As a school, no doubt your main focus right now is on dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic and providing the necessary support to those in need – such as staff, vulnerable pupils and children whose parents are key workers.
However, as we continue to battle the crisis, an important deadline looms: 31 May. This is the cut-off date for resignations from teachers looking to leave your school come the end of the summer term.
It might be that your school doesn’t find itself dealing with any resignations, but it’s always best to be prepared. And part of being prepared means making sure your school takes the necessary steps to attract potential candidates and inspire them to apply if you end up having vacancies.
Your school’s career site or career page plays an important role in the ‘attraction’ stage of the recruitment process. This is because it can provide special insight into what makes your school unique and a great place to work.
There are a number of essentials your career site/page needs in order for it to grab candidates’ attention and fulfil its purpose of encouraging more applications. So, without further ado…
Your USPs
Why should a candidate work for you as opposed to another school? What sets your school apart from the rest? The answers to these questions need to be clear from your career page/site – see it as a platform for shouting about your school’s USPs.
Speak about your school’s culture and how staff are supported (which directly impacts the quality of teaching); your values and how they underpin everything your school does; and any other benefits of working for you (e.g. professional development opportunities).
Mobile-friendly
While it’s true that we aren’t doing much moving around at the moment, the majority of candidates will still use mobile devices – such as their smartphone or tablet – to take a look at your school career page/site. If they have to zoom in to read tiny text or scroll endlessly to navigate the page, they’re likely to close it down before they’ve read all the great things about your school.
This is why it’s really important that your school career page/site and all its content are optimised to be read on any device, be it a small phone or large desktop computer.
Video
Video almost always trumps text when it comes to engaging and inspiring candidates visiting your career page/site – you can show people what makes your school great, rather than simply telling them. The best videos used on careers pages/sites offer a kind of ‘behind the scenes’ access to schools, opening their doors to give candidates a glimpse into what it’s like to work there.
And who better to share their experience of your school than your current staff? Ask around to see who would be willing to share testimonials on camera, and get management to talk through the culture and values of the school. If you don’t think your editing skills are up to scratch, it could be worth leaving it to the experts. Of course, it may be that you look into creating a video when your school fully opens again post-pandemic.
Links to social channels and website
Your school is technically a brand and just like other brands, it’s important to have a streamlined and consistent online presence. This means that all of your online channels need to be linked – your career page/site being no exception.
The page should include a link to your school’s main website, so that candidates can easily find out more information if they want to. And it should be embedded with links to any relevant social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Social media platforms can provide a more informal glimpse into your school – make sure you post regularly, share informative and engaging content, and interact with your followers.
Build your brand with Eteach’s career site editor
If your career site could do with a facelift, why not find out more about Eteach’s career site editor? The powerful, real-time page editing software integrates with your school’s social channels and is fully optimised for mobile devices.
Our editor will help you to position your school as an employer of choice in your local area and in turn, inspire more candidates to hit that ‘apply’ button. Find out more today!