Recruiting Teachers: A How to Guide

Recruiting teachers can be a difficult procedure, particularly in International Schools. Here is how to make sure you get the best of the best.

Create a profile of the perfect teacher. Look at your current members of staff and ask ‘what are the traits that make the best teachers at your school’. Use these identified traits to match to your incoming candidates and recruit teachers.

Gather 6-10 interview questions (we’ll explore some of these later) that allow you to discover that the candidate is a 21st century teacher. Perhaps add another 4-5 questions to dig deeper in a second interview.

The Questions You SHOULD Ask when Recruiting Teachers:

• How the candidate will inspire students to innovate, create and problem-solve?
• Examples from the candidate showing that the teacher has a growth mindset and is ‘a learner,’ ‘a collaborator’ and a ‘change maker’?
• How generationally savvy the candidate is and what strategies and skills they have to ensure they can work with Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y colleagues while teaching Gen Zs and Gen Alphas?
• Tech savvy, innovative and entrepreneurial skills and talents the candidate possess and how they will utilise them to enrich learning and teaching? An important aspect at this current moment with Covid-19!!
• What approach the candidate takes to problems. Is the applicant a ‘can-do’ person, a problem solver, someone who will show persistence, flexibility and agility?
• How the candidate will facilitate 21st century learning for the students and community at your school.

Scan CV, Resumes and Application letters. A lot can be found about a person through the quality of the application. Make sure the candidate matches the profile!

When interviewing, don’t give the candidate the answer. Give them time to think and perhaps re-phrase the question if they are struggling. Remember that interviews are high pressure situations.

Be on the look out for creative and diverse talents. Make sure the candidates fit but also if they add something missing then this can be a valuable asset to your team of teachers.

Look for and identify leadership. These qualities will complement professional learning teams and your school culture.

Reference Check…Always! Any leader in education will be able to tell you a story about someone employing a teacher who lied on on their application or after conversations with the reference found out details that ward them off the candidate.

Once recruited, understand how to retain. We have a whole blog dedicated to this here. Good, 21st century teachers are in demand, you need to know how to keep them happy.

Where to look to recruiting teachers?

As a special offer to support our global community GSE would like to offer everyone a free download of A+ Interviewing for Educators . Now converted to e-book format this book written and published by GSE co-founders Shanna and Greg Parry helps both sides of the interview process with interview questions, tips and advice.

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Who is Global Services in Education (GSE)

Global Services in Education is a company led by education experts. They are proven education leaders who know how to set up and manage international schools. GSE can lead the project from the initial idea to set up and full management. Kindergarten, Primary, Middle and High School, Universities and Adult education.

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Duncan Douglas, Project Manager at Global Services in Education:
– A specialist in marketing, admissions, project management, Special Education Needs (SEN)
– Extensive experience in school start-ups and senior education pathways
– Worked across UK, China, Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and Malaysia
– Expert in UK curriculum