What are some ways to make yourself more marketable for a promotion in Educational Leadership?

Making your resume memorable is another great strategy. When updating it, think...How can I make my resume stand out? How can I catch my reader at the beginning of the document? How can I end strong?

Network with the people in management who hold leadership positions that have both the title and the authority to help you advance with the organization. But more importantly, who recognize your potential, your education, and work experience.

Be specific about the impact and the use of data is influential. Be truthful and professional about areas of development. Be relevant and target why that experience is important.

My belief is that to increase your opportunity for future promotion, you have to give time and effort to develop your knowledge and experience. This will need patience and genuine belief in wanting to make an impact for the right reasons, as opposed to aim for a promotion for promotions sake. Once you have blooded yourself to this self development cause, you will in time build a portfolio of true impact evidence you can draw upon, to be desirable. Finally, schools are about match and connection. Don’t attempt to get a role in a school which doesn’t seek or match your experience or strengths. Connect with the leaders recruiting you. If you click on a personal/professional level, you are a big step closer to getting the role!

Never stop learning. The level of education for students has to keep pace with advancements in human discoveries and technology. I went back to school and graduated 10 years ago with a PhD at 55 years of age. I still continue to attend courses in the evenings at my local community college under Utah HB60, which allows me to audit classes for free. The world changes, the curriculum changes and I need to offer the latest in information for the students I teach. I have to be a life long learner to set the example for our youth that they too will have to be life long learners to keep them relevant in an ever changing job market.

Networking in educational leadership opens doors to new opportunities and invaluable learning experiences. By actively engaging in conferences, workshops, online communities, and events, you can connect with like-minded professionals, exchange ideas, and access valuable resources. Cultivating relationships with mentors, colleagues, and alumni enhances your reputation, credibility, and visibility. Through networking, you can forge meaningful connections, gain insights, and stay updated on emerging trends, ultimately propelling your career forward in a positive and enriching manner.

It’s hard to over stress the importance of authenticity. Avoid corporate speak when connecting with others about schools. Ask a lot of questions and share your values around children, safety, and instructional excellence. Try not to get sucked into fancy program and initiatives just to get your name in the ring. Ultimately, the values (and clearly communicating them) will carry you through to others’ hearts and help stay true to yourself.

This is super valuable and, definitely, a game changer for educators. To show our work, to share our experiences with colleagues inside and outside our schools, improves our public profile, increases our school reputation and builds better educational networks for children and teenagers in our community

Build Relationships Expand your network by actively seeking out connections with individuals in educational leadership roles. Attend networking events, join professional organizations, and engage in online forums or social media groups focused on educational leadership. Building relationships with influential leaders in the field can open doors to new opportunities and increase your visibility.

Collaborate with others at your school and beyond. Everyone in education pursues the greater good, identify a cause and create a network. Teamwork and good vibes pay off.

I’ve done over 20 short certification courses and probably read over 500 books ranging from management, human behaviour, gamification to grammar. As with my previous points, it shouldn’t be with a mindset of “if I do this course I’ll get that job”. Professional development must be synonymous with lifelong learning. If you have the learner mindset and a perennial curiosity about things, you’ll make a brilliant education leader.

Educational leadership is a critical skill for those who want to obtain leadership positions. Requirements vary depending on your focus: expertise in your field, display of leadership skills, excellent teaching, research, writing and communication skills.

Never stop learning. Keeping up to date with research, exploring the latest tools, and seeking different perspectives are all vital to continuous development and growth. Experience qualifies leaders and provides evidence of impact; wear this proudly but remain humble. There are always opportunities to continue learning if we keep an open mind.

Partaking in a wide range of professional development is an important aspect of learning and innovating in the educational world. Future employers are looking for someone adaptable. One way to be more adaptable is to have many tools in your toolbelt from professional development.

Do not be afraid of different roles. Its is essential to gain as much experience as you can that will help inform your decisions. It will also allow to understand the different perspective of people within the system.

I have found this to be one of the most overlooked components for education leaders. Oftentimes, leaders are very focused on finding ways to improve educational outcomes for their students and forget to document the work they are doing to help foster that success. It is important to document these innovations, not just for personal gain, but rather because many organizations are looking for answers to help their children succeed and providing a tangible framework for a leader’s success in their role may create new opportunities to bring such practices to other organizations as well.

LinkedIn is a really good place to start your portfolio. Posting regularly and maybe even starting a newsletter are great ways to keep your network up to date.

Aspiring and established leaders gain credibility through their contributions to the education discourse. Making this portfolio visible in the age where prudent employers will Google their applicants is critical. Teachers who have contributed to journals, research, or simply blog meaningfully are demonstrating engagement with education beyond the walls of their school. Resumes with a 'publications' section are increasingly common. Being proactively aware of and contributing to progress in education is a characteristic of many successful leaders, and something sought in aspiring leaders. Whether you have a developed LinkedIn account, website, or portfolio, you must make this available to your potential employer.

Having a portfolio of work and experiences you have facilitated is a great way to move past reputation and show your skills and achievements. Often times employees will ask for one but if you have it proactively they might be even more impressed!

A quick and easy way to maintain your portfolio is a running Excel spreadsheet or Word document with your experiences broken down into categories. It is also helpful to journal your practical experiences, including projects or collaborations where your expertise was applied. Often, we may downplay some of the accomplishments or experiences we have in doing what seems normal to us in our traditional routines. Journaling helps to prevent overlooking marketable experiences that contribute to your brand.

I personally look for candidates that possess unique skill sets and experiences. The diversity of thought and experience adds tremendous value to our organizational decisions. Companies spend so much time identifying their unique value proposition (Michael Porter). What makes you unique? Why do your skills and/or experiences add value to the team? Coming from a family of optometrists, I am obsessed with how we process information through our occipital lobe. How we process and organize this information in our mind develops the lens in which we view and interpret data. What unique lens do you bring to the table? Include elements of this unique value as part of your personal brand!

Be genuine. Don’t curate a personal brand that is a façade or hide behind a smoke screen of a disingenuous personal brand by projecting an image that you think folks want to see. It’s a waste of time and energy to try to be everything to everyone, and you can never make everyone happy. Lead with your values so that your personal brand has a solid foundation on which to stand.

Become known as someone that gets things done, has impact and makes a difference to the lives of others. Celebrating the wins and achievements publicly is important but to have a truly authentic personal brand, it is helpful to share the failures and mistakes and highlight the learning that you take from these experiences as that learning is likely to help others. Regular sharing of content with consistent messaging and style of communications draws people in as they know what to expect when you post content on social channels but if it lacks authenticity and vulnerability it may not connect well so be sure to include these where relevant.

1) Keep learning from your experiences. 2) Reflect on your actions and decisions. 3) Stay updated and informed. 4) Lead by example with passion, compassion, honesty, and empathy to inspire others. 5) Share your knowledge and expertise with your community. 6) Contribute to various groups and projects.

To truly stand out in the education industry one must be a thought leader in their field. Tip: Determine your niche and post consistent valuable content on the subject. Soon enough you will be a sought after leader.

When marketing yourself, who do you want to attract? Curate your presentation of yourself to be attractive to schools and employers who align with your values and needs. Aspiring and established leaders will be targeted and intentional when applying for roles. ✅Remember, you are not marketing yourself to schools; you are demonstrating how your presence will resolve the gap the school is hiring for and make the school even better.

Consider the following advice: 1. Advanced Education - Obtain a Master's degree or higher to underscore your dedication and passion for education, boosting your qualifications for leadership roles. 2. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) - Stay current by actively engaging in Continuous Professional Development (CPD), signaling your commitment to staying abreast of changes in the education landscape. 3.Leadership Demonstrations - Actively seek opportunities to showcase your leadership prowess. Volunteer for roles, lead CPD sessions, and take on diverse leadership responsibilities to highlight your ability to lead effectively. These strategies will enhance your candidacy for an educational leadership promotion.

One thing that I've noticed in educational leadership roles is the importance of business and administrative skills. Understanding core accounting, marketing, and financial concepts and processes is incredibly useful when working with senior leadership and stakeholders.

Internal promotions: - Be Available - Be Visible - Be Authentic External Promotions: - Be sure that your linkedin Profile is up to snuff ;) - Do the things listed above "Internal Promotions" so that you get glowing confidential references from your current & previous supervisors - It might not always be completely up to you but try to create conditions during your interviews so that it feels more like a conversation and not a Firing Squad of Q&A, elaborate on the questions being asked to you and control the narrative...

Make time for yourself as a leader and give that time purpose... Author a book, compel yourself to do research, hold a public forum, do charity work, and lastly be authentic!