Assistant Principal Resume Template & Guide (20+ Examples)

During your first day at school, you probably didn’t imagine spending the rest of your life in it. But life is funny that way sometimes. 

Working as an assistant principal, you deal with a lot of drama. The kids. The parents. The teachers. And on top of that, the coursebooks, the ever-changing educational guidelines, and facilities that never get renovated soon enough.

You don’t need extra worries on top of everything. That’s why you want to work at reputable establishments—the ones that value both the staff and the children. In order to get there, you need to write an assistant principal resume that says loud and clear: you’re the best assistant principal out there.

This guide will show you: 

• An assistant principal resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write an assistant principal resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on an assistant principal resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for an assistant principal to get any job you want.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.

Check out other school jobs-related resume guides:

• Principal Resume
• Teacher Resume
• School Counselor Resume
• Substitute Teacher Resume
• Teaching Assistant Resume
• Librarian Resume
• Tutor Resume
• Academic Advisor Resume
• Research Assistant Resume
• Math Teacher Resume
• English Teacher Resume
• ESL Teacher Resume
• Art Teacher Resume
• High School Teacher Resume
• Coaching Resume
• Camp Counselor Resume
• Special Education Teacher Resume
• Education Resume
• Psychology Resume
• Library Assistant Resume
• Resume Examples for All Jobs

Assistant Principal Resume Template

Now let’s talk about how to write an assistant principal resume:

1. Choose the Best Format for Your Assistant Principal Resume

From adjusting the curriculum to helping teachers develop to keeping textbooks up to date, running a school is no easy feat.

Luckily, you’ll keep things neatly arranged for some semblance of organization.

But resumes need it too—

To be sure the principal can understand and read your resume, format the resume right.

Here’s how to do it:

• Start with resume contact information in the professional header.
• Divide the sections of a resume by using clearly-defined subheadings.
• Use a proper resume format, which is likely the chronological resume layout.
• Pick from the best resume fonts, and make use of white space so as to not cram everything in the resume like an overcrowded classroom.

Pro Tip: Send a resume in PDF or Word? Unless they explicitly request it as a Microsoft Word document, send them a PDF. The PDF format renders correctly on any device.

2. Write an Assistant Principal Resume Summary or Objective

Also known as the resume profile, the resume objective or summary is a brief, 3–4 line introduction paragraph.

This heading statement is like an elevator pitch.

It gives school principals a quick look at your teaching background, school skills, academic experience, and vocational goals.

Choose the resume summary if you have school leadership experience. This summary statement introduces your experience and skills regarding school management. On top of that, it gives them some numbers (winning achievements) to verify your eligibility.

Choose the resume objective when writing an assistant principal resume with no experience. This career objective talks about your future school professional goals, and it still gives an accomplishment with numbers to prove your worthiness.

Pro Tip: The heading statement goes on top, but save it for the end. It’s difficult to “sum up” your experienced or entry-level assistant principal resume if it hasn’t been written yet!

3. Create the Perfect Assistant Principal Job Description for a Resume

Like seeing a perfect 1600 SAT score, school principals want to see experience on a resume done right.

So—

Here’s how to ace assistant principal job descriptions:

• Start with your recent work, and then follow that with the one before it.
• Put business position titles at the top, then dates you worked, the school’s name, and 5 or 6 bullet points documenting assistant principal duties.
• Use strong resume words (e.g., facilitated, administered, etc.) to start each entry.
• Give achievements with verifiable numbers, not only regular job tasks.
• Learn how to tailor resume for a specific job. Elementary principals and high school principals alike hate generic resumes.

Pro Tip: If you’re writing a first-time assistant principal resume, you still have experience. Just choose bullet point entries which show them you have school experience and leadership aptitude. For more, check out our guide on writing a resume with no experience.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

4. Make Your Assistant Principal Resume Education Section Shine

The educational background on a resume for any position is not an area to slack on.

For assistant principal jobs, it has to be the most shining example of an education section they’ve ever seen.

So—

Here’s how to make one that’s the valedictorian of its class:

• Start with the highest degree earned, and go back from there.
• Add your degree major, college name, graduation year, and school location.
• Include extra details, such as minors, academic achievements, extracurricular acitivites, Latin honors, relevant coursework, and publications.

Normally, we would say to leave off your high school on a resume since you need to have a degree for principal jobs.

However, if your high school the same school to which you’re applying, or in the same school district, adding it shows some hometown pride and might help your chances.

Pro Tip: Have teaching experience from academia? If you taught as an assistant professor during a master’s degree or in your PhD program, it’s awesome experience. However, instead of the work history section, add a “Teaching Experience” subsection in your education area.

5. Highlight Your Assistant Principal Skills for a Resume

Elementary, middle, and high school principals and assistant principals are set to grow by 8% between 2016 and 2026.

That’s almost 20,000 people vying for your job.

To beat them—

Show them you’re the best vice principal for the position with a high-quality skills section:

Sample Assistant Principal Resume Skills

• Education Administration & Leadership
• School Personnel & Teacher Management
• Curriculum Planning
• Teacher Development
• Security Procedures & Policies
• Administrative Skills
• Organizational Skills
• School Spirit
• School Meetings
• Public Speaking & Presentation Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Collaboration Skills
• Management Skills
• Communication Skills
• Decision Making Skills
• Time Management Skills
• Problem Solving Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Critical Thinking Skills

However—

You can’t just list all these skills on your resume and move on.

That’s as bad as failing the midterm.

Do this instead:

• Jot down the job skills you have related to school leadership, including soft skills and hard skills.
• Looking at the job advertisement, document skills they’re looking for from their job requirements. These are the best resume keywords to use.
• If a skill you noted from the job ad matches something on your initial skills list, add it to your school principal resume!

Pro Tip: Remember to tailor your resume. In the case of the skills section, this means sticking as close to the wording of the school associate principal job ad as possible.

6. Add Other Sections to Your Assistant Principal Resume

Like language arts, math, science, and social studies, you’ve got the core out of the way.

However, core classes don’t make a complete education, and core resume sections don’t deliver a compelling resume.

So—

Like choosing electives, add some additional resume sections to round out your resume.

Here are great additions to resumes for assistant principals:

Assistant Principal Resume Samples—Extra Sections

• Certifications for a resume
• Levels of language proficiency on a resume
• Resume accomplishments
• Interests and hobbies
• Volunteering on a resume

7. Attach an Assistant Principal Cover Letter to Your Resume

Do cover letters matter?

Well, more than half of employers say a resume without a cover letter is worth a suspension (but here it’s from the candidate pool).

So—

Always turn in an assistant principal cover letter.

Here’s how to write a cover letter for assistant principal jobs:

• Sort your covering letter format before you begin.
• Learn how to begin a cover letter in a compelling manner.
• Talk up your school background and leadership experience.
• Add key achievements to quantify your value.
• Understand how to conclude a cover letter powerfully.
• Like the resume, no general cover letters!

To finish it off, head over to our top cover letter tips, as well as our posts on how long should a cover letter be and what to include in cover letters.

Give those a look!

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to follow up on a job application. After that, prepare for the interview!

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Got any questions on how to write an assistant principal resume? Not sure how to talk about school leadership skills, assistant principal duties, or administrative achievements? Get at us in the comments below, and thanks for reading!