What to Look For When Hiring Band Staff

This blog is heavily inspired by part two of our most recent Design Details EBook, Developing Your Staff, written by our very own Jordan Pitner.  

Whether replacing staff or growing your team, you will need to hire new educators from time to time. As anyone with a Facebook knows, the hiring process might not always look like a deeply thought out experience, and turns into a “who do I know, and who do they know that I can hire.” This method might not always result in the best payoff for you and your program. 

The hiring process can seem daunting. In this blog we are going to break down some essential questions you need to ask before starting the process. Obviously, each program is unique in its needs, community, and goals, so use this more as a question guide to help tailor this process. 

Step 1: What’s your goal? What’s your culture? What qualifications does your applicant need?

Before you can begin the hiring process, you first need to reflect and figure out what it is you need and what your program needs. Your vision of the future of your band should guide all the decisions throughout this process, so beginning with it is essential. Your big goal might be, “I need a guard instructor”, but it’s time to think in specifics. What do you need out of this person to be the best fit for your program? 

In creating your list of qualifications, be meticulous and detailed because it’s your best chance of picturing what your ideal candidate would be. 

Here’s a direct example from the Developing Your Staff EBook – Notice how it outlines educational expectations as will as professional expectations. 

Percussion Director Qualifications Example: 

• Oversees training & development of percussion section 
• Responsible for education of battery including snare-line, quads, bass drums, and cymbals.
• Responsible for education of front ensemble including wood and metal keyboards, as well as rhythmic unpitched percussion. 
• Managing percussion staff consisting of two percussion instructors
• Leads percussion sectionals and rehearsals in the fall
• Communicates needs of percussion section with director frequently to assist with rehearsal plan
• Responsible for upkeep of percussion equipment during the fall season
• Possesses past experience teaching a percussion section as either director or assistant
• Comprehensive knowledge of both pitched & unpitched marching percussion instruments

When you read this question and process this step, it can seem obvious that you should figure out what you actually need, but it’s  easy to skip this step when all you can think about is needing someone to fill a position. 

Step 2: Create the job posting

As you post the job, you also might need to talk about more specific qualifications. Depending on your experience and your own expectations for a potential staff member, decide on what is a “must” and what is a “wish”. If you are hiring a guard caption head who will be independently running a majority of logistics and detailing for the section, then prior teaching experience might be “must”. 

As you are determining your “must have” qualifications, it’s vital to consider… do your expectations match the resources you are offering to an instructor? Are you asking for +5 years experience as a caption head and offering your area’s equivalent of minimum wage? Take these into account while creating your job posting. 

Step 3: Actually posting the position

As you set up this step, it’s important to cast a wide net to ensure that you are reaching as many qualified candidates as possible. Posting on your personal Facebook page might be a start, but look into all your possible options for job postings. Some of our favorite places to post are… 

• With local college band directors
• On your local color guard/winter guard/indoor circuit
• With WGI, so they can connect you with an instructor on their virtual job board
• On sites such as LinkedIn or Indeed (fees may be required depending on your needs & the site’s terms.)

It might seem like a lot, but if you are committed to finding the best person for your position, then casting a wide net is among hiring best-practices. 

Step 4: Select Interviewees 

Using your qualifications as a guideline, distill your list into your top 2-3 candidates. Who has the most relevant experience? Who has high potential for being successful? Were there any major red flags that could help clear out people on the list?

Jordan said it well in Developing Your Staff— “Remember: an interview is not only a time to find out if the applicant is a good fit for your program, but also if your program is a good fit for the applicant.” 

Interviews are an excellent time to learn more about what a person is actually like beyond what they are on paper. I’ve met many people who are excellent educators, even though their resumes weren’t filled with gold-star qualifications. 

Steps 5 & 6: Choosing your staff and setting expectations

These steps are intertwined because they both come down to professionally communicating with your (potential) new hire. These steps often include details of timelines, official offer letters, contracts, and background checks, but can often be overlooked. Next week’s blog will cover this in more detail, titled “Protecting Your Staff Through Good Business Practices”. 

Setting clear expectations is the ultimate step of this process, but is often the one most glanced over. It can be overshadowed or oversimplified with a, “yay! Welcome to team Northwest-Southeast-Mountain-River- View High School and band camp is in July—see you then!” Take care and consideration in these steps so they continue the level of care you’ve taken already. 

Now, before you go, consider these final essential hiring questions you should ask yourself before starting this process.

• Do our goals align? Do your goals & the staff member’s goals align? In what ways do they not align? Is there perhaps an opportunity for fresh perspectives with your program through their different goals?
• What role does competence play? Competence and proficiency are indeed important factors for quality teachers. It is not that teachers must be of the highest quality performance, but that there is a threshold of performance knowledge that your staff member should have before joining the team.
• How dependable is this person? Does the staff member have a traceable track record of dependability? If they have never taught before, can you inquire with valid references who can vouch for their work ethic?

These questions are good to consider throughout the process, especially when you have chances to talk beyond ‘on-paper’ qualifications. 

Hiring the right staff members for your band can be a colossal task. When you take the time to do it right, the payoff of a staff member impacting the program and students is beyond worth it.