Hire a Great Enrollment Leader. Your School’s Future May Depend On It.
The quality of leadership recruitment and hiring processes varies tremendously across independent schools. If you want to hire first-class talent, build a first-class process. Below are six essential pillars that will help you attract and hire exceptional enrollment leaders — and strengthen your overall leadership culture in the process.
Need help preparing for your next enrollment search? Reach out anytime. 20 More Students will be glad to assess your current process or help you build a new one based on the pillars below.
Pillar #1: Speed Matters
A significant obstacle to landing exceptional enrollment talent is a search process that moves too slowly. Waiting until a full pool of candidates has emerged before moving forward is counterproductive. While some argue that such an approach ensures fairness, the reality is that top candidates rarely stay on the market long. Once you identify a promising candidate, move decisively — before another school does. Fairness should never mean forfeiting excellence.
Pillar #2: To Hire, You Have to Sell
Top enrollment talent is in high demand, and assuming that your school ‘sells itself’ is a mistake. While you wait, someone else is aggresively recruiting that same candidate. As soon as a promising candidate appears, reach out personally with a message that:
Acknowledges their experience and potential contributions to your school.
Highlights the professional satisfaction and community impact of the role.
Shares what makes your school distinctive and why you’ve chosen to work there.
Remember — this is as much a courtship as it is a selection process. The best candidates are evaluating you as much as you are evaluating them.
Pillar #3: Leverage Technology
Whether you engage a search firm or manage the process internally, technology can dramatically improve efficiency and candidate experience. Consider integrating tools such as:
Asynchronous video interviews (e.g., SparkHire) to pre-screen promising candidates efficiently.
Centralized document collection via Google Drive, Dropbox, or applicant tracking systems (ATS) like JazzHR or BreezyHR to streamline communication and recordkeeping.
Collaborative evaluation rubrics for consistent feedback from all committee members.
Pillar #4: Build a Documented, Consistent, and Thorough Process
One of the most common pitfalls in hiring is the absence of a clearly defined process. Invest the time with your leadership team to develop a structured, transparent process modeled on best practices from peer institutions. Many schools are willing to share their approach — learn from them and adapt what fits your culture. Then insist that every hiring manager follows the same steps. Yes, it takes time. But when you land exceptional talent, your team will quickly see that the effort was worth it.
Pillar #5: The Hiring Chair Selection Is Critical
Recruitment is not everyone’s favorite undertaking, so never appoint a hiring chair who doesn’t understand or value recruitment. If the chair sees this work as secondary, the search will stall and top candidates will drift away. Select someone who recognizes that, as Jim Collins wrote, ‘getting the right people in the right seats on the bus’ is the single most important leadership responsibility. A great hiring chair brings urgency, hospitality, and discernment to the process.
Pillar #6: Compensation and Courage
Finally, once and for all, compensate your enrollment leader at the level of your CFO or chief development officer. Enrollment drives tuition revenue — the lifeblood of your institution. Underpaying for this role is a false economy that costs far more in missed opportunities and lost revenue. You cannot overppay for talent. Talent will pay for itself over and over again.
Pillar #7: Do Not Settle - Ever
If you can’t find the right candidate, resist the temptation to ‘settle.’ Hire an interim, regroup, and relaunch the search. A hire who “might grow into the role” will cost your school dearly in the long run. We all know that feeling, so let’s not make that mistake again.
Schools that build hiring processes grounded in speed, intentionality, consistency, and respect attract exceptional leaders. The reward isn’t just a great hire — it’s a culture that values excellence and acts decisively to secure it.
