Thank you for participating in the Step into Leadership professional learning program. The resources below are designed to support your next steps as you prepare for leadership opportunities in Victorian government schools. 

  

1. What, How, Impact Planner
   Before you can tell your story, you need to know it. The What, How, Impact Planner is your starting point: a structured reflection tool that helps you articulate exactly what you did, the deliberate strategies and frameworks you drew on, and the difference it made for students, staff, or your school. Use it to build your written application, develop your portfolio evidence, and do the deep thinking that makes your interview preparation sharper. 

 

2. STAR Response Planner
   Interviews move fast, and panels want answers that are specific, structured, and easy to follow. The STAR Response Planner helps you shape your experience into a clear story: the Situation you were in, the Task you owned, the Actions you took, and the Result you achieved. Use it in the lead-up to your interview to prepare and practise multiple examples, so you can respond with confidence rather than scrambling to remember on the day. 

 

Use them together 
Start with the What, How, Impact Planner to surface and organise your evidence. Then use the STAR Planner to shape that thinking into a response you can deliver clearly in the room. Together, they take you from reflection to readiness. 

Department of Education Recruitment Resources 

 

3. Interview Evidence Lotus Diagram
   The lotus diagram is a simple but powerful tool for the interview room itself. In the 10 minutes before a panel interview, it is easy to go blank, even when you know your evidence well. Having a completed lotus diagram in front of you means you are not trying to remember everything from scratch. Instead, you are scanning a map you have already built. Before your interview, write one keyword example in each blank cell: a project name, an initiative, a data story, a moment of coaching. Each coloured topic anchors a cluster of up to eight examples across a different domain of your leadership practice. On the day, when you read the panel questions, you scan the diagram rather than searching your memory. Print it A3, fill it in, and bring it with you. 

 

4. Step into Leadership Chatbot

Continue your learning and practise your application and interview skills using the Step into Leadership Chatbot. 

The chatbot can support you to: 

• Explore leadership pathways and roles  

• Practise responding to selection criteria  

• Prepare for interviews using realistic panel questions  

• Develop and refine STAR examples  

• Receive feedback on the clarity, evidence and impact of your responses  

Access the chatbot: VASSP Step Into Leadership Coach 

 

Important considerations when using AI 

Artificial intelligence can be a valuable tool to support your preparation; however, it should enhance your work rather than replace it. 

When using AI: 

• Ensure all examples, achievements and evidence are authentic and reflect your own experience  

• Verify any information, policies or advice against official Department guidance  

• Avoid entering sensitive, confidential or personally identifiable information about students, families, colleagues or schools  

• Review and edit AI-generated content to ensure it accurately reflects your voice, context and leadership approach  

• Remember that selection panels assess your capability, experience and professional judgement—not the quality of AI-generated responses  

AI is most effective when used to prompt reflection, organise your thinking and strengthen your communication. 

General information about applying in a Victorian Government School

Recruitment and selection in Victorian government schools is guided by merit-based principles and Department policy. Selection decisions are based on the skills, capabilities and experience required for the role.  

Useful Department resources include: 

• Recruitment in Schools: Policy and Guidelines – an overview of recruitment processes, policies and procedures.  

• Applicant Selection Guidelines – information about merit-based selection processes and selection panels.  

• Managing and Advertising Vacancies Guidelines – guidance on how vacancies are advertised through School Jobs Vic.  

• School Jobs Vic – search current vacancies and create an applicant profile.  

We encourage participants to revisit these resources regularly, as Department policies, recruitment processes and application requirements may change over time.