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-   -   Advertising and Interviews (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83384)

spud912 07-12-2016 02:59 PM

Advertising and Interviews
 
So I have 4 vacancies coming up in August :eek:. Two of them have been filled and I'm actively seeking to fill the last two. I went through my waiting list (which is how I filled the first two spots) so I started aggressively advertising last week. At first there was nothing but now I'm getting 3 phone calls a day on average. This is what it consists of:
  1. Oh, you are in-home and not a center? Nevermind. (this is very clear on my website and all ads)
  2. I know your ad specifically says you run a preschool program and you are seeking a child aged 2-5 years old, but will you make an exception for my infant? He/she is VERY advanced!
  3. Can you start at 4 am/work until 9 pm/do Saturdays/watch my children 60 hours a week?
  4. What are your rates? And then they either say the rates are not bad or they ask for discounts.
  5. They question why 30+ hours is considered part-time. Hey, I am more than happy to charge part-time rates for 30+ hours, it's just going to cost them more than my full-time rates :lol:.
  6. They want a variable schedule all over the place, but only want part-time rates.
  7. My services are simply not a good fit but they want to tour anyway.
  8. They question why I am interviewing multiple families for each spot.
  9. Both parents are in school or make meager wages and seem to have no problem paying full-time rates. I know some parents have income from other places, but I can't be the only person who wonders if I will be having problems collecting payment from these parents? My rates are mid-to-high.

Ugh, why is it so hard to find an older child these days?!

Thriftylady 07-12-2016 04:27 PM

I have the opposite problem all I can get is SA, or they come with a SA sibling. And the same issues with hours and such, which is why I offer night and evening hours, but even that hasn't helped me much. It seems it is so hard these days. I know in my area a lot of people are on subsidy, and many of those people use centers, because in my county pretty much only centers take it. But centers typically close at 6 PM, so those who need night hours can't use them.

AmyKidsCo 07-12-2016 05:30 PM

I just sent out emails to my waiting list to fill the 2 openings I have in September. Now you've got me worried about what kind of calls I'll get if I've got to advertise! :eek:

Good luck filling your openings - I hope you get great families! likethis

spud912 07-13-2016 07:20 AM

The good news is that people like my program a lot. The bad news is that I have a lot of people to reject :(. I know I'm being picky, but there are just so many non-potty trained 18 month to 2 year olds whose parents have strange jobs. I've had no contact from any families with children who are 4 and hardly any 3 year olds.

EntropyControlSpecialist 07-13-2016 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by spud912:
The good news is that people like my program a lot. The bad news is that I have a lot of people to reject :(. I know I'm being picky, but there are just so many non-potty trained 18 month to 2 year olds whose parents have strange jobs. I've had no contact from any families with children who are 4 and hardly any 3 year olds.

Just watch now. Next month you'll get an influx of calls for 3yo's. :lol:


I just posted a month ago, or maybe less, about how I was getting NO interest. None! Then, this past week I've gotten a decent amount. Decent enough that I filled all of my spots. happyface

spud912 07-13-2016 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by EntropyControlSpecialist:
Just watch now. Next month you'll get an influx of calls for 3yo's. :lol:


I just posted a month ago, or maybe less, about how I was getting NO interest. None! Then, this past week I've gotten a decent amount. Decent enough that I filled all of my spots. happyface

happyfacehappyface

And yes that always happens. I fill all my spots and then a bunch of perfect candidates start calling.

Controlled Chaos 07-13-2016 11:53 AM

Maybe the students have grants, scholarships or loans? I don't worry about where the money comes from or what they do for employment as long as they pay :)

I have 1 spot opening in August. I interviewed 2 families off my wait list, chose one. Great, they did a few drop ins as their current provider was on vacation. Great. Then they disappeared. I told them they got the spot mid June gave them 2 weeks to get the registration fee and signed contract to me...they stopped answering texts, emails, moms phone is no longer accepting incoming calls..super weird.

So now I have 2 more interviews this week for the spot. I got this interviews from my wait list too. I haven't advertised in a long while...makes me nervous thinking about it though...all the crazies :lol::ouch:

Good luck!

EntropyControlSpecialist 07-13-2016 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by spud912:
happyfacehappyface

And yes that always happens. I fill all my spots and then a bunch of perfect candidates start calling.

My new people are not perfect... in fact they're both a little high maintenance. I'm tuning most of the adult craziness out. I'm getting better and better at that... ;)

But, at least the spots are filled and we can move along with our days!


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