It doesn’t seem to add up or pass the test of logic. Why hiring Admissions Staff can be harder than hiring Directors – even for Higher Education Search Firms? Some of the reason’s might surprise you. With special thanks to Dr. Jean Norris, Managing Partner, Norton|Norris, Inc. for contributing to this article.
Let’s explore!
Vincent Scaramuzzo, President, Ed-Exec, Inc.
Why hiring admissions staff can be harder than hiring Directors?
Don’t fear – you are not the only one – and you are not imagining things, even education recruiters have trouble with this. Hiring front line admissions staff has become downright painful. Probably one of the harder hires you will make in 2020. But why? Here are some top reasons we have discovered while assisting clients with these searches:
- These positions are downright hard jobs. They require excellent communicators with tenacity. Honest people who can stay on script and compliantly enroll students to your school. It’s a rare combination of skills that makeup a great admissions professional.
- The economy. With a 50-year low for unemployment, candidates with these skill sets have a LOT of options both inside and outside of education. The competition is fierce.
- Show me the Money! Compensation rules the day here. A $5K increase is a HUGE deal for someone who is making $50K. For someone who is making $125K – $5K or $10K one way or the other won’t impact their lifestyle as much. But at the representative/advisor level this is monumental – it is ALL ABOUT SALARY. Candidates will go with an organization they like less if the pay is more – bottom line all day long.
- The Hours. Admissions hours are often not favorable for a good work/life balance. Late nights. Open houses on Saturdays. Inconsistent schedules or days off. Candidates are moving towards more stable and favorable working hours when selecting their next job.
- Technology. Is your technology razor sharp? Computers, emails, phones, CRM’s. They all better be the best tools available and working perfectly. This job is hard enough when everything is on point, if the tools are bad candidates will pass on you quickly.
- They are hard to interview. A director or manager usually has an office door they can close if they want to take an interview call. However admissions staff are usually in cubes, and their calls are monitored, which makes interviewing during business hours near impossible. This requires you and your team to interview before or after hours – sometimes on weekends.
- It’s an Under-recognized Profession. Think about it. How many people do you know who work in admissions actually sought out the career field? Oftentimes a person will “fall into” a job and their skill sets just happen to align.
- Skill Sets Have Evolved. The skills it took to be successful in admissions in the past, have changed. This is primarily due to methods prospective students get information as well as their lack of trust. Back in “the day” the admissions representative had to be primarily skilled in selling and product knowledge. And it worked great! But today, with the proliferation in technology at one’s fingertips, today’s students can get a lot of the information they need without ever speaking with admissions. They also don’t want to be sold. What this all boils down to is finding representatives who have those skills but are also adaptable and skilled at building trust and relationships.
What have you noticed are some of the difficulties in recruiting and hiring admissions staff at your school or organization? We look forward to your feedback, adding to this list, and finding solutions together.
Have you noticed the amount of applicants applying to your postings decreasing? Has a candidate decided not to relocate at the last minute? The competition for exceptional talent is at a fever pitch right now. If your interview funnel has been less than satisfactory and your pool of qualified talent is drying up I invite you to a complimentary consultation on how to attract great talent on a consistent basis AND how to procure them so you don’t lose them to competing offers. Reply to this email to schedule. I promise that in our call together you will leave with 2 or 3 ideas that will greatly impact your ability to find, attract, and procure the top 10-15% of the candidate pool on a consistent basis.
Vincent Scaramuzzo is the President of Ed-Exec, Inc. A leading Education Executive Search Firm. He is also a contributing author to various education publications. As a specialist in the education field for over a decade, Scaramuzzo works nationally. He can be contacted at vincent@ed-exec.com 860-781-7641.
Dr. Jean Norris is the leading advocate and expert for the college admissions profession. Her unique mix of experience working in enrollment management and academics as well as consulting for hundreds of organizations and training thousands of professionals makes her a sought after speaker and presenter. Her research, articles, and interviews can be found in many well-known publications serving the sector. She can be reached at Jean@nortonnorris.com 312-262-7402