[TeacherBae]

Hello all!

I am needing a bit of assistance regarding what should be written in emails to principals for interview requests.

I will attach my resume and teacher brochure to the email, but should I type my cover letter into the body? Or would that be too long?

Thank you.

[GraceKrispy]

Are these cold emails? In other words, there is not a job posted but you are hoping to get an interview? Some districts are extremely specific about never sending any of those materials to principals. I will assume that's not the case in the districts where you are applying (but if you don't know, definitely check it out first before sending).

In my experience, principals rarely open attachments unless they are expecting them. Therefore, I would definitely have the cover letter be the email. That may be the only thing they actually look at. If this is a cold email, you may want to consider keeping the email on the shorter side. If they are interested, they may need you to officially apply and you can use a longer cover letter for that.

Those are just my thoughts, but hopefully others with more recent experience will respond as well!

[Fractured]

I wouldn’t email principals at all. They hate it and probably won’t read anything you send and blackball you with HR. Most districts explicitly state to not contact anyone, esp the P. I know a lot of older teachers on here still swear by that and it’s how they got their job, but it’s definitely looked down upon now.

[ih8]

We are allowed to contact principals for open jobs, but it is rare for any principal to actually respond or even open an unsolicited email. The best way to get a job is to somehow stand out with a principal. An email is not going to cut it. Phone calls and even showing up in person at a school is the way I have gotten jobs in the past. This also worked for many of my friends.

That being said, I could see where some principals would not appreciate the personal approach. Maybe you could try an email first (with the cover sheet pasted in), a follow-up phone call, and finally a walk-in visit.

Good luck!