How I’m Working to Gain Experience as an Aspiring Administrator

“Not at this time—you need more experience.”

The words were tough to hear. I had interviewed for an elementary assistant principal position and made it to the second round, which was geared toward the school as a whole as well as district initiatives. With my teacher’s lens, I wasn’t prepared to answer the second-round questions. The school picked another candidate.

I had a decision to make. I could take my rejection as a deterrence and a setback, or I could turn it into an opportunity for growth. I opted for growth.

I wanted to gain more experience and knowledge that would lend itself to a future administrative role, so I sought out my school’s director of elementary education, who took part in my second-round interview. She provided a list of ideas and action steps for me to accomplish before the next administrative opening. Over the last year, her guidance has opened up new opportunities and meaningful relationships, and instilled powerful lessons that I hope to carry.

Below are four simple steps that have helped prepare me for another administrative job interview. I believe they’re useful for other aspiring school leaders, too.

Work on Authentic Networking

It’s important to get your name out there, but in an authentic, unforced way. Relationships that you pursue with administrators and other colleagues should be genuine. I started my outreach efforts by setting up a meeting with some building administrators and relaying the feedback I received from our director of elementary education. They, in turn, gave me recommendations about who might be able to offer guidance. They connected me with other leaders via email, and in some cases they encouraged me to initiate conversation on my own. I kept administrators in the loop about the other leaders I connected with, so that everyone was on the same page.

During meetings with other leaders, I didn’t expect to just listen and learn; I came prepared to ask questions. I took the time to understand what administration really means to each leader—how they manage their buildings and personally handle the rigors of their roles. I also dug into what’s important to them and rounded out my questions by asking if they had any general advice I should keep in mind.

These meetings occurred in a variety of forms: Some were 30 minutes over Google Meet, others involved shadowing opportunities at different schools for a few hours. Once, I was able to spend a full day shadowing an administrator, which was especially enriching. After each meeting or experience, I sent a follow-up email thanking the leader for their time and letting them know that I looked forward to learning more from them in the future.

Learn How an Entire School Functions

During the administrative job interview, I struggled with questions that required me to think from a building perspective. The experiences that I could pull from primarily came from my own teaching environment.

I realized I needed to get out of my comfort zone, so I reached out to other educators whose roles I didn’t know as well as my own, like special area teachers, teaching assistants, and our school counselor. I asked for one-on-one meetings and also inquired about whether I could shadow certain colleagues while they were working or attending their own meetings. To fit everything into my schedule, I aimed for meetings during my prep time during or after school.

These meetings, as well as my meetings with leaders, exposed me to important decision-making and insights about day-to-day operations. I learned what walk-throughs look like, observed the importance of visibility, and got a better understanding of the district’s expectations for administrators. I began to see the school as an entire, functioning organization.

Offer to Lead Professional Developments

Administrative work often involves giving presentations, meaning I need to be comfortable talking in front of an entire staff. In order to gain more experience, I facilitated an informal discussion with my grade-level team on a topic I’m passionate about: direct intervention during our math block.

Because my assistant principal knew I was seeking more speaking opportunities, I was also given the opportunity to present at two districtwide professional development days. I spoke to the district’s teaching assistants about de-escalation strategies and small group strategies. My first presentation was admittedly information-heavy and not very interactive, but I gleaned what I needed to do differently. For the second presentation, I put together an ice-breaker, discussion questions, and an activity intended to solicit feedback. From the first presentation to the second, I felt much more prepared—and I’m excited to present again.

Join SchoolWide Committees

In order to gather even more of a building-wide perspective, I joined several school committees, including our continuous improvement committee, our positive behavior instructional supports team, and a math team that rolled out a math facts initiative for grades 4–6. Most of these committees meet once per month during after-school prep time, which fit my schedule. My goal was to not overcommit myself with too many committees at once.

At first, I mostly listened during committee meetings, but I’ve since been able to regularly contribute ideas. The additional opportunities to collaborate on building-level topics have given me a better sense of how to assist colleagues when they raise issues to administrators, and also have a better sense of how administrators get buy-in from everyone else.

Each of these action steps has been invaluable. Because I put myself out there and sought out knowledge for a future role, I believe I’ll be prepared and ready when I step into my next interview.

I still have lots to learn, but I do know this: Growth happens through action. Be confident and be curious about learning more. Teachers are already leaders—we’re just sharpening our skills and expanding our capacity, preparing ourselves for whatever is next.