Many parents and guardians feel that child handlers should have empathy, the ability to offer basic literacy skills, versatility, and friendliness. They often seek the assistance of childcare recruiter Sydney personnel to identify and hire suitable candidates. There are other aspects to consider when hiring childcare workers. Today, we delve into insights on how a childcare recruiter can identify exceptional candidates.
How Recruiters Hire the Best Childcare Workers
Childcare recruiters make high-quality hires based on their ability to assess and verify the abilities of potential candidates. Children’s welfare and safety in homes and childcare centres depend on the recruiters’ hiring decisions.
Recruiters use the following methods to attract, assess and hire childcare workers:
- Posting Relevant Job Advertisements
A recruitment agency runs its operations on a recruiting policy. The job advert captures the recruiting policy. The policy is a procedure that considers state and local legislation on employment issues such as equality, inclusion and employment laws. Specific legal requirements expect aspects such as citizenship and good character of childcare workers.
The job advert should state the expectation or the candidate’s ability to promote and safeguard the welfare of children. It should outline the job description by capturing the responsibilities and roles of the childcare position.
A comprehensive job advert also has a personal description. It captures the abilities and skills the candidate needs for the job. The advert outlines the desired training, education, certifications and clearances for the position. These can be the parameters for assessing and shortlisting the applicants.
- Shortlisting and Interviewing Candidates
Some employers use the checkbox format on resumes to shortlist candidates for subsequent interviews. Recruiters can also conduct prequalification interviews on their drafted candidates on a rolling basis. In this case, they never start the hiring process from scratch.
They have a list of candidates they previously interviewed by phone to check their suitability. When vacancies arise, they reach out to the candidates and hire them depending on their availability. In this hiring stage, the recruiter conducts background checks and verifies academic and professional qualifications.
The hiring policy should consider the employer’s values and culture for successful interviewing. Sometimes, the employer holds in high esteem personal values and aptitudes more than academic qualifications. Empathy, friendliness, love for children, and initiative rank highly on desired values. Some also prefer a candidate with basic first aid skills and a clean character check.
Then, the interview will focus on the personality traits expected of the childcare worker. The interviewer asks hypothetical questions about how the candidate would handle a situation. For instance, how they would calm down an unhappy parent.
The recruiter should also query the nature and effectiveness of the candidates’ communication skills. The shortlisting should assess the possible interaction of the caregiver with the children, parents, colleagues and other stakeholders.
- Conducting Assessment Tests
Some recruiters conduct a raft of assessment tests as part of the hiring process. They believe that the tests gauge the candidates, especially on behavioural grounds. It stems from the belief that such assessments also predict the possible future behaviour of the hire.
Confirming if the candidate meets legal regulations to work in Australia is also prudent. That applies to foreign staff. However, the hiring process should remain transparent and inclusive.
The recruiter picks the best candidate. Such is one whose attitudes and abilities embody the philosophy and needs of the childcare set-up. A probation period follows the successful hire as the employer onboards the new employee.
The Best Hire for Childcare Work
Successful hiring of a childcare worker depends on the needs and philosophy of the employer. A fair and open process must attract suitable candidates without discrimination. Experienced recruiters know what to look for in the whole hiring process. In all that, the child’s welfare takes precedence in the hiring process.