I'm now finished with my mid-career Ed.M. degree in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Can't believe how quickly this year went by!  So glad for all that I have learned in and out of class, for the many fascinating colleagues I've been able to grow with this year, and also for the fun we've had along the way.

Over the last year, I've been able to be a part of many amazing student organizations and courses...
* Founder of the HGSE Early Childhood Student Group; maintained list of over 150 students to connect them with opportunities; organized multiple events, including informal get-togethers, an Early Math Research workshop, and two Design Thinking for Early Childhood Innovation workshops for over seventy participants; and consulted with the HGSE Development Office

* Officer of Academic Affairs for the HGSE Student Council; organized twenty get-togethers for students & professors and two evenings of EdTalks with twenty-three students sharing their new educational initiatives and ideas, as well as conducting surveys of student needs and supporting my committee in organizing additional student-run events

* Logistics and Sponsorship Chair for the HGSE Student Research Conference; fundraised over $5000 to provide more research resources for students; collaborated with facilities and catering for over 130 research projects & over 300 participants; and ran registration, including managing the creation, ordering, and distribution of name badges & promotion materials

Related early childhood research, policy, and management course projects:
* Generating & Using Evidence in Organizations with Prof Julie Boatright Wilson- Worked for the HGSE Associate Dean of Learning & Teaching to evaluate the implementation of HGSE non-credit Special Topics Workshops, gathering qualitative & quantitative measures through interviews, focus groups, & surveys; analyzing the data; and making change recommendations
* Science-Based Innovation in Early Childhood Policy & Practice with Prof Jack Shonkoff- Researched and drafted an intervention using design thinking with new parents
* Program Evaluation with Prof Tom Kane- Outlined a long-term difference-in-differences evaluation of the NYC Universal PreK expansion
* Teacher and Teaching Quality with Prof Erica Litke- Wrote a research proposal to explore preschool teachers' math content knowledge
* Science of Behavior Change with Prof Todd Rogers- Designed a nudge for the Sesame Street Go app to encourage parent-child interaction
* Multi-Level Modeling with Prof Luke Miratrix- Used hierarchical linear models to investigate parent stress & early math using ECLS-K 2011 in R
* Structural Equation Modeling with Prof Dana McCoy- Used EFA/CFA & mediation to investigate parent activities & child outcomes using Stata

Other coursework:
* Analytic Frameworks for Policy - HKS class with Prof Richard Zeckhauser
* Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning with Prof Monica Higgins
* Child Rearing, Language, and Culture with Prof Meredith Rowe
* Effective Implementation - HKS class with Prof Frank Hartmann

Was just reading great posts on Hiring the Happy and How to Screen for Happy  - I would agree that hiring people who are happy with their lives and themselves is a key to building a good work culture and community.    

Happy doesn't mean always the life of the party - but rather looking on the bright side of things - dealing with the situation on hand, learning from it, and moving forward with a positive outlook.  You want to look for people who "speak well of former employers, take personal responsibility for past career mishaps, and who will be okay whether or not they get offered your job".   No whining or complaining allowed!

A big trait to hire for that often goes along with happiness is a can-do attitude.  You want to find people who when given a task or a project, say 'yes, I can do that, and any parts that I don't know how to do right now, I will figure out'.  Having employees who take the ball and run with it, rather than needing to be hand-led through every step, makes life so much easier for the manager, and also just gets more done!  To find for can-do attitude, look for work projects or outside hobbies where they have taken initiative, ask applicants to complete screening tasks before hand, and get them doing real work during their interview so you can see how they react when on their toes.  A good retail sales person can be helpful and work the floor in any store, even if they don't know the product line (although you also want to find someone who has a special interest in your product line and your company's line of business.)

Although remember that being happy and can-do doesn't mean always in agreement - you want to find hires that who will get along well with their boss and co-workers, but who will fill any voids in the organization's skill sets, values, or priorities, which sometimes leads to differences of opinion on what's important.  A good leader can recognize where their weaknesses are (both personal and within their team), and hire people to step into those gaps, in order to fulfill on the organization's full mission.

When hiring staff, can a resume and a cover letter really tell you how a person will be able to do the job?  

No, the resume and cover letter may give you as the hiring manager a starting point, but I feel like it's best to try to get candidates to self-select based on their interest in your company and the specific position, and then to engage them in as much of a real-job experience as you can so that you can see how they perform, and they can also see how the company culture is and what would be expected of them.  Remember that a job interview goes both ways - you're trying to find the best person for the job, and the applicant is trying to find the best job for their talents and interests.

So how do you get applicants to self-select?  One way is to put some specific questions in the job description that the applicants have to answer in addition to just sending in their resume and cover letter.  (Oh, and obviously tailoring their cover letter to your company and the position is another way that they self-select.)  You can also do a first-round set of questions that you send to everyone who applies (see the email below sent automatically to the over 700 resumes we received for filling my administrative director position at Innovations Academy in 2009).  Iridescent Learning also has a screening task for all of their positions, which is actually much more involved than just answering a few questions.  Check out their blog post on why & how they screen.   (On a slightly unrelated note, their stage #4 is very important to realize as your organization grows & scales - no one is perfect, we're all just people.)

After the initial self-selection, you'll have narrowed the field down, but you still want to meet applicants in person.  If you still have quite a few interesting people, you may want to do a phone interview first, especially if a portion of their job consists of speaking on the phone (sales, customer service, etc).  For the in-person interview, try to figure out a way to incorporate them into a few real company tasks that would be part of their job description.  If someone is a teacher, have them teach a lesson.  If someone is a retail sales associate, have them work the floor.  If someone is a marketer, have them create a PR piece.  When I was hiring my replacement at Innovations Academy, I had the top applicants come in to shadow me for an hour and also tour the school and sit in on a classroom (see the email below that I sent to help the applicants understand our hiring process).

Some may argue that creating a high barrier to entry will discourage qualified applicants, but I think that anyone who is interested enough in your company and the specific position that you're hiring for won't mind jumping through a few hoops and in fact will probably enjoy it because they're (in theory) doing work that they're excited about for a company that they want to spend time with.  And that's what you want - remember you're not just interviewing to find someone who can do the job...  You're interviewing to find someone who will create immense value for your company and who will have fun doing it!  :-)


EXAMPLES:

Email sent to the over 700 applicants for one position...

Thank you for responding to our Innovations Academy office/admin coordinator position Craigslist ad!  We have had a ton of responses - too many to really read through all of the resumes and cover letters!  So we're going to let you self-select if you are really truly interested in the position.  Here is the link to our ad if you need to remind yourself of what job you applied for.  http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/edu/951882513.html

At the end of this email, you will find some questions about you, the position, and your interest in the position.  Please answer the questions thoroughly, using the style of writing, grammar, and punctuation that you would use on the job.  Send the questions with your answers back to us by email, but change the subject line to say "YES, I am very interested in working at Innovations!"

Thank you!
-Teresa :-)
The Current Admin Director
Innovations Academy
www.innovationsacademy.org

A few basic tips on your job search...
-Write something in the body of your email which shows that you actually read more than the title of the job posting.  Hiring managers don't want to have to open your cover letter or resume.
-Do a little bit of research - say something about the company that interests you!  Most companies want to hire someone who really wants to work at that specific company, not someone who just needs a job.
-If the job posting has specific requirements in the ad, make sure that you address all of the requirements in your email, cover letter, or resume.  Don't leave the hiring manager wondering if you can do the job.
-Be sure that your resume and cover letter are in .doc or .pdf format - remember that not all computers can open .wps and .docx files!


Email Interview Questions:  (There are no right or wrong answers - only answers that are true to you!)
1) What are some of the things that you enjoy about yourself?  What hobbies/interests do you have?

2) Why are you interested in working at Innovations Academy?

3) Please describe your work/volunteer/life experiences with children ages 5-13 and parents.  What do you like about these ages?  What don't you like about these ages?

4) Please describe your work/volunteer/life experiences with managing an office.  What is your style of organization?  What system(s) do you use to keep track of what needs to be done?

5) We also have an office assistant who would be under your direction.  Please describe your work/volunteer/life experience with supervising people.  What do you like about managing people?  What don't you like about managing people?

6) You realize on Friday around noon that you are not going to be able to finish your workload to an important deadline on Monday morning.  What would you do?

7) Which part of the job description do you feel least confident about being able to do or handle?

8) As the school receptionist and the person who handles new applications, you will often have to "sell" the school.  What are some of the selling points for our school?  How do you feel personally about these aspects of our school?

9) How do you deal with change?  Do you need to have your schedule laid out weeks in advance?  Or do you like having new tasks come up at the last minute?

10) How will Innovations Academy benefit from hiring you as our new administrative coordinator?

Thank you for responding to these questions!  I hope that they brought some insight into yourself and what you want out of a job.  :-)


Email to the top 20 or so applicants who made it to the real-job experience stage of the interviewing process...

We have received over 700 resumes from our Craigslist ad, and over 250 responses to the questions.  We have narrowed it down to the top 20 or so applicants, and you have made the cut!   :-)  (I feel like we're in American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance!)

We would like to invite you to be part of our interview process described below.  I'm hoping that this process will be fun and enlightening for you, so that this can be a productive use of your time even if we don't end up offering you a job with our school.  We are big on making sure that the people we hire want to work for us as much as we want them - so if at any point during this process, anything rubs you the wrong way or you start feeling like this might not be right for you, please self-select yourself out.  We don't want someone in this position who is taking the job because they need the money - we want someone who is passionate about our school, our kids, and their job.  :-)

Before I tell you about the interview process, let me tell you some more about the job so you know what you would be getting yourself into... (Some of these things may change as we are in the middle of re-delegating tasks to our whole administrative staff, but you should be prepared to do all of the following.)
-FIRST PERSON AT SCHOOL:  Open up school before 7:30am, and deal with any "fires" that may come up before the directors arrive.
-ATTENDANCE: Make sure that teachers complete attendance, enter it into Zangle (District software), run reports, etc.
-ENROLLMENT: Ensure that all enrolled students have completed all forms, maintain enrollment database, maintain cumulative folders, etc.
-APPLICATIONS: Keep track of applications/waitlisted students, give tours, answer questions, etc.
-RECEPTIONIST: Answer the phone, answer emails, deal with walk-ins, and answer or direct all inquiries.
-SUPPLY CLERK: Order office supplies, school supplies, snacks, etc.
-NURSE: Put on band-aids, give out ice packs, call parents, etc  -- also maintain immunization and health records for all students
-FIRE FIGHTER/COORDINATOR: Help with anything and everything that comes up around school, including talking with students, working with the Kroc Center, etc.

Ok, on to the interview process...  We've found that doing the regular interview (interviewer and interviewee just talking with each other) is not often the best way to figure who is going to really be able to handle the job, so we are going to do a real-life, throw-you-into-the-pit interview process.  :-)

We're asking you to come in for a two hour block sometime the week of Dec 15th-19th.  During this interview block, you will spend about an hour with our kids in the classroom and about an hour with me.  We'll talk, I'll give you some actual tasks to do, you'll see what happens in our classrooms, etc.  We can't offer any financial compensation for this time, only children's smiles and maybe a band-aid and a granola bar!

Please let me know your top 3 choices from the following days and times (I'm going out of town for this weekend, so I probably will not get back to about when to come for sure until Sunday night or Monday morning):

Wednesday 8-10am, 10-12noon, 12-2pm
Thursday 8-10am, 10-12noon, 12-2pm
Friday 8-10am, 10-12noon, 12-2pm

Also please respond with your cell phone number (or the best number to reach you) so if I have to reschedule your appointment for some reason, I can get a hold of you.

Thank you so much!  
-Teresa :-)
The Current Admin Coordinator
Innovations Academy

Getting other people to support you is critical to growing bigger and making a bigger impact.  You can't do it all yourself.  And all the better if the people are helping because they are passionate about the vision, rather than just doing a job.  "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and
work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." -  Antoine de Saint Exupéry  :-)

Educational Opportunities for Maternity Stores
Published in Maternity Boutique / Baby Shop Magazine 

In these economic times, we are all looking for new and different ways to get more customers in our doors and create more sales. Expectant and new moms are always looking for more information about how to take care of themselves and their baby, so one wonderful way to survive and thrive is to turn your boutique into a support and educational center as well. 

Many boutiques would love to have educational opportunities for their customers, but the owners aren't quite sure how to go about starting the classes or events. You might not be sure that it's really a good idea or worth the effort. Or you might not know what kind of classes or workshops would be good to offer. Or maybe you're wondering who do you get to teach or lead the group, and also where are you going to hold the classes.


WHY?
Adding educational opportunities to your boutique will...

-Get your store to be seen as “the expert”. People like to shop with businesses that they know and trust. By providing providing high quality information and support, your boutique can gain that trust and thus repeat business!

-Bring more foot traffic through your doors! Advertising for a class or workshop will bring in new moms who might not have come in just for your merchandise. A support group might get some previous customers to come back to your store – and it will keep them coming back! A group that meets weekly at your store means that you'll have customers coming in and walking past your product displays every week!

-Increase your sales – both directly and indirectly! By charging fees for your classes, you can get more money from your existing customers as well as from those customers who might bargain shop for material goods, but be willing to pay for information and support . And whether or not you charge for that education, more customers coming in will likely equal more product sales. Also during your classes, the teachers or presenters can make recommendations for specific brands and items that you carry.

-Increase profits! Educational opportunities can have a lower cost of goods sold than your products. In the beginning when classes are smaller, sometimes the class tuition will barely pay for the teacher, but after the classes get going and get full, a lot of that tuition money will go straight to your bottom line!

-Differentiate your boutique from the big box stores and the online competition. Most likely, if they went looking, your customers could find the products that you sell somewhere else for cheaper. However, they can't get the face-to-face, personalized education and support at a large chain or from a website. Having classes & workshops really makes your boutique special and can become part of your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

-Allow you to help your moms even more! While increasing profits is definitely a good thing, many of us got into this business because we really care about moms and babies. By having workshops and support groups at your boutique in addition to providing the products that expectant and new moms need, you will be making so much more of a difference in your customers' lives and the lives of their babies!

WHAT?
There are many different ways that you can educate and support your customers. You might want to start with just one of these options, and perhaps eventually offer many more as your clientele starts to see you as the place to go for education and support.

-Ongoing Classes: These activity-based classes are held every week at the same time. Customers can pay on a drop-in basis, or sign up for a series. Possibilities include: Prenatal Yoga, Prenatal Pilates, Mommy&Baby Yoga, Mommy Bootcamp, Baby Music, Toddler Art, Toddler Dance

-Support Groups: These groups could either be run as drop-ins or as sessions of a specific length (such as 6 weeks). Possibilities include: Pregnancy Support, Breastfeeding Support, General New Mom Support grouped based on baby age, Working Mom Support (on the weekend or in the evenings), Second Time Mom Support, New Parents (Couples) Support, New Dad Support

-Workshops: These informational workshops could be held once a month or however often you can fill a class. Possibilities include: Childbirth Education (Birthing From Within, Bradley Method, Hypnobirthing, One-Day Intensive, etc), How to Breastfeed, Newborn Care, Infant CPR & First Aid, Attachment Parenting, Infant Sleep Issues, Cloth Diapering, Babywearing


WHO?

-You! Many owners start by just looking into their own areas of expertise. Maybe you got into this business because you're a doula or a lactation consultant or a nurse. Even if you don't have any specific credentials related to pregnancy or babies, you probably have a lot of life experience that you could share with expectant or new moms. What are you passionate about? What made you get into this business? If you can't think of anything that you could teach, ask your employees, family, or friends – they'll probably come up with lots of ideas! This is an easy first step to try out adding education into your boutique's mix.

-Instructors you hire. If you want to offer classes outside of your expertise, or you don't want to commit yourself to teaching a class every week because you know that you'll have boutique business to deal with, you can find outside instructors to teach for you. You would often pay them a set rate for teaching the class or workshop. And while they would be responsible for preparing for & teaching the class, you and the boutique would be responsible for advertising the classes and enrolling students. This approach gives you more control over getting the customers' information (to add to your database), as well as allows you to make more money if you're able to fill the classes.

-Outside businesses you rent space to. You could also partner up with other related local businesses to promote both of your products and services. Businesses such as Cord Blood Banking, Fertility Doctors, Family Lawyers, etc, could hold a workshop at your boutique – they get more visibility with your clientele, and you get payment for the use of your space and/or mailing list. You could also do partnerships with ongoing classes in this format, such as having a local stroller fitness group start their walks at your boutique. By having the other business handle almost all of the logistics (advertising, enrollment, possible payment), it can cut down on headaches for you, but it also means that you don't have as much control.

WHERE?
You're probably thinking, well these educational opportunities all sound great, but where the heck am I going to fit all these moms?

-Classroom Space. Obviously the best solution would be to have a big enough, empty room that you can hold the classes in. If you're just starting out, you can look for a retail space that can be sectioned off into boutique area and classroom area (ideally where customers have to walk through the boutique and past your merchandise to get to the classroom), but for those of us with pre-existing boutiques, it's not as easy. Perhaps you can clear out a storage room and use it for classes – or if there's an empty store next to yours, maybe work with your landlord to see if you can use the space sometimes (and if your classes take off, maybe expansion would be a good idea!)

-Clear off the Retail Floor. If you don't have an extra room to use, sometimes you can clear off enough of your retail floor to fit in chairs or yoga mats or whatever you need for the class. If you are able to put your fixtures on wheels, you can move them more easily. Also you could offer classes only before or after the store is open – thus changing between an educational space and a boutique as the need arises.

-Outside the Store. If you don't have enough space inside, look outside! Is there enough sidewalk space out front or perhaps enough parking lot space in back to have a group of moms? Obvious this wouldn't work for a day-long birthing intensive, but for an hour workshop about introducing solid foods, setting up some chairs and blankets outside could be perfect! You'll want to check with your landlord about any restrictions, but if you hold your event at a time when it won't impede any traffic outside your store, hopefully your landlord will be in favor of attracting more customers!

-Off-Site. If you just can't figure out how to hold the classes at your boutique, you still can offer sponsored educational opportunities at another location. You could rent a room at a local hotel or business center, or possibly even use someone's house. The downside of this approach is that you're not bringing the customers to your boutique and they won't see your products – but you'll still be helping & supporting your clientele as well as getting your name out as an educational expert.

While there are definitely lots of options to consider in starting educational opportunities at your boutique, the best option is just to pick one class or workshop and do it! Don't get held up thinking and deciding – just pick one and go for it! The sooner you start, the sooner you'll have more business!


Editorial provided by Teresa Gonczy, owner of A Mother's Haven in Encino, CA. A Mother's Haven is a maternity & baby boutique and educational center that supports moms from preconception through preschool with classes, workshops, and groups. Learn more about the store at www.shopthehaven.com Teresa also consults with small store owners to help them create the business of their dreams. Email her at teresa@shopthehaven.com for more information about how you can love owning your store!