Staffing and Recruiting Officer – JWS
What do you love about your job?
I love almost everything about my job – recruiting and onboarding new teachers. And, I am a numbers person, so I love the staffing piece of my job. I love being able to help principals work through their staffing to ensure that they balance.
In this challenging year, what have you tried and that is working?
Staying connected to my colleagues through virtual meetings instead of just emails. I try to pick up the phone when I can as well.
What is a challenge / isn’t working …. Yet?
I really miss being face-to-face with people. We’re doing the best we can with what we have, the orientations with new teachers are all virtual, and that’s great, but I miss the actual face-to-face. You feel like you engage and connect better.
Tiny Victory – Quick Win
We’ve had a great year in spite of everything. We’ve had to completely change our process, and yet we’ve still been able to get over 300 teachers onto the OT list! Everything from interviews to reference checks have all been done electronically, and we’ve managed to conduct all our orientation sessions virtually. So, we’ve done alright, I think. I’m pretty proud of our team!
Do you have any words of encouragement / love for other educators or staff?
I just read this in my church bulletin and it really resonated with me:
“Always surround yourself with people that have plenty of light in them. That way, you will always have candles around you when days are dark”
So many of us have had dark days through this pandemic and I think this is really important. The truth is we never know what someone is going through behind the scenes, so just be kind.
February was really super hard for me. Both my elderly parents tested positive for COVID – my stepfather contracted it in the hospital while he was in for heart surgery, and then brought it home with him. So, I was taking care of them (responsibly and from a distance), making sure they had everything they needed. It was really frustrating, especially when we had taken all the precautions to keep them safe and protect them from it.
So, you just never know. I tried to stay positive, but those were some dark times. I know everyone is experiencing that, so bringing that quote to mind really helps.
Sometimes I find just a quick conversation with my manager, principal or colleague helps to put everything in perspective.
Happily, the sun is out now, and now, both my parents recovered, and are now vaccinated. And it reminds me to be grateful for so many things, and to know we will get through it.
What is the last thing you bought for yourself?
A kayak!
We do a lot of camping, and I am an avid photographer! My favourite thing to photograph is birds. My happy place is being out on the water in my kayak early in the morning, and taking as many pictures as I can.
We’ve always rented kayaks. But, last year, I had finally saved up enough money to buy one for myself, and then the world fell apart, and everyone and their brother was buying a kayak.
I mean, you couldn’t get one anywhere! Canadian Tire told us “Basically, if it’s fun, it’s out of stock.”
Then, one day, my daughter calls and says that Costco in Guelph has 20 kayaks in stock that morning. My husband rushed over there, and found out they had sold in under 5 minutes! People ran into the store as soon as the doors opened.
Fortunately, my dear husband decided to check out the Oakville Canadian Tire on his way home, and was able to get one!
So, we are really looking forward to some kayaking camping trips this summer in Algonquin, Charleston Lake, and Balsam Lake.
