If all goes well, the sun is setting on our recruiting season for the year.

As we have worked to fill positions, I have been struck by the depth and quality of candidates from around the world. This year alone, we received over 100 applications for elementary teaching positions, more than 80 for a Middle School Science and Math role, and even more for leadership openings.

From the hiring side, this volume clarifies what truly matters. Progressing to interview is rarely just about capability. It is shaped by clarity. Clarity of purpose, clarity of fit, and clarity in how candidates articulate their experience across cultures, contexts, and learning communities.

The interviews that resonate most combine substance and presence. Candidates speak with specificity about their practice, imagine themselves in the role, and engage thoughtfully and warmly. Not perfection. Perspective.

As appointments are made, I am reminded that recruitment is about selecting the strongest candidates for a school’s needs at a particular moment in time. Being that successful candidate often begins with excellence in one’s current work. Showing up fully where you are has a quiet way of carrying forward into what comes next, and that consistency is often what first catches our attention.