Most Candidates Prepare Wrong for Principal Interviews

Key Takeaways

You just got the call. And you just found out that they want to interview you for the principal position. Now, you've been working towards this. You're excited and maybe just a little bit nervous. And so, the first thing that most candidates will do at this point is they'll pull up a list of interview questions and they'll start writing out answers. But, that's the wrong move. I'm going to show you exactly what to do with the 7 days you have before that interview, day by day, so you walk in ready, not just prepared, but ready. And by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly what that difference looks like. Grab your pen, grab your piece of paper, and get ready to take some notes cuz we're going to get started right now. Hey everyone, Dr. Gordon Emerson here, superintendent of schools and Gallup certified strengths coach. And on this channel, we help you go further faster in your educational journey. If this is your first time with us, thank you for being here and welcome to the community. And while you're here, don't forget, hit that subscribe button as well as the bell notification so you don't miss any of our coolest updates or any of our newest episodes or content. So, I want to talk about some of the mistakes that I know the candidates make leading into their interviews. Because here's what most candidates do the week before they have their principal interview. They do things like they Google principal interview questions. And they find a list of about 50 questions and they start writing out full paragraph answers to every single one. They stay up late rehearsing. By interview day, they've memorized a script. And the moment the panel asks something slightly off the script, they lock up. They freeze. They go deer in headlights. Now, that is preparing, but it is not readiness, because getting ready, there's a difference. And let me be clear about the difference. Preparation is knowing information, but readiness Readiness is being able to think, respond, and lead under pressure in real time in front of a panel that is watching how you handle yourself as much as what you say. That panel isn't reading your answers like you're taking a test. They're watching how you think. They're evaluating whether you feel like a principal. You can't memorize your way into that feeling. You have to build up to it. So, here is what the week looks like when you are doing it right. So, let's talk about the 5-day principal interview prep plan. This is a framework that I think will give you a focused 5 days of preparation. Not a week of scattered anxiety, but instead five intentional moves. So, let's talk about day number one. Because day number one is all about researching the school like you already work there. And I'm going deeper than a surface level Google search. I mean, I want you to go deep. I want you to pull the school's most recent state report card, their dashboard, their metrics, whatever that state uses to score or grade their school system, pull that information. Look at their academic performance data. Where are they strong? Where are their gaps? Find out who the current principal is and how long they've been there. Leadership continuity is something that does matter. Check the district's website for the superintendent and the board of education's priorities. And also look specifically for the school improvement plan if it's public. Then ask yourself one critical question. If I was already the principal there, what would my first priority be? Write that answer down because you'll use that answer in the interview. The candidates who reference specific school data, who connect their experience to the school's actual challenges, those are the candidates who feel ready. That's a leadership move. Let's talk about day two. So day two in your five-day preparation leading up to your interview is about mapping your stories, but not memorizing your answers. And this is the most important day of your prep. And most candidates, unfortunately, they skip it entirely. So here's the play. Pull up the five or six most common principal interview question categories. Things like instructional leadership, culture and climate, community engagement, data and accountability, staff development, and also personal leadership philosophy. For each and every one of those, identify one real story from your career that demonstrates your strength in that area. And I want you to use the STAR framework. If you're not familiar with the STAR framework, you can check out lots of other episodes on this channel and as part of this community, we talk about STAR quite a bit. It is one of our core frameworks. But let me remind you what it is. Our framework represents situation, task, action, result. And I want you to write out a bullet outline with each story, not a script, but bullets, because you want to tell a story and you want to do that by using the bullets and not a script. Because in a high-stakes interview, a script breaks the moment you're interrupted or the question shifts even ever so slightly. But if you know your stories, the actual experiences that you've lived, you can tell them in any order, in any format, in any response to any question that gets thrown at you. Know your stories cold. And that's day two. Day three. I want you to practice out loud, not in your head only, but instead out loud. This is the day most people think they're doing, but they're not. Reading over your notes is not practicing. Thinking through your answers in the shower is not practicing. Practicing is speaking your answers out loud with pacing, with pauses, with energy, in a way that mirrors what you'll actually do when you're in the room. Here's what I want you to do on day three. I want you to set a timer for 90 minutes. Take five of your story bullets from day two. For each one, answer a question out loud as if you were actually in the interview. Record yourself on your phone and then play it back. Now, I know, I understand. No one wants to watch themselves on video. I'm going to challenge you to do it anyway. Because you will immediately hear where it is that you ramble. You'll hear where your voice drops. You'll hear filler words like um and oohs and ahs and uh and you know likes. You'll hear those filler words you didn't know you were actually saying when you listen back. Fix those things on day three because you don't have time to fix them when you're in the actual interview room. Let's talk about day number four. This is where we talk about handling the logistics. Handle your presence. Day four, your content is solid. You've done the preparation. You've got your frameworks. You've got your story bullets. Now take care of everything else so nothing surprises you on interview day. Confirm the location, the time, the format. Is it a panel interview or is it a one-on-one? Is it in person or is it a virtual? If it's virtual, test your camera, check your lighting, make sure your background is not distracting, and your audio. Make sure your audio is crisp and clear. Do this the night before, not the morning of. Pick out your outfit, lay it out. Full superintendent energy, not I hope this is okay. You want to walk into that room already knowing you look, sound, and feel like the part. And on day four, write your two closing questions. The ones you'll ask the panel at the end. Make them specific to what you learned in your day one research. Something you like. Something like, "I noticed your reading proficiency scores have been a priority in the district's improvement plan. What does the right person in this role need to tackle?" And on day four, write your two closing questions. The ones that you'll ask the panel at the end. Make them specific to what you learned in your day one research. Something like, "I noticed your reading proficiency scores have been a top priority in the district's improvement plan." So, the question is, what does the right person in this role need to tackle in year one to focus on that priority? That question alone tells the panel you came prepared to lead, not just to interview. And then, day five. Day five is when you do a light review, and you make sure to protect your energy. So, day five is not another cramming session. Day five is about arriving sharp. Do a single light review of your story bullets. 20 to 30 minutes, no more. Read your day one research notes. Remind yourself of the school's mission, and also one key challenge. Refresh your notes on the district's priorities, but make sure you have those things well in your mind, and you're prepared. And then, close your notes. Go for a walk. Get a great night's rest. Eat a real meal in the morning. Your brain performs at its best when it is rested, not when it's been running on anxiety and late-night prep sessions for five or six straight days. Protect your energy, so you can walk in calm, you can walk in grounded, and you can walk in like someone who has done the work, because you have. So, let me give you an example. Let me tell you what readiness actually looks like in the room. So, I've interviewed a lot of candidates throughout my career, and I can tell you within the first few minutes which ones spent the week memorizing, and which ones spent the week preparing to step into a leadership role. The memorizers answer questions in long, practiced paragraphs. They are technically correct. But there's no life in it. When we ask a follow-up question, something they didn't rehearse, you can see that the gears actually stop. They go back to the script in their head and it doesn't quite fit anymore. The ready candidates, they're very different. They listen to the full question before they answer. And then once they've heard that question, they pause, ever so briefly, but intentionally. And then they tell us a real story. And when we follow up, they adjust. They're dynamic. They think out loud. They say things like, "That's a great challenge and here's how I would approach it." And then they actually approach it in real time, right there in the moment, in front of us. That's what 5 days of intentional preparation, that's what it builds. Not a perfect script, but a sharp and ready mind to deal with the high anxiety and high pressure of not only the interview, but what comes when you get that leadership position. Now, if you want templates for every one of these 5 days, the story, the mapping worksheets, the research framework, the closing question bank, that's built into the Principal Interview Playbook. It was designed specifically so you're not starting from a blank page when the interview call comes in. Everything is laid out for you. The link is in the description below. Grab it before your next interview lands in your inbox. And drop a comment below. Tell me, how far out is your next interview? Or if you've gone through the interview process recently, what do you wish you'd done differently that week? Let me know. I read all of your comments. Comment below the video. And if this episode has helped you, share it with a friend. Share it with 10 friends. Give it a thumbs up. Like the video. Subscribe to the channel. And share it with somebody who you know just off the call, they may need this information right now. Because we want to continue to build our next generation of educational leaders. That's what this is community is all about. That is the passion work. That's why we do this week in and week out to bring these valuable resources to you and to this community. And if you thought this episode was helpful or useful, check out this next one as well. It's going to help continue to expand your capacity and your ability to interview well and to lead a school community well. We always look forward to serving and supporting you in this educational and this leadership journey. And as we always say in our episodes, we want you to take care of yourself, take care of each other, and be well. And we'll see you on our next one. Thanks, everybody. Take care.