Having hired directors, the most important things I'm looking for are the needs of the program. If I know I need someone who has a strong background in clarinets, that's where my focus is first and foremost. Then, I narrow down the list of people that meet that need. I contact references to talk about these people and then ask the best candidates based on the reference talks to come and have an interview. If the interview goes well and there's a genuine spark it might be time to hire right then and there. If there's a little bit of a spark but we know there's other good people to listen to as well, we might do some more digging and see what we find. Ultimately, schools want to find the best fit. Personality matters and that's a tough one in education. We all have egos in the fine arts. How will they mesh? Will they be a good partner with our administration and meet the goals of what the board and upper admin want with the program? How will they be perceived by the community? There's a lot that goes into it. I've also been at the point where I wanted to hire and I had to wait and then the candidate is gone because another school took that person. That HURTS when you're the head director trying to fill your staff out with the best people. Just wanted to elaborate and say that it's not one thing or "just knowing people" that gets you jobs. Knowing people is also known as networking. That's an important skill.