This is your first opportunity to impress; your letter needs to leave the interview panel fired up and keen to find out more about you. Writing a compelling, well-constructed letter which packs a lot of information into concise articulate prose is no mean feat. It is, however, eminently doable. Have a look at these eight tips for inspiration:

• Preparation is Paramount.

Don’t underestimate the power of thorough research and preparation. The bulk of your time should be spent on this section. If done well, your letter will practically write itself.

1) Read everything you can about the school; the website, the application pack (it was put there for a reason), the Ofsted report and the school’s social media output are all rich sources of information. List key points and then match up with your own vision, values, experience and evidence.

2) Peruse the job advert and application pack, highlighting all essential and desirable skills they are looking for. Link it to your own list of evidence.

3) List the core purposes and roles of a middle leader (See the earlier blog “What is the role of a Middle Leader”) then add any additional tasks detailed in their job description. Again, match these up with your experience.

4) Once this is done, review your notes selecting the most relevant aspects of your experience to support and evidence your claims. Don’t overload your letter with every thing you have done; you will have other opportunities to use these at interview!

This process of classification will underpin the crafting of well structured, persuasive letter.

• Why do you Want to Work in this School?

Are you applying for every middle leadership post on your radar or have you selected this post because you are inspired by the job and the school? In a couple of sentences, tell them why you want to work for them. Are you attracted to the specific challenges? Do you share the same values? Do you have the same passion for their teaching and learning approach? Telling them why you want to work THERE will highlight the fact that you fit their ethos.

• Address the Core Purpose – Teaching and Learning.

Prepare a concise paragraph which articulates your philosophy of teaching and learning explaining how you have applied this to your work. The interview panel need to know that you are passionate about teaching and learning and can discuss and deliver best practice. Refer to this as you move through your letter.

• Shape Your Main Leadership Paragraphs.

Begin to craft the paragraphs which will embody the key messages of your application. Each one should address a point in your notes. You need to convince the interview panel that you have the necessary experience, understanding, skills and qualities to lead their team and make an impact on performance. Don’t simply give them a list of all the things you have done and a lecture on how your current school does things. Inspire and enthuse them with your ability to draw on experience, evaluate your learning and then apply your thinking to innovative solutions to new problems. Consider these two passages:

1) “Last year, I took part in a project aimed at improving homework” and

2) “Ongoing professional development is a powerful improvement tool. A key skill I drew from an Aspiring Middle Leadership course is the value of basing improvement planning on evidence gathered through quality assurance. When working with a cross-curricular team to improve homework, we were able to select the most effective action to take having carried out an evaluation of the current situation.”

There are so many enticing titbits to follow up here. The reader will infer:

- You seek self-improvement and apply it to your practice.

- You understand the cycle of review, plan, implement, evaluate and have used it.

- You can work effectively with others and see your role in the context of the whole school.

- You are passionate about developing pedagogy.

The possibilities for you to develop these points at interview are endless.

Work through your notes ensuring you:

- Headline your paragraph with your main point. Express it with confidence (See above).

- Back your point with evidence.

- Explain or elucidate further.

- How will you apply all this to future settings?

No waffle!

• Your Qualities and Aptitudes.

You may have mentioned some of these above. Often a simple overview of the personal qualities you possess will convey that you are aware this job needs a specific set of abilities. Resilience, dogged determination, reflection, self-awareness, ability to listen, ability to think strategically, interpersonal skills, a sense of humour; this list is endless. Just indicate that you know what the job needs on a personal level.

• Presentation.

You are applying to lead learning in a school. Literacy and presentation are important. Show them that you are a good role model and will maintain high standards when representing the school (think reports, letters, brochures). Once you have finished your letter, check it through, get others to check it and then sleep on it. It is so easy to read what you think you have written and overlook that missing conjunction.

- Word process your letter.

- Check the spellings and eliminate typos.

- Check the grammar.

- Get rid of unnecessary waffle – get to the point.

- Paragraph.

- If you cut and paste, make sure you don’t carry forward tell tale signs like the name of another school.

- Keep it to two sides of A4.

• Conclusion.

A simple, short paragraph telling them that you are ready for a new challenge and excited about the possibility of finding that in their school. You look forward to the opportunity to discuss your application with them further.

Are you considering applying for a promoted post? If you would like a critical friend to support you through the process, why not contact me to find out how we might work together? In any case, I wish you all the very best and good luck!