I WANT TO BE PRINCIPAL

1. I WANT TO BE PRINCIPAL

2. Steps to become a principal • 1. Two or more years as teacher. • 2. Master’s Degree and certification. • 3. Develop resume • 4. Complete application • 5. Letter to HR • 6. Letter of interest

3. Steps to become a principal • Develop a resume • Heading needs to grab reader • Education • Certification • Experience • All current to earliest

4. Steps to become a principal • Application • Most are on line • Watch spelling • Watch grammar • Professional email address • Dependable contacts—good phone numbers

5. Steps to become principal • Letter to Human Resources or Personnel Department • Statement of completion • Special items of interest

6. Steps to become a principal • Letter of Interest • Letter of Intent • Narrative of your resume. Keep it brief. Follow district instructions. If they request page—you will write page.

7. Steps to become a principal • Prepare a CD to leave with the committee.

8. You Have the Interview Don’t Flub It

9. You Have The Interview • Internet—April 13, 2005 • Adapted by Dr. Harold L. Smith

10. A weak handshake • Your handshake means a lot about you. • Strong, firm handshake. • Limp, weak, hesitant—tells interviewer that you are unsure of yourself.

11. No Eye Contact • Look your interviewer in the eyes • No eye contact=lack of confidence, uninterested • Look your interviewer in the third eye if more comfortable • Third Eye? Space between the eyes.

12. Answer Overkill • Important points will be lost if you talk too much. • Keep your answers focused and on topic. • Limit your responses to a couple of minutes. • You don’t want to bore the interviewer

13. One-Word Answers • Too much talking will turn your interviewer off. One word answers will do the same. • An interview is a conversation • Be able to elaborate and answer questions intelligently. • One word responses indicate lack of confidence, lack of interest or conceded.

14. Interrupting the Interviewer • Nobody wants to be interrupted • Interrupting the interviewer what you have to say is more important than what they are saying.

15. Candidate Misrepresentation • No padded resumes • Be able to back up your resume • Be able to back up your comments about experience • Don’t claim to be a perfectionist if there are typos or spelling errors on your resume • Demonstrate that you have enough credibility to get the job done.

16. Arriving Late • What can be said? • Late=I am not interested in the position. • Late=My time is more important than your time. • Arrange to arrive early • Have a phone contact if you run into trouble. • Call if you will be late.

17. Knowing Nothing about the School • Study the AEIS, AYP reports • Study the Campus Improvement Plan • Be able to discuss the desired areas of growth for the campus • If you know nothing about the school, it will appear you are not really interested.

18. Ultra-Causal Conversation • Interview is a professional situation • Leave slang at home—”you know, um, like, sucks” • Answer questions in an acceptable language • Don’t be sucked in by the interviewers slang

19. Watch for Word Ticks • Monitor and ask friends to point out any annoying habits. Pay attention to how many times you tend to overused phrases such as ‘you know”‘kind of” and “like”

20. Use Simple Declarative Sentences Avoid starting with “I think” or following up with question remarks such as ‘right’ or ‘see.’

21. Soften blunt yes/no answers by adding clarification “Yes, I know Marshall” or “No, I haven’t had that opportunity.”

22. Take Your Time Speak just a bit slower than you usually do and concentrate on your words. You will seem more thoughtful, and you may avoid some of the pitfalls listed earlier.

23. Be Prepared If you’re preparing for a specific presentation, speech or interview, take time to rehearse what you want to say. Tape record your practice sessions so that you can hear any problems.

24. Do Your Homework • Know what the job will entail? • What are the school’s strengths? • What are the school’s desired areas of growth? • What will you bring to that position that will cause you to be the correct person for the job?

25. Follow up • After the interview, send a card of thanks for the opportunity to interview. • Few days later send a card stating you are available if they need additional information.

26. Words That Can Hurt Your Resume Adapted by Dr. Harold L. Smith May 2006 Source http://jobs.aol.com

27. These words may be useful as you develop your resume and/or during an interview. Be aware the individuals that look at your resume and/or interview you may look at these words differently than you intended.

28. Aggressive • Try a brief statement that shows you can take a responsibly and ‘run with it.’ • “I successfully led our team to use the collected data to adjust our instructional program for our science students.”

29. Ambitious • Ambition can get in the way of seeing the big picture. A weak administrator may view this as saying, “I expect to have your job in two years.”

30. Competent • Competent does not say anything. You may be competent in your mind but how can you demonstrate that competency? • Give a brief example of how you approached a task and was successful.

31. Logical • Is being logical what is needed? Being logical can get in the way of completing a task. The task needs to be completed—not analyzed. • Do you waste time being logical instead of being a doer?

32. Motivated • Again a word that is over used. “I can motivate my students.” • How, what do you do?

33. Meticulous • Another way of saying detail-oriented. How much time can you waste being meticulous?

34. People person • Do you spend all of your time talking? • Kids are people • Are you a listener or a talker?

35. Professional • Define professional

36. Creative • Some may see creative as meaning you are a performer and not a producer. • “I have developed my beginning class activities so that students do not want to be late for my classes.”

37. Detail-oriented • Your principal may be detail-oriented and needs a person that can develop the big picture—someone that can think out of the box. • “AP, give me a picture of the finished project and I will provide the details.” • Two detail-oriented administrators may never see the big picture.

38. Determined • Determined what? • To have your job • To run the school • To be liked by everyone • To ………………

39. Efficient • Efficient at what? • Wasting time • Developing reports that are not needed

40. Experienced • Are your experiences in the field that is needed? • An experienced roofer may not be what the campus needs.

41. Excellent written communication skills • I wrote a jargon-free User Guide for ARD members.

42. Flexible • I can touch my toes • I once did the splits • I can accept both sides of an issue

43. Goal-oriented • Today this is the most over worked statement. • Discuss how you set goals—how you measure goals

44. Hard-working • You have seen those you would consider hard working but they never completed a task. Is that what the interviewer is thinking?

45. Independent • “No one tells me what to do. I am my own person.” • “I will take a task you give me and begin working on the task. I know you will want me to tell you in 2-3 days the progress I am making.”

46. Knowledgeable • How are you going to demonstrate this fact? • All of us have areas where our knowledge is great than it is in other areas.

47. Reliable • Give examples of how you meet responsibilities placed on you. I know individuals that are reliable. They are reliable to grip, to complain, to be late.

48. Self-motivated • Do you mean you work in isolation? • Are you afraid of people? • Do not take instructions well?

49. Successful • Define successful

50. Team Player • This is also a term used too often. Sometimes we do not need a team player. We need someone that will take a step away from the team to challenge them.