Principal Resume Example & Writing Guide
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Principals oversee daily school operations, implementing policies and working to provide a productive educational environment. Duties for this position can include staff scheduling, setting and maintaining high educational standards, budget management and supervising faculty and staff.
The right candidate for the job should possess a problem-solving attitude, analytical thinking, leadership qualities and exceptional communication skills. Our guide to crafting an effective resume for a principal will help you make the most of your expert leadership and communication skills.
Start by editing this principal resume sample, or explore our library of resume templates to find the best principal resume template for you.
Principal resume sample (text version)
Nicholas Martin
Watertown, SD 57201
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Organizational leader and educational administrator offering 15 years of experience as an educator and principal for middle and high schools. Exercises honed competencies in development, implementation and execution of performance-enhancing programs. Outstanding skills in parent communication, conflict resolution and staff management. Known for consistently supporting faculty and staff as an advocate leader.
Work History
July 2016 – Current
McKinley High School – Watertown, SD
PRINCIPAL
- Make significant contributions to the school’s number one, district-wide ranking.
- Hire and organize orientation for new teachers and staff.
- Serve as primary speaker during assemblies and rallies, overseeing announcements and performances.
August 2012 – June 2016
Roosevelt Middle School – Watertown, SD
PRINCIPAL
- Observed and evaluated 30 teachers in a classroom environment every year.
- Met with parents to discuss students’ academic performance and high school readiness.
- Established after-school study program; provided on-campus supervision two days per week.
January 2008 – August 2012
Lincoln High School – Watertown, SD
VICE PRINCIPAL
- Directed and organized weekly meetings with all 245 faculty and staff members.
- Provided chaperone supervision during dances, sporting events and other school events.
- Collaborated with school counselors and district administrators to advise and support excessively truant or lower-performing students.
Skills
- School event coordination
- Microsoft Word and Excel
- Teacher and student development
- Curriculum development
- Safety and security procedures
- Group facilitation and presentations
Education
University Of South Dakota SD
Master of Arts Education Administration
Dakota State University – SD
Bachelor of Arts Education
Certifications
- South Dakota Principal Certification (2007-current)
- South Dakota Teacher Certification (2004-current)
5 essentials of a top principal resume
Contact details
Add your contact information to the top of your resume; otherwise, hiring managers won’t know how to contact you for an interview. Display your contact information like so: Your full name, then your city, state and ZIP code, followed by your phone number and professional email address. Add your LinkedIn profile and professional website (if you have them) last.
Personal statement
A personal statement is also known as a professional summary. This is where you introduce yourself and highlight your top qualifications for the job in three to five sentences.
A principal resume must include a professional summary with appropriate skills and one or two notable accomplishments, and it should touch on how long you’ve been in the industry.
For example, “Professional, forward-thinking principal with 12 years of experience in school leadership, curriculum development and motivating students towards high achievements.” If you are just starting your career, use a school principal resume objective instead.
Skills
You’ve got to let potential employers know what skills you bring to the table. Include both practical skills (such as “curriculum planning,” “financial administration,” or “employee management and goal-setting”) as well as interpersonal skills (such as “critical thinking,” “public speaking skills” or “time management”).
Create a separate section for your job-relevant skills and display them with bullet points to make them easy to read. Our principal resume sample includes technical, hard and soft skills.
Work history
Your resume must include an employment history section, whether or not you have professional experience as a principal.
In reverse-chronological order, list current and previous employers and provide business names, locations and the dates you worked for each. Include three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list.
For example, if the potential job emphasizes instructional techniques, feature your experiences in this area, e.g., “Implemented instructional techniques using the latest technology to increase student pass rates by 10%.”
If you’re applying for your first job as a principal, it’s acceptable to highlight relevant extracurricular activities, coursework, presentations, volunteer experience and community service.
Education
Hiring managers want to see your education credentials, so a principal resume must include an education section.
List your highest qualification (e.g., master’s degree in education) along with any other important training or certifications you have, such as School Administrator and Supervisor (SAS) certification or a Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) certificate.
Add all the educational institutions you’ve attended after high school and display the names of the schools and the years that you graduated in reverse-chronological order using bullet points.
If you did not attend college, list your high school information and the classes you’ve taken since graduating.
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Action words for a standout principal resume
Action words strengthen resumes because they tell the hiring manager exactly what you did and convey confidence. Use them with numbers to make a more substantial impact.
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a principal resume:
- Educate
- Review
- Operate
- Handle
- Communicate
- Collaborate
- Assess
- Facilitate
- Prepare
- Maintain
Want more inspiration? We have 800+ resume examples to help you create the perfect resume for a principal job.
Top skills for a principal resume
Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to the skills and traits that fit you.
Some skills to put on a resume for principal:
- Contract negotiation
- Education administration
- Curriculum planning
- Student safety
- Academic progress tracking
- Mentoring
- Classroom evaluation
- Budget management
- Grant proposal writing
- Hiring and recruiting
- Leadership
- Written and verbal communication
- Delegation
- Problem-solving
- Reasoning
- Collaboration
- Persuasion
Need the perfect sample principal resume now? Our Resume Builder has all the tools you need to craft a professional resume in minutes! You can make edits as you go, download your finished resume and save it in multiple file formats. It’s so easy!
Certifications for a principal resume
To become a principal, you will need a legitimate certification. Having at least one certificate on your resume will show hiring managers that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to perform specific tasks required for the job.
The following certifications can boost your resume:
- Teaching certificate (specific requirements vary by state)
- Principal certification
- Administrator certificate
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Principal resume FAQ
1. What does a principal resume look like?
There is no standard resume format or template for a principal resume. We offer a variety of chronological, functional and combination resume templates to choose from so that you can pick the format that effectively highlights your skills and experiences.
A good resume for a principal will look much like the principal resume sample on this page and will contain the job seeker’s contact information, skills, employment history, education and certifications, if applicable. A principal resume might also contain sections for awards and honors if the job candidate has them to display.
2. What to put under skills on a resume for a principal?
A resume for a principal should only include skills that are relevant to the job and fit the job applicant’s true skill set. Review principal resume examples for ideas on how to display your skills on your principal resume.
Zero in on your key skills in the work experience section of your resume, and describe a top accomplishment or two that shows you’re the right person for the job.
For example: “Diligent high school principal with expertise in collaborating with administrators to improve academic progress. Successfully implemented programs that improved student achievement and cognitive growth.”
3. What are some tips for creating an excellent resume for a principal job?
Not all resumes are created equal. Here are our top tips for crafting a perfect principal resume:
- Add separate sections for extra training, certifications, licenses and awards.
- Keep your resume short and to the point. If you have less than 10 years of experience, it should be one page long; if you have more than 10 years of experience, then it’s acceptable to have no more than two pages.
- Use keywords from the job description in your principal resume work experience section to pass ATS screening.
- Ensure your resume is formatted correctly, meaning margins should be one inch on all sides and line space should be single or 1.5 inches.
- Only use appropriate fonts, like Times New Roman, Arial or Helvetica, in 11-12 points on the body and 14-16 points on headers.
- Proofread your resume more than once before sending it to potential employers.
4. Do I need to customize my resume for each position?
Each job will have different requirements, so make sure you update your resume each time to match. For example, if the job stresses hiring and coaching teachers, provide an example in the work history section of your proficiency in this area, or list “teacher hiring and management” as a skill.
5. How do I quantify my achievements for a principal resume?
Explain your achievements in previous jobs using measurable terms, such as stats and numbers. This not only sets you apart from generic resumes but also lets recruiters clearly understand your abilities.
For example: “Managed 22 teachers, improving performance with timely, relevant feedback,” or “Reduced student misconduct by 50% in the first year as principal.”
6. How do you incorporate keywords in your resume?
Browse through the job posting to pinpoint key phrases that tie closely with the recruiter’s requirements, such as “project-based and experiential learning curriculum,” “building student support systems” or “relationship building.”
Address these keywords in every section of your resume. For example, you could list “relationship and consensus building” as a skill or write about a work experience in which you successfully instituted a project-based learning curriculum.
7. How do you include action verbs in a principal resume?
Instead of passive phrases such as “was responsible for,” use action-based verbs when describing your work accomplishments.
For example, write “Interviewed, hired and managed 15 teachers” rather than “Responsible for interviewing, hiring and managing teachers.”
Some other action verbs you can use include executed, pioneered, oversaw, streamlined, organized, facilitated, planned and implemented.
Do’s and don’ts for building a principal resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your principal abilities and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your principal resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target principal job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your principal resume.
- Format your principal resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your principal experience and skills.
- Boast about your principal experience and skills.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to being a principal.
- Forget to proofread!
Top 4 tips for acing a principal interview
Learn about the school.
It’s vital to take the time to learn about the school’s goals, values and personnel before the job interview. Doing so conveys interest, passion and commitment — traits that can set you above the competition. Plus, a glimpse of the school culture early on will help you know what to expect and can boost your confidence.
Practice at home.
Practice really does make perfect. To practice for your interview, start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- What Do You See Yourself Doing in 10 Years?
- What’s Your Proudest Accomplishment?
- Why Did You Choose This Career?
Possible behavioral questions include:
- Why Should We Hire You Over Other Candidates
- Tell me About a Time When You Were Forced to Think on your Feet
- Tell Me About a Time When You Had To Cope With a Stressful Situation
Write down two or three possible answers as you review potential questions, then review them with a friend or a family member in a mock interview so you can get comfortable with the questions and memorize your answers.
Gather references.
You’ll need professional references quickly if the hiring manager offers you the job after the interview. Having them ready will save you stress and time, so prepare a list of two former colleagues and a former manager who are willing to speak to your abilities to perform the job of a principal and who you know will give you a stellar review.
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Sources
- Learn.org. Article. How Do I Earn a Principal Certification?
- Resilient Educator. Article. School Principal: Job, Education and Salary Information
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Elementary, Middle, and High School Principals
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Principal Resume Example
Elizabeth is a content writer for My Perfect Resume. She is passionate about delivering information that empowers job seekers to achieve their professional goals.