Finding employees is not usually a problem; most of our employees were high school kids, with an exception of the party supervisors and summer camp coordinator. Occasionally, we would pick up some college kids at career days around local campuses. It always worked out well with their schedules – after all our busiest times are on the weekends when school is out, and they made great tips. Also, keep in mind you’ll want to have a couple of adults present besides your regular employees when hosting teen nights at your jump center.

When getting the word out about your jump center, it’s easy to find your first employees, just let people know you’re officially looking for employees. Additionally, many of you have family members with kids, (if not your own), old enough to work, and of course they tell all their friends about it and now you have several potential employees you’ll need to interview – just follow the 7 easy steps below.

1. Interview in Groups

I found it easiest to set up group interviews of about five or six potential hires at a time. This only applies to your cake room and jump room attendants of course, if you’re hiring a manager or party supervisor interview them individually. Group interviews save you time and money. I always reserved two different days and times and let the potential hires decide which day they show up. This prevents you from having to take time out of your day every time you have one applicant show up for an interview.

2. Interview in Cakerooms

I always used the cake room as a meeting room for the group interviews. The office was always a little too cluttered and there just wasn’t enough seating anyway. On the day of the interviews, while we wait a few minutes for everyone to show up, I would hand out a brief questionnaire, after that we’d jump right into the interview process. There is a simple one-page questionnaire that I’ve used included in your startup package. Start out by introducing yourself and briefly state what your jump center is all about. Next, ask everyone to state their name, and start asking questions.

3. Ask the Right Questions

It’s a good idea to ask questions that can tell you more about the character of the person you’re interviewing instead of simple yes and no questions, which many will answer based on what they consider to better their chances of getting the job in the first place. Questions like, “Do you have any younger siblings?” “Do you play any sports?” “Have you babysat or coached before?” can tell you a lot about the person, and if they’ll get along great with kids at your jump center and whether they will actively play with the kids in the jump rooms.

Standard questions to include during the interview:

• How will you get to work if hired?
• Do you have any younger siblings?
• Have you worked with kids before?
• Can you pass a drug screening?
• Do you have any other jobs currently?
• Are you comfortable speaking to a parent?

To keep the interview a little more interesting, and learn more about the potential hires:

• What are your hobbies?
• What is the most interesting or unique thing about you?

You don’t need to ask the same question to everyone in the group if you don’t feel its necessary. At the end make sure you allow the interviewees to ask any questions they may have about the job or the company. Next you should tell everyone when you’ll be making the decision and when to expect a call back.

4. Find the Most Outgoing Employee

When it comes to birthday parties, your employees are there to generate fun and excitement. We always asked the parents how well the staff did before closing out the bill. It’s usually not that tough to spot out the more outgoing and outspoken individuals, but one way is by stating a question and asking who would like to answer the question first instead of calling on the interviewees. Another way is looking at the length of their responses. You will quickly notice the difference between more conversational replies and one or two word replies. Your employees should be comfortable enough to communicate with the parent, especially the cake room attendants. Our parties were structured in such a way that a different attendant worked the jump and the cake portion of the party. When asking new hires if they have a preference, you’ll quickly find out most guys feel more comfortable working the jump portion of the party.

5. Make the Decision

I always start with the most energetic and outgoing individuals first. If everything checks out, they get the job. I also always give a chance to several others who have the potential and we see how it goes. Keep in mind, for some, this may be their very first job, so make sure everyone received proper training – don’t assume they’ll know exactly how you want things done. All new hires get a two-week trial period.

Look back over the questionnaire make sure there is no scheduling conflicts and that the new employee will have no problems getting to and from work.

Lastly I do a quick background check – no, not the kind you pay for. I simply google the name to check if they have a public facebook, myspace or twitter account and quickly look over it. Sometimes you’ll be surprised what you will find.

6. Call Everyone Back

I always called everyone back to let them know either way. Calling back those who got the job is easy, but you should also call back those who didn’t make the cut. Keep it simple and state that you have filled all the available positions at this time, but you’ll keep their file if anything opens up in the future. Most often you’ll get a voice mail anyway, especially if you call during school hours.

7. First Day at Work

I always scheduled the new hires to come in on a Saturday for their first day to start their training, which consist of mostly shadowing someone else. When opening a new center and hiring employees for a first time, you’ll want them to show up for a full training and facility walk through before you open up to the public.

That covers the interview process! Hosting interviews was always a great experience, on the other hand at some point you’ll have to let some employees go for one reason or another, and for that reason we have a separate guide on how to fire an employee.