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Working with Me as The Teacher Promotion Coach (non-principal!)

If you're an aspiring school leader you may be wondering how I can help you if I'm not a principal.

Truthfully - teachers don't work with me because I'm a principal. As an independent mentor, I think that's my superpower!

Teachers work with me because they know me from my social media presence and they've seen firsthand the helpful information that I share online to help teachers.

Teachers work with me - because I make things easy for them to shift their mindset from working IN their JOB t


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May 8, 2023 11:22am
By Orla Dempsey
Under #AP, #education, Learning, #Interview Preparation, #Mock Interview Preparation Primary, #inspectorate, #DeputyPrincipal, #Teaching, #successfullinterview, #coaching, #SAF, #TeacherIreland & #sellingyourself
3 min read
Interview advice (1)

Unlocking Growth: Five Tips for Giving Effective Feedback

Giving feedback can be a daunting task, whether it's to a colleague, employee, or even a business. However, it's an essential part of growth and development. Here are five tips to help you give effective feedback:

Create psychological safety 

Creating a safe and supportive environment is key when giving feedback. It's important to ensure that the person receiving the feedback feels comfortable and safe to receive it. This means being respectful and empathetic, while also being clear and direct


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Apr 19, 2023 01:56pm
By Orla Dempsey
Under #AP1, #AP2, #DeputyPrincipal, #Post Primary, #principal, #primarymockinterview, #Teaching, Learning & #LAOS
2 min read
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Time Management Tips For Interviews

Let’s talk about tips for ➡Time Management⬅.

It’s one of my FAVOURITE topics to help clients with - because there are loads of ways they save time and they don’t notice it.

In this interview question, you need to tell them all the ways that you manage your time.

Examples here might be: 

  • Your calendar/diary/wall planner - ensures that you have records of things you need to do. If you manage your diary correctly – you won’t miss important events etc. Is this something you do?
  • You may forwar


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Dec 25, 2022 08:00am
By Orla Dempsey
Under #careercoaching, #primarymockinterviewpreparation, #Interview questions, #DeputyPrincipal, #primarymockinterview, #STARtechnique, #Teacher, #education, #primaryschoolteacher, #AP1, #AP2, Learning, Leadership, #Quality Education, #career, #ourschools, #Teaching, #principal, #Mock Interview Preparation Primary & #postprimaryteacher
2 min read
How do I deal with an unsustainable work load with my AP1?

How do I deal with an unsustainable work load with my AP1?

Today we are talking about teaching sustainably. I had a query lately that I feel it's important to share and offer my thoughts on the matter. Here's the query from a follower. 

Hi Orla, I’ve recently secured an AP1 post and there are so many duties that need to be covered. I don’t know how I’ll get through them all. I know I can do it but it seems like such a mountain of things to cover. What should I do? 

Firstly, congratulations on getting the role! How did you celebrate? In life, we ofte


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Nov 30, 2022 07:00am
By Orla Dempsey
Under #AP1, #AP2, #careercoaching, #Uncertainty, #Primary and Post Primary Interviews, #Leadership, #TeacherIreland, #MĂșinteoirBunscoile, #MĂșinteoirMeĂĄnscoile, #permanentjob, Learning & Leadership
2 min read
How do you answer the question on the vision for the role/vision for the school?

How do you answer the question on the vision for the role/vision for the school?

This question is one I get again and again from clients and they need to put their thinking caps on! 

How do you answer the question on the vision for the role/vision for the school?

One thing that I noticed when I began leadership coaching is that teachers sometimes were sometimes frustrated and they could sometimes use this question as a chance to vent. For this question, I always recommend that the energy is positive. This question IS NOT a chance to rant and tell them what you believe is g


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Nov 22, 2022 10:04am
By Orla Dempsey
Under #Career Change, #Uncertainty, #Opportunity, #AP1, #AP2, #primaryschoolteacher, #Leadership, Learning, #whatcanido, #News, Leadership, #Quality Education, #Mock Interviews for Primary, #primarymockinterview, #DeputyPrincipal, #Interview questions, #primarymockinterviewpreparation, #careercoaching, #jobapplications, #teachers, #Interview, #leadership, #Mock Interview Preparation Primary, #Confidence, #principal & #CPD
3 min read

What's the difference between The Teachers' Promotion Club and 1-1 services with you?

This question has come up a little in my clarity calls with interested teachers so I'm sharing a little about what you can expect inside the club!

Pros of The Teachers' Promotion Club

1. Exclusive Trainings

Inside The Teachers' Promotion Club we delve deeper into themes that come up in interviews like Time Management, how to deal with the conflict question and lots of in-depth information about the LAOS document. Some of the trainings are paid masterclasses that I've held teachers have invested


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Sep 14, 2022 03:44pm
By Orla Dempsey
Under #News, #leadership, #AP1, #primaryschoolteacher, #DeputyPrincipal, #AP2, #TeacherIreland, #jobapplications, #primarymockinterviewpreparation, #Teaching & Learning
3 min read
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Deputy Principal Interview Questions - Scenarios

So you are applying for a deputy principal role in your school and you have heard that panels often ask scenario-based questions?

In the interview, they will set the scene to say something like “A child fell on the yard and was hurt - what would you do?” First of all - reflect ‘has this ever happened to you and what did you do?’ What was good about how you resolved the situation and why? It’s important to note here that the panel are looking for reassurance about an aspect of school life that the


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Jul 6, 2022 08:00am
By Orla Dempsey
Under #News, #Interview questions, #primarymockinterviewpreparation, #primarymockinterview, #DeputyPrincipal, #STARtechnique, #Interview, #Teaching & Learning
3 min read
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How do I know which company to go for and which NQT guide to invest in?

There are lots of options available for teachers right now and it can seem a bit confusing! I get that. You may have questions like

  • Which company should I go with (Haha - Go with ME obviously!)

  • How much do I need to invest?

  • What if I'm not getting the results that I want?

  • How do I know if what I'm doing is working or not?

    Today's blog will help you address many of those concerns.


    1. Which company/online guide should I invest in?
    There are loads of amazing supports out there now from teachers on variou


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Jul 4, 2022 06:50pm
By Orla Dempsey
Under #News, #Teaching & Learning
4 min read
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5 new tips for the STAR technique

I’m most known for helping my clients use the STAR technique. Why do you need it? Teachers need to harness the powers of the STAR technique because it is the universally known technique for competency-based interviews (the types of interviews that are used in education). The STAR framework is the best one to help interviewees tell stories about their actually experience and not tell stories about ‘best practice’ or what they think ‘should’ happen - and give evidence that you have experience and 


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Jul 4, 2022 05:51pm
By Orla Dempsey
Under #News, #STARtechnique, #primarymockinterview, #primarymockinterviewpreparation, #postprimaryteacher, #Interview questions, #Interview Preparation, #Teaching & Learning
4 min read
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AP and Principal Application Preparation. How to Prepare for Domain 2: Managing an Organisation.

Every year I work with many experienced teachers applying for positions in management roles in their school and beyond. Here we look at how you can outline your experience in managing an organisation.

 Highlighting your managerial skills and capabilities

In your extensive experience as a teacher, you have no doubt faced many managerial issues. Reflecting on challenges and how you overcame them, initiatives you may have facilitated, staff you mentored, and tricky situations you helped to resolv


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May 19, 2022 08:00am
By Orla Dempsey
Under #AP, #DeputyPrincipal, #jobapplications, #leadership, #permanentjob, #postprimaryteacher, #primarymockinterviewpreparation, #primaryschoolteacher, #principal, #AssistantPrincipal, #TeacherIreland, #MĂșinteoir, #MĂșinteoirBunscoile, #MĂșinteoirMeĂĄnscoile, #Teaching, Learning & #LAOS
4 min read

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