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Resume · Principal

Principal resume: the keywords, bullets and skills to prove.

Built from what the job actually involves: the core duties, the skills and tools rated most important, and bullet formulas you fill with your own numbers. No made-up example person.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0

[Your name]

Principal · [city] · [email] · [phone]
Experience
[Employer] · Principal · [dates]
  • Counseled and provided guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues for [scale: how many, how often]; [result you can prove].
  • Conferred with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems for [scale: how many, how often]; [result you can prove].
  • Observed teaching methods for [scale: how many, how often]; [result you can prove].
Skills
Apache Cassandra, IBM SPSS Statistics, SAS, The MathWorks MATLAB, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software
Quick answer

A strong Principal resume proves the core duties of the job with results: enforce discipline and attendance rules; recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff; and counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal. Name the tools employers look for, such as Apache Cassandra, IBM SPSS Statistics, SAS, inside the bullets where you used them. The skills rated most important for the role are active listening, learning strategies and judgment and decision making (O*NET).

Annotated

Why these lines work

Data Each line maps to a core task rated important by workers in the role. Hover or tap a note.

  1. 1
    Core duty, provenCounsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal…Rated one of the most important tasks for the role (O*NET). The bracketed parts are where your own numbers go.
  2. 2
    Core duty, provenConfer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities…Rated one of the most important tasks for the role (O*NET). The bracketed parts are where your own numbers go.
  3. 3
    Core duty, provenObserve teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate…Rated one of the most important tasks for the role (O*NET). The bracketed parts are where your own numbers go.
Advice Section order for this role
  1. Summary
  2. Experience
  3. Skills
  4. Education
  5. Licenses and certifications

Experience leads because the role is Job Zone 5: employers expect proof of prior work.

Weak vs strong

Principal bullets, rewritten

  • CounselResponsible for counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic…Counseled and provided guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues, [how many / how often], which [result: time saved, errors cut, revenue, people served].
  • ConferResponsible for confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and…Conferred with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems, [how many / how often], which [result: time saved, errors cut, revenue, people served].
  • ObserveResponsible for observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and…Observed teaching methods, [how many / how often], which [result: time saved, errors cut, revenue, people served].
  • DetermineResponsible for determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of…Determined the scope of educational program offerings, [how many / how often], which [result: time saved, errors cut, revenue, people served].

Advice Fill every highlighted bracket with something true and checkable. If you can't, choose a different duty.

Keyword map

Words that belong on a Principal resume

Data Tools reported for the role (with O*NET demand flags), the most important skills and knowledge areas. Use the ones that are true for you.

  • Apache CassandraTool · Hot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsTool · Hot technology
  • SASTool · Hot technology
  • The MathWorks MATLABTool · Hot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelTool · In demand
  • Microsoft Office softwareTool · In demand
  • Student information systems SIS softwareTool · In demand
  • Microsoft AccessTool · Hot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookTool · Hot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointTool · Hot technology
  • Active ListeningSkill · importance 4.9/5
  • Learning StrategiesSkill · importance 4.9/5
  • Judgment and Decision MakingSkill · importance 4.8/5
  • Reading ComprehensionSkill · importance 4.8/5
  • SpeakingSkill · importance 4.8/5
  • WritingSkill · importance 4.6/5
  • Education and TrainingKnowledge
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge
  • English LanguageKnowledge
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge
  • PsychologyKnowledge
Skills to prove

How central each skill is to the job

Data O*NET importance, 1 to 5.

Active Listening
4.9
Learning Strategies
4.9
Judgment and Decision Making
4.8
Reading Comprehension
4.8
Speaking
4.8
Writing
4.6
Critical Thinking
4.6
Before you send it

Principal resume checklist

0 of 6
FAQ

Common questions

What skills should I put on a Principal resume?
Lead with the skills O*NET rates most important for the role: Active Listening, Learning Strategies, Judgment and Decision Making, Reading Comprehension, Speaking. Show each one inside a bullet, not only in the skills list.
What keywords should a Principal resume include?
Tools and terms from the job description first. For this occupation the commonly reported tools include Apache Cassandra, IBM SPSS Statistics, SAS, The MathWorks MATLAB, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software.
Should I use a resume template?
A simple single-column layout with standard headings is safest for applicant tracking systems. Design matters less than what each bullet proves.
Method

How this page is built

Duties, skills, knowledge and tools come from O*NET 31.0 for the occupation. Bullet scaffolds rewrite O*NET task statements in the past tense and leave every number for you to fill in. Section order follows the role's O*NET Job Zone.

What this page can't tell you
  • What a specific employer screens for: always mirror the job description.
  • Your results: we never invent numbers.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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