Principal CV example (+ Writing tips)

School principals are the connection between administrators, educators, students and parents. They are the head of the school and greatly affect the learning environment. This role requires excellent communication, leadership and organizational skills. Learn how to write a school principal CV that will make you shine.

A great school principal CV will highlight their previous educational experience, the credentials earned through higher education and the creativity used to solve issues within their school. It should also highlight any certifications, awards and accomplishments achieved during their career, particularly if they’re a teacher seeking a principal position.

Before creating aCV, a principal candidate needs to choose a CV format that will work best in showcasing their experience and career. An educator of this caliber will most likely choose a chronological CV, which job seekers use with a decade of experience in the same field. A candidate with fewer than 10 years of experience should choose a combination CV, which balances their skills and work history.

Header

All CV templates should have your name, phone number and email address as the header. If the candidate is seeking a local job, they could also add in their city and state. You should include your social media, like LinkedIn or a professional Twitter account. Remember to only include professional social media related to the industry. Never include side business or personal accounts.

CV summary or objective

The CV summary is your introduction. These are 3-5 sentences where you will state your years of experience, the most senior position you’ve held and your best skills and accomplishments. Be as specific as possible.

CV summary example:

Award-winning principal with 15 years of experience in private education. Focus on academic achievement through community involvement. Reduce district budget by 12% in two years with no layoffs. Expertise in merging technology with traditional methods.

Use a CV objective if you’re a candidate with no principal experience. This will still include your position and years of experience in addition to what you seek to accomplish in the principal role.

For example:

Educator with 12 years of experience in special education. Motivated team player with leadership skills. Improved special ed. assessment in 18%. Current doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership.

Skills

The skills section of a school principal CV should have between 6 and 8 skills. It should include both soft skills, like interpersonal communication, teamwork and critical thinking, and hard skills, like computer skills, technical skills and administrative skills. Take a look at the CV skills examples below.

• Flexibility
• Attention to detail
• Resilience
• Leadership skills
• Management
• Organization
• Strategic thinking
• Time management
• Lesson planning
• Instructional design
• Classroom management
• Emotional intelligence
• Empathy
• Communication skills
• Educational software
• Strategic planning
• Community outreach
• Decision making
• Curriculum development
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Spreadsheets
• Assessment

Work history

Your work history will start with the most recent position. Include the position title, school or organization. You must include a description of your position, focusing on your achievements and quantifying what you accomplished. Use bullet points to detail the description. Remember to include at what level, be it elementary, middle school, high school or special education.

Regarding the principal role, include achievements that demonstrate your teaching experience. In addition include achievements that demonstrate your track record, like increase in enrollment, student achievement, test scores, implementation of educational programs.

Education

Principals must have a master’s degree and in some institutions and schools, a doctorate. Your CV should say the name of the institution and the degree obtained. No need to include a graduation date unless you’re still working toward the degree. In that case, include the expected graduation date, for example Doctorate of Education, University of Texas, Expected May 2024.

If you’re continuing your education with professional development, you can include it here or in a separate optional section.

Licenses and certifications

Educators who continue their professional development can stand out from the crowd. Add a licenses and certifications section to include them in your CV.
Here are a few examples:

• First Aid
• CPR
• National Board Certification
• Apple Distinguished Educator
• Reading specialist certification
• Google Certified Trainer
• Microsoft Certified Educator
• Early childhood education
• Special education

If you have a certification in teaching another language, like TEFL, include it in this section.

Languages

For a principal position, particularly in a diverse community, your language skills can make you a desirable candidate who can connect with the community and students. Include any other language you speak and your level of proficiency, such as Basic French, Conversational Spanish, Native Mandarin Speaker. If you have a certification in teaching another language, make sure to include it in the certifications section of your CV.

• Tailor your CV to the job description — Use the job posting to add keywords to the CV. The specific skills and qualifications that the school is looking for will be on it. Use the same wording to bring attention to your CV.
• Proofread — Use an online spell-checker and another pair of eyes. A grammatical mistake in a teacher’s CV could be detrimental to your selection process.
• Keep it to one page — Ideally, CVs will be a one-page document. If you have a long career, you could stretch it to two pages.
• Quantify your achievements — Include numbers and percentages in your accomplishments, such as budget reduction or assessment improvement.
• Use a CV builder — Applying for a job can be time consuming. Using our CV builder simplifies the process, by selecting a new template and uploading your CV to be reformatted or select a template and your information in.