When I first started trying to move into the assistant principalship, several people offered the same advice:
“Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the job. Sometimes, it’s just not the right fit.”
I didn’t want to believe that.
The competitive side of me was convinced that if I could just get in the room—if I earned the interview—I could win the job. Preparation, performance, and effort would be enough.
Thankfully, I landed the very first assistant principal position I interviewed for.
In hindsight, I don’t know if I interviewed that well, but I do know that I was the fit they needed at that moment.
I didn’t fully understand what that meant until the next hiring season came along, when I found myself sitting on the other side of the interview table.
What “Fit” Is Not
“Fit” gets a bad reputation, and sometimes for good reason.
There are moments when it’s used as a vague explanation or a polite way to end a conversation without offering meaningful feedback. That does happen. But most of the time, when hiring teams talk about “fit,” they’re not talking about personality or preference.
“Fit” does not mean:
- You lead exactly like the principal
- You share the same background or resume
- You look, sound, or think the same way as the rest of the team
In fact, hiring for sameness usually creates blind spots, not strength.
What “Fit” Actually Means
Once you sit in enough interviews, you realize something important:
When a campus talks about “fit,” they’re asking a question much bigger than “Do we like this person?”
They’re asking:
Will this person strengthen our team without disrupting our values, systems, or culture?
That question shows up in three consistent ways.
1. Values Alignment
Every campus has values—whether they’ve written them down or not.
Hiring teams are listening closely to:
- How you talk about students when things go wrong
- How you talk about teachers under pressure
- Whether accountability and empathy coexist in your thinking
They aren’t listening for buzzwords. They’re listening for how you think.
You don’t have to match their language perfectly. You do have to demonstrate that your decisions are anchored in values.
2. Leadership Complement
Strong administrative teams are intentionally unbalanced.
When principals are hiring, they’re often thinking:
- Do we need a stabilizer or a driver right now?
- Do we need someone who builds systems—or someone who builds people?
- What are we currently missing?
“Fit” here isn’t about comfort. It’s about capacity.
Can this person do something we don’t currently do well enough?
That’s not a judgment of your ability. It’s a reality of team construction. (Side note: Here’s my favorite book on this topic)
3. Trust Readiness
This is the quiet part of “fit,” but it may be the most important.
Hiring teams are asking themselves:
- Can I trust this person with difficult conversations?
- Can I trust them to represent the campus when I’m not in the room?
- Can I trust their judgment when things move fast?
Fit isn’t about being easy to work with. It’s about being safe to lead with.
Fit Works Both Ways
Here’s the part candidates don’t always hear—and need to. You don’t want a job where you aren’t the right fit.
If you take a position that requires you to constantly change who you are as a leader, one of two things will happen:
- You’ll grow frustrated or miserable trying to be someone you’re not, or
- You’ll live in constant tension because you’re unwilling to change in ways the role demands
Neither leads to strong leadership or longevity.
Fit isn’t about winning a job. It’s about finding a place where your leadership can actually take root.
How to Show Fit Without Trying to “Fit In”
One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is trying to mold themselves into what they think the campus wants.
Strong candidates do something different:
- They are clear about how they make decisions
- They are honest about how they lead people
- They anchor answers in why, not just what
They don’t audition. They clarify.
The Bottom Line
When a campus says, “They weren’t the right fit,” it’s usually not about personality.
It’s about:
- Values
- Complement
- Trust
Understanding that doesn’t make the process easier—but it does make it clearer. And clarity is what turns interviews from performances into leadership conversations.
If You’re Preparing for Interviews
If you’re preparing for assistant principal interviews and want a clearer understanding of what hiring teams really mean by “fit”—and how to communicate your leadership without trying to be someone you’re not—I’ve created a resource that walks through this process step by step.
You can learn more about the Assistant Principal Interview Bootcamp here.
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