Recruitment Insights: Recruitment in January DECEMBER 2016 Why recruiting in January can make all the difference and help schools get a step ahead
The recent TES Teacher Recruitment Index report showed that the competition for quality teaching talent is hotting up. TES s Research and Strategy Director, Jon Romer- Lee, explains why recruiting in January can make all the difference and help schools get a step ahead. Teachers are making New Year s resolutions to find new opportunities Teachers are much more likely to start considering a change of job whether an internal promotion, or in a new school from the beginning of January. Last year, the number of teachers intending to change jobs went up 50% from December to January. Teacher sentiment survey: Teachers intending to change jobs in the next six months 28% 17% December 2015 January 2016 There are more teachers looking for jobs in January than at any other time of the year including Easter In January, hits on the TES jobs site are 65% higher than the monthly average. 5 of our biggest 10 days of the year for teacher visits are in January. UK activity on TES jobs website TES jobs visits Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Jun Jul Aug Advertising performance is better in January than in any other main advertising period With plenty of teachers in the market looking for a new job, and relatively few schools advertising compared to the larger recruitment peaks during the spring, adverts in January get 25% more views than adverts placed around Easter. Average job views Job views in first 7 days of ad being live The more views you have, the more likely you are to fill your role and be satisfied with the quality of applicants you get. Jan Feb Mar Apr Jun 1
Get as organised as you can - push some of your recruitment before the stressful summer term The more roles you successfully recruit now, the less you'll have to worry about in the summer term. When we look at our customers who advertise in January against those who don t, the schools that advertise in January place relatively fewer adverts later in the year. Secondary school vacancies by month (% of total over the academic year) Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Jun Jul Aug Schools who advertised during January Schools who did not advertise during January You've got plenty of time to find the ideal candidate so you can keep trying if you need to Schools are telling us they often need to re-advertise to fill roles for specific shortage subjects and in certain areas of the country. We have introduced subscription packages so that schools can keep advertising until they find the perfect candidate for any role they need to fill. Subscriptions customers are taking advantage of this by placing over 30% more adverts than before. And it s much less expensive than using costly recruitment agencies. Teachers are looking for specific things in January promotion or opportunities for pay increases In January, teachers are more focused on career development and pursuing new opportunities so it s a good time to share what s great about working at your school and bring your culture to life on your TES careers site. There are a number of reasons teachers have for moving jobs whether it s better working conditions, a pay rise or promotion, to work overseas, or to leave teaching altogether. The number of teachers looking to change jobs via promotion doubles between December and January. 2
Give yourself the best chance of finding high-quality candidates early in the calendar year There s more quality in the market early in the year. When it comes to advertising those harder to fill roles, schools advertising in January are happier with the quality of applications they receive, compared to those advertising in April and. Proportion of schools happy with the quality of applications received Maths, Science, English and MFL January April The start of the spring term is the best time to find great NQTs to start in September Unsurprisingly, trainees don t really look for jobs in their first term. However, there s a huge surge in activity from these teachers in January looking for their first NQT role. This surge lasts until but you re more likely to find your perfect NQT for September early in the calendar year. Job views by trainee teachers on TES site (% of total over the academic year) Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Jun Jul Aug 3
For more information on the TES Teacher Recruitment Index or to discuss ways to get value from your school recruitment budget, please contact: jobs@tesglobal.com +44 (0)20 3194 3000