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00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 Happy Monday. Welcome back to Your Morning Boost. Thanks for joining us again today.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 I'd like to remind you that we are sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:25 --> 00:00:29 where we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 So we've been talking all week about hiring practices. And once you've received
00:00:32 --> 00:00:37 that pool of applicants, now it's time to start screening and shortlisting candidates.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:41 So in this episode, we'll share some tips for efficiently and effectively evaluating
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 candidates' qualifications.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:47 Now, you may be saying to me, what if I don't have enough candidates to screen?
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 Trust me, I've been there. I remember going into interviews just hoping the
00:00:52 --> 00:00:56 one candidate I brought in was viable because there just wasn't an applicant pool.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:00 There was barely an applicant puddle. But even then, we still need to make sure
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 that we have a candidate that is right for our mission.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 We can work with a staff member that needs a lot of support,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 but we cannot work with one that will have a large negative impact.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 So the screening is still very important, even when we only have one or maybe
00:01:13 --> 00:01:14 two or three candidates.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:19 Not having anybody for the job is actually better than having the wrong person
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 in the job. Just keep that in mind.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 Now, let's think about a few ideas to make this work for us.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 So think about using a consistent scoring system.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 Develop a rubric or a scoring system that's going to help you evaluate each
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 candidate based on the essential skills and experience you're seeking.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:39 Remember in the episode on Monday, we talked about starting with the end in mind.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 What is that ideal candidate? How do we want to get there?
00:01:43 --> 00:01:48 Then how will I know that the candidates that I'm looking at are aiming us towards that ultimate goal?
00:01:48 --> 00:01:53 My rubric, my scoring system, whatever that's going to be, should get us towards that goal.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 Now, when I review resumes and cover letters, do so carefully.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:01 Pay attention to keywords, but also pay attention to red flags that might indicate
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 the candidate is not a good fit.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 Again, does it end up pointing us towards our end goal?
00:02:06 --> 00:02:10 If you have a lot of candidates and you want to go through the process of screening,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:14 I love using screening. It's a great time to do some initial phone interviews.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 Use these conversations to gather some more information about their qualifications.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 Motivations, communication skills.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 Sometimes when we go into screenings, our questions are really not about them.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:29 It's more about us. And I don't want to hear about us yet. I still want to get to them.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 I want to know more about those candidates skills and what's going to be able
00:02:32 --> 00:02:36 to help me identify the ones that I want to bring in for the full interview down the road.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 So those pre-screening questions, you know, ask the same set of questions to
00:02:40 --> 00:02:44 all candidates because you want to ensure a fair and consistent evaluation process.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:49 But take a little bit of time to design those screening questions to make sure
00:02:49 --> 00:02:53 that they're, again, aiming you towards your goal. This is a good opportunity to use AI.
00:02:54 --> 00:03:00 Pop that into an AI generator. This is my end goal. These are the qualifications
00:03:00 --> 00:03:01 we want from a candidate.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:06 Give me five pre-screening questions to get to this. Guarantee it's going to help you out there.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:10 Just don't forget that the screening process is your opportunity to identify
00:03:10 --> 00:03:14 the most promising candidates from a larger pool of applicants.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 So take your time. Make informed decisions.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 This is a pretty important part for you. You want to develop a screening process
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 that's going to align with your school's hiring criteria.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:27 It will help efficiently identify the top candidates for further consideration.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 It's going to take a little bit of time, but I promise you that time is going to be worth it.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 Thanks for joining us today. We'll talk some more tomorrow as we finish up this
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 week on hiring the right candidates.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 But until then, thanks for listening today. We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 You have been listening to Your Morning Boost by AWB Education in partnership
00:03:45 --> 00:03:50 with Grundmeyer Leader Services. You can find out more about our services by
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 clicking on the links in the description.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:56 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.