Principal Resume Examples
Principals take on the highest leadership position within a school and are tasked with fostering the most positive learning environment possible. They execute high-level strategies to promote growth in both the students’ and the school’s success.
According to the NASSP, American schools currently face a principal shortage that is only becoming more severe, and could result in a lack of consistent, quality education for the country’s students. If you hope to fill one of these essential roles yourself, our principal resume example can help. We’ll show you how to highlight your skills and experience in the way most likely to impress employers.
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What is a Principal ?
Principals are appointed to cultivate a safe and intellectually stimulating environment for students in elementary, middle and high schools. Their work involves supervising daily school operations, maintaining curriculum standards, and managing teaching and non-teaching staff. Great principals genuinely care about the success of their students and understanding that test scores do not solely depict quality education.
Principals help schools grow to better meet student needs, monitor the overall performance of students, network with universities and colleges, supervise faculty hiring, encourage parents’ participation, and promote continuous professional development in teachers. Most principals require a master’s degree to qualify for their position.
What Makes This a Great
Principal Resume Example?
Your resume is the first point of contact between you and a recruiter. No matter how qualified you are, a poorly written resume might still land you in the reject pile. Drafted by our resume experts, our resume examples demonstrate exactly what goes into strong resumes.
Here’s what makes our examples excellent writing guides:
- Strong content: Our resume examples’ content includes the kind of role-relevant keywords recruiters look for when scanning resumes, such as “expertise in curriculum development” and “encourage continuous learning among teachers.” For additional assistance you can also use our Resume Builder’s pre-written content, which you can customize or borrow verbatim.
- Effective format use: Selecting the resume format that best suits your experience level is essential to presenting your qualifications as effectively as possible. The principal resume example above uses a chronological format, which highly-experienced candidates can use to show off every detail of their lengthy work experience in reverse-chronological order.
- Strategic template choice: A resume template should match the tone of the role for which you are applying. Principals are typically the senior-most authority figure in a relatively formal, academic environment, so a conservatively designed resume may be a wise choice. Our resume builder offers a wide variety of templates for any school setting.
3 Principal Professional Summary Examples
A professional summary that succinctly conveys your most impressive and relevant experience and skills can instantly attract the attention of recruiters. You can draft a compelling summary by referring to our examples or by using our Resume Builder’s pre-written content.
Here are three example summaries appropriate for this role:
- Experienced principal of over 11 years able to efficiently implement education policy and consistently meet district-set benchmarks. Maintain positive school environments and focus on enriching students with cutting-edge curricula like 3D-printing, programming and more. Skilled in budget management, able to maintain productive and friendly relationships with students and staff.
- Dedicated school principal with over eight years of experience in private elementary schools. Ensure extremely safe student environments with background-checked staff and appropriate security measures. Emphasize continuous faculty training to ensure top-notch education for students. Constructively interact with parents, and have a reputation of being a disciplinarian with active listening and problem-solving skills.
- NASSP-certified principal. Result-oriented professional focused on holistic development of students. Track record of nurturing a strong team of qualified and dedicated teachers, to ensure quality student education. Excellent time-management, administrative and delegating skills.
3 Principal Work Experience Examples
A work experience section with impressively relevant career highlights will surely impress recruiters, so long as it includes quantifiable data to speak for your success. Write this section by referring to our resume examples or by customizing our builder’s pre-written content with your own metrics.
Here are three more work experience examples you might consider:
- Streamlined budget to reduce parent-paid fees by 15% and increase enrollment by 19%.
- Achieved the highest enrollment rate among all 9 middle schools in the district.
- Two-time nominee for the NASSP National Principal of the Year award.
Top Skills for Your Principal Resume
Your skills section gives hiring managers an easy-to-scan preview of your ability to succeed in a role. This example showcases the kinds of skills sought by recruiters looking to fill a principal’s role, as does our Resume Builder’s even longer list of keyword suggestions.
Here are more skills we might recommend for your resume:
Hard Skills
- Crafting education policy
- Budget management
- MS Outlook, QuickBooks
- Staff recruitment
Soft Skills
- Time management
- Organizational strategy
- Effective communication
- Active listening
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Principal FAQs
- What are the essential qualities of a successful principal?
- What are the educational requirements for a principal?
- . Is there any difference between an elementary school principal and high school principal?
What are the essential qualities of a successful principal?
A principal should exercise good leadership skills and encourage improvement in both their students’ and teachers’ performance. The principal is an authority figure and must conduct themselves with the utmost integrity. They should continuously seek avenues for growth and improvement to better the school’s performance and provide students with the best possible education.
What are the educational requirements for a principal?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, principals usually require a master’s degree in education or a related field. To serve effectively, principals must usually have considerable teaching experience. In addition to their degree, most states also require them to obtain a certification or license. The requirements of states may vary, and applicants must check eligibility conditions before applying for a job in a different state.
. Is there any difference between an elementary school principal and high school principal?
The roles of elementary and high school principals are similar, but still quite different. Their duties include ensuring their school runs smoothly, mentoring teaching and non-teaching staff, and taking appropriate action when disciplining students. The most notable differences are related to their students’ ages and stage of development, such their curriculum, specific extracurricular activities offered and more.
