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Insights into the Necessary Job Seeking Skills - Peter and Gwenda Johnson

This blog post is inspired by my most recent episode of The Growth in Educational Leadership Podcast. I spoke to Peter and Gwenda Johnson - a fantastic duo with tonnes of recruitment and job-seeking advice. Gwenda is a retired Primary School Principal and spent 9 years leading St Joseph’s - A Special School For Children with Visual Impairment.

Read on to uncover the stand-out points in our discussion.

You can listen to the podcast 👉 here.

  1. The Importance of Tailoring Applications Both Peter and Gwe


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10 Confidence Tips for STAR Leadership Interviews

Stories are very powerful. I first became interested in people's stories when I became a coach. And I realised that the stories that we told ourselves have direct results in the kinds of opportunities that we have and the kind of results that we get. So there's a huge mindset associated with storytelling, the STAR technique, and the empowering beliefs that we have about ourselves.  The STAR technique is a framework that you can use to frame your answers and your stories in interviews in an empow


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Don't Skip This Step: 5 Accommodations That Should Be Made in Your Job Application Form

đŸ€Ș Literacy Teachers: You know what it's like to read a bunch of essays.
You need to BRACE YOURSELF for the task.
Some students love to write and write. 10 pages later and you're still reading.

đŸ€š Job applications are like this.

Your job application lands itself into a bundle with others.

Some job applications can be 21 pages long.

So, what accommodations can YOU make to help the reader and STAND OUT?

1. Think about it from their perspective.

Who will be reading this form? What would they be truly 


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FAQs About The Four Domains Simplified Course for School Leaders

Are you curious about the Four Domains Simplified Course?

I know that you may have questions that you'd like answered. đŸ€© So I thought I would address some of the questions that I’ve been getting about it. Here are the top questions I'm being asked. 

1. Is ‘The Four Domains Simplified’ better than ‘Help I’ve an Interview in a Week’?

In ‘Help I’ve an Interview in a Week’, I teach Looking at Our Schools through the lens of a variety of interview questions – each starting with the phrase ‘How do 


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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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Questions to Ask at the End of a Principal Interview in Ireland

A successful principal interview not only involves answering questions with confidence but also asking meaningful questions at the end of the interview. This demonstrates your interest in the role, your research on the school, and your eagerness to engage with the interviewers. In this blog post, we will discuss some thought-provoking questions that you can ask at the end of a principal interview to leave a lasting impression on the hiring committee, including some additional questions to help y


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How do I give evidence if I'm not in a managerial role?

How do I give evidence if I'm not in a managerial role?

Today’s question is a common question that I'm asked by clients. 

I am currently filling out the deputy principal application form and looking at this doc but where I am struggling is regarding answering some of the major questions (seeing as I am not in a managerial role - and some of these questions are written regarding what you are doing already). Would the language be a case of "I would" rather than I do - or what would be your advice here? Getting the language right is really stumping me.


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How do I answer what is your vision for the school/post of responsibility? 

My clients often find this question tricky! Why? Because they haven't taken the time to dream about the changes they could make. A great way to think about it is - If you had a magic wand and you could make changes - what would they be?

Here are some further tips: 

  • Be authentic – Think about what difference you would love to make in the school. Reflect: How would the school be different in 5 years’ time? What opportunities might the staff, pupils and community have? How would they be acting?


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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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Further questions from recent leadership interviews

Interview questions for Principal Jobs in Ireland

Are you searching for potential questions for leadership positions? If you’re reading this - I’m betting that you are!

Working 1-1 with 100s of teachers each year - puts me in a great position to hear what the latest questions are that are being asked. I hope you find them useful!

  • Intro: What have been three achievements in your teaching career to date?

  • What was a teaching and learning initiative that you introduced?

  • How do you self-evaluate?

  • What makes you ready to take on 


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