Dig deep into your past to create a winning educational leadership resume to showcase your leadership experience and relevant career accomplishments.
Let the type of leader you are, whether transformational, visionary, or a combination, shine through. Delve into your experiences to develop relevant achievements, leadership skills, and initiatives you have demonstrated. Directly relate these career experiences to the position you want to secure. Consider the points outlined below to create an interview-worthy, job-landing resume as an educational leader.
Tips to Write a Memorable Educational Leadership Resume
Job Titles in Leadership Within Education
- School Principal
- Assistant Principal
- District Administrator
- Instructional Coordinator
- Director or Supervisor
- Dean of Students
- Dean of Faculty
- University Registrar
- Head of School
- Educational Consultant
- Board Chairperson
- Interim Principal
- Instructional Leader
- Master Teacher
- Curriculum Developer
- School Administrator
Start with An Attention Grabber/Professional Summary
A professional resume summary is your first chance to gain the reader’s attention. Use this section of your educational resume to showcase relevant skills and demonstrate to the reader what you will bring to the table.
A career summary should detail your most valuable skills and qualifications. The first line should include the years you have worked in the education field and your specialty. Bold the first line to make it stand out from the rest of the paragraph.
Keep the opening paragraph to 4-5 concise and meaningful sentences or bullet points that set the tone for the remainder of your resume. The resume profile example below summarizes the qualifications to target a school principal’s position.
Results-oriented, innovative educational professional with over 20 years of administrative leadership expertise. Committed to encouraging a continued passion for educating and mentoring students and faculty to ensure a school atmosphere that is respectful and motivating. Collaborative and resourceful facilitator fosters a school culture where mentorship, relationship building, and advocacy are essential to academic success. Empowering leader with a proven track record of increasing student achievements and directing teacher professional development—an unwavering focus on creating a supportive relationship between students, staff, parents, and the community.
Target Resume to Show Expertise
An educational leader takes an action-oriented approach to improving the overall academics and school atmosphere. Make your leadership qualities the focal point of your resume by effectively using relevant accomplishments and educational terminology.
Throughout your entire resume, you want the focus to be your expertise in leadership and education. Introduce these qualities in the professional summary. Showcase fundamental skills in the “Areas of Expertise,” “Core Competencies,” and “Areas of Strength” section. Include other leadership qualities in career achievements, community involvement, or professional development.
Secondary Resume and Cover Letter/Tailor
Do not send out a one-size-fits-all resume if you apply to several institutions or positions within a division. Differentiate yourself by communicating your unique qualifications for the position of interest.
Once you have read over the job posting for specific position requirements, you can delve into which achievements and experiences would directly correlate with that position. If you have skills to showcase your school operations and administration’s ability, highlight those skills in your resume to target a school principal’s job. The expertise you have gained from community outreach may be better suited to be the focus of your board chairperson’s resume.
A secondary resume is an excellent idea if you plan to apply for several different positions that may have detailed and specific requirements. For example, writing a resume for an educational consultant position would be different from creating one for a literacy coach position.
When writing a cover letter, try your best to tailor it to the school, district, county, or institution you are applying for. Tailoring your letter will convince the reader you have spent the extra time to create a customized note that targets the position you are applying for rather than sending out a generic letter.
Write with Meaning and Purpose – Show Personality
When creating your educational leadership resume, remember to let your personality shine through. While keeping your dictation professional in nature, you still want to give the reader a sense of who you are and make you a fabulous fit for the new position.
Make sure to review your documents to ensure they do not become repetitive. Mix up the wording, and if you feel comfortable using the thesaurus, find synonyms for words that are used too often. These familiar words could be excellent, created, or teacher, and replace those words with superb, developed, and educator.
While using wording that you are comfortable with and would typically use will allow you to stand out, why not use a more modern font style, a professional color for section headings, or a stylish border?
Your skills and qualifications will land you an interview for a leadership role in education. Remember that the decision-maker is sifting through a stack of documents, looking for something extra. Make the recipient of your resume stop and look closely at your application.
Dig Into Your Past to Uncover Accomplishments
Previous work experience is the core of any resume; personal experiences and accomplishments let you stand out from the other candidates. As a seasoned educator applying for a leadership position, it is essential to relate your skills and expertise to strategically chosen accomplishments. Going beyond strictly classroom experiences may be relevant. Have you held positions on professional committees or played an integral part in community outreach programs?
List your critical achievements in bullet point form. Highlight successful results, notable educational benchmarks, and key objectives when creating your accomplishment points. Whenever possible, utilize numerical data to support your actions. Remember that all your experiences should be in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
A great way to develop your accomplishments is to use the acronym C.A.R.: Challenge – Action – Result.
Use a “Bullet Point Formula”: Action Verb – Example – Result.
In both options, you will want to explain what you did in the position or the challenge, what action you took to overcome the problem, and the effect on the student, school division, community, etc. Showcasing your school principal leadership practices will be vital. Below are examples of accomplishment statements. Take into consideration the formatting and length of each point.
Write Relevant and Concise – Accomplishment Bullet Points Examples
School Principal:
- Developed a strong, cohesive academic team by establishing high expectations and encouraging a team approach to address school goals and issues while continually promoting creativity, respect, and innovation through professional development initiatives.
Assistant Principal:
- Actively involved in “Child Study,” consisting of a team of administrators, counselors, district special education supervisors, and social workers who meet weekly to discuss “at-risk” students; upheld the highest confidentiality while devising an action plan, i.e., referrals for special education, testing, or outside placement.
Education Consultant
- Facilitated weekly conferences for enrollment advisors on academic initiatives and training opportunities while ensuring full compliance with the school division’s student engagement strategies.
Curriculum Developer
- Collaborated with Foundation partners and colleagues to create an 8-10 Common Core-aligned curriculum to identify developmentally appropriate content by choosing strategic teaching methodologies and delivery modalities best suited to individual school and students’ needs.
Head of School
- Implemented a strategic Guided Reading program that resulted in an average 75% increase in literacy scores within one year.
School Administrator
- Facilitated expanding the school literacy program by hiring new librarians, increasing the number of student book fairs, and approving the acquisition of more library materials.
University Registrar
- Directed the conversion of an existing management information system to an online integrated database system to coincide with the change in the semester calendar for the University of 25,000 students.
Dean of Students
- Coordinated with the Advancement Office and the Music program to successfully secure a $200,000 foundation grant for new instrument purchases by effectively creating grant proposals.
Lose Extra Words or Irrelevant Information – Be Concise
While you want to explain as much as possible in your resume to land you that coveted interview and, finally, the dream job as a School Administrator or Dean of Students, you must write concisely and tailor your resume to the specific posting.
Fragmented sentences in your document are common. It isn’t necessary to include extraneous words such as ‘the’ and ‘then.’ Using too many of these words will bog down your resume and bore the reader. Get to the point of what you are saying succinctly to allow your career achievements and leadership capabilities to shine through.
Don’t include every job you have held since your teenage years. You don’t need to add your high school diploma in the education section if you have a post-secondary degree. Instead, include relevant details directly related to the position for which you wish to land an interview.
Your passion for hiking or knitting need not be included in your final draft. In the interview, you can share more about who you are as a person outside of work if it is appropriate.
If you are changing careers and may not have direct experience, utilize transferable skills and relate them to the position.
Integrate the Right Keywords
When entering an educational leadership position, you should be familiar with specific key phrases. Keywords should be integrated throughout your resume in moderation to highlight the leadership skills you will bring to the job. Education buzzwords are essential to include in your job search documents. The Applicant Tracking System will process your application before it lands in the hands of an interviewer, making keywords vital.
Keywords are beneficial when used appropriately on a resume and connect with personal examples directly. Utilize buzzwords in achievement statements, the professional summary, and an “Areas of Expertise” section.
List of Potential School Leadership Keywords:
- Class Scheduling
- Solution Focused Approach
- Response to Intervention
- Data Analysis
- Differentiated Instruction
- Student Discipline and Support
- Budget Management
- Staff Professional Development
- School Improvement Plans
- Policy and Procedure Development
- Mission Statements
- Student Assessment
- Curriculum Adaptations
- Classroom Evaluation
- Strategic Planning
- School Security and Safety
- Workshop and Seminar Presentations
- Admissions and Student Enrollment
- Mentoring and Coaching
- Technology Integration
- Assessment Tools
- Standardized Testing and Scores
- Academic Standards
- Parent and Community Involvement
- Academic Progress Reporting
Formatting, Design, and Font Consistency
Creating a modern educational leadership resume will take time and effort if you want it to present you in the best light. In your job search documents, showcase your credentials, abilities, and qualities, and remember to reflect your personality and passion.
While the education field is a creative and innovative area in which to thrive, you still want to maintain a clear, concise, and professional resume. Consistency is vital when presenting your complete application package, including a professional resume, tailored cover letter, and a thoughtful thank you letter after your interview.
Ensure that all your documents have the same font choice, text size, borders, and section dividers. Overall, the aesthetics of your resume should not be overwhelmed with various colors or an overbearing design. A clean-cut and consistent modern summary is the way to go.
Use a classic color to direct the eye to specific section headings, your name, or an appropriate border to differentiate your resume from the group of candidates. Incorporating color, icons, or a page border is at your discretion. Do what makes you feel comfortable and suits your personality. Just don’t go overboard with these eye-catching options.
Maintain an appropriate amount of white space in your educational leadership resume. This point directly relates to the fact that you want to keep your qualifications and accomplishments the focal point and not overload the reader with condensed text.
An educational leadership resume should follow a combination, accomplishment-based format. Under each work experience, use a paragraph format to describe the position’s scope using the right keywords.
Under each job listing, list your most significant, relevant achievements. Include several bullet points showcasing each position’s successes, providing as much detail as needed while remaining concise.
Proofread and Edit
Proofreading is another crucial stage in creating your leadership resume. While you have spent hours building a detailed summary that highlights your leadership qualifications and accomplishments, it could be worthless if it contains spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Editing is necessary and needs to be taken seriously in the resume writing process, as it is often underutilized and rushed. Double-check the accuracy of the details you provided, including dates and spellings. Go over the formatting one final time to finalize the professional appeal of your resume.
Finally, after you have read through your resume several times, ask a colleague or friend to review it or hire someone to review it. It never hurts to have another set of eyes to proofread, ensure consistency, and validate visual appeal.
If you need help creating the perfect educational leadership resume, don’t hesitate to contact Candace. Call her toll-free at 1 877 738 8052 or via email.
