school teacher. Emma taught for 15 years in schools around London and Surrey, in a variety of roles including lead practitioner and assistant headteacher. Emma now works for Eteach as Education Partnerships Coordinator, where she can share her knowledge of the education sector and support those beginning their teaching career.