Each December, Rustic Pathways begins a rigorous four-month program leader hiring process of narrowing a pool of more than 1,000 Program Leader candidates to just a few hundred.
With over half of our Program Leaders returning year after year, the positions available to new hires are highly selective. Our leaders are expected to be mentors, teachers, caregivers, and risk managers—all at once. This four-month process ensures we select the best possible people to work with your teen and our community partners.
Here is our step-by-step program leader hiring process:
1. Screening: Experience and Certifications
The Rustic Pathways Program Staffing Team reads every single application, including résumés, short-answer questions, and copies of relevant certifications. This phase assesses whether candidates demonstrate the passion to carry out Rustic Pathways’ vision.
We highly prioritize:
- Experience working with high school students.
- Extensive experience living or traveling abroad.
- Possessing unique skills such as speaking Swahili or Burmese.
- Being certified as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) or a licensed nurse.
Once past the initial screening, candidate applications are sent to the Country Teams where the candidate may be best suited.
2. Interviews: Assessing Real-Life Response
If the Country Team agrees that the candidate is a good match, a minimum of two video interviews are conducted with various members of the Country Team.
These interviews assess energy, authenticity, passion, and adaptability. Candidates participate in role-plays to measure real-life response and engagement and answer questions about how they would handle complex scenarios from real service trips.
3. Matching: Skills and Program Fit
If both the Staffing Team and the Country Team determine that a candidate possesses the necessary skills, experience, and passion, the candidate is matched to a program.
Rustic Pathways prioritizes hiring adaptable, versatile leaders to meet our promised 7:1 student-to-leader ratio (in practice, we deliver a verified 4.37:1 ratio). For example, a candidate with experience teaching Spanish and traveling in Costa Rica might be placed in an immersion program there.
4. References and Background Check (The Final Gatekeepers)
Before completing the hiring process, Rustic Pathways conducts thorough checks:
- Detailed Reference Checks: We contact former employers and ask detailed questions about past performance, how candidates handle specific situations, and any reservations about employing that person to work with teens.
- Official Background Checks: Official background checks are conducted as the final required step before an offer is extended.