Practical Principals 10 – You're Hired!
We’re finally in the double-digits with this, our tenth episode of Practical Principals. Among other things, we discuss interviewing, hiring, and Melinda’s new Mac. In addition, it’s worthwhile to note that the audio for this program has improved significantly with the addition of Scott’s new Snowball mic to his “studio.”
Highlights:
- Format change – tech talk to be moved to the end of the show
- Scott got a new mic (finally)
- Melinda got a new Mac (finally)
- Snapz Pro X
- Macheist
- Parallels Desktop
- iWork
- Google Docs
- Entrepreneur Thought Leaders podcast
- Wire Tap Studio
Thanks for listening!
Updated link to direct download.
Updated 9/29/08: Interview Questions
Listen now!
Why can’t this episode be downloaded like the others?
Oops – forgot to add that! Fixed it.
I recently listened to this podcast and you indicated you would put a list or a link to questions to ask during an interview. Am I missing the link somewhere?
I’m reposting a comment that was posted over on the “mandatory” blog that Libsyn gives you when you host a podcast with them. We don’t use that blog for anything but you (evidently) have to have one in order to publish a podcast. This morning I found a comment from a fellow CSU student that I thought should be shared here:
“Hello Scott and Melinda,
Thank you for your informative, and witty, podcast You’re Hired!
I am currently taking EDUC331 at Colorado State with Dr. James Folkestad. He let our class know about your podcasts and I decided to take a listen.
You mentioned that during the hiring process, you see resumes that “stand out” and some that don’t. I was wondering, what makes a resume stand out? What are you looking for when you look at a resume that makes you want to interview the person? What are the qualifications you look for if a teacher is brand new and your school is the first one they will ever possibly teach at?
I look forward to your response.
Kind regards, Jeanne Marri”
…my response…
“Hi Jeanne -
Surprised to see you posted here! The main blog that supports the show is over at http://practicalprincipals.net.
Yours is an interesting question as it’s hard to say just one thing… There’s just some aesthetic quality to some resumes that make them just “easier” to look at and follow while others are jam-packed so full of text as to be distracting.
When we decided to make the move to Colorado, for instance, I got no calls for an interview for months. Then, on a hunch, I re-did my resume and — whoa! — three calls for interviews within a week. I didn’t change any of the information, only how it looked on paper.
These two posts were instrumental for me in my resume “overhaul:”
http://bit.ly/Sugi4
http://bit.ly/4pcPkc
Good luck!”
Hello Jeanne! I am going to piggy-back on Scott’s response. There is no real definitive answer to your question. What I like in a resume another principal or Superintendent may overlook. It just depends. Let me give you an example……Some people put their picture on their resume. I do not know if this is good or bad. Elementary teachers tend to go a little phoo-phoo on their resumes. I like some of these if they are not too corny. Scott on the other had as a HS principal may toss these:):):) A resume just has to be easy to read from left to right for me. I don’t want to have to skip all around. I also prefer to have references attached. “Call for references” gets a resume tossed from my desk. I don’t have time to call for references and then call the references. Just take that step out and put the references on the resume.
A lot of times I already know the person before I even review the resume. As long as the resume isn’t terrible I don’t put as much stake in the resume as I do in the fact that I already know the person.
Hope this helps a little.
Thanks for listening!!!