The personal statement (or as it is sometimes known, personal profile) section of your CV is one of the most important parts to get right. Writing a personal statement can also be the trickiest part of creating your CV as it needs to introduce you, make an impact and yet be concise. When done right, your personal statement should instantly show a recruiter that you are the right person for the job and the rest of your CV simply confirms it.
So, where should you start?
Start by thinking about your key skills and particularly the skills gained that are in-line with the types of roles you are applying for. Use the job description to help you establish what these are. For example, if you are applying for an administration role you may want to highlight your attention to detail and organisation skills. If you are applying for a sales opportunity, you would likely talk about your excellent communication skills as well as being adept at working under pressure.
TIP: If you are applying for roles that are quite varied or for medical school, you may want to write a few versions when you design your personal statement. You can then choose from these when tailoring your CV to each role.
Getting straight to the point
Recruiters have a lot of CVs to read through. This is why you’ll often hear that they only spend a few seconds looking at each one. The opening line of your CV personal profile is what needs to hook them in. It needs to persuade them to read on and invest their time. This is why it’s important to get straight to the point. Who are you?
Here are some examples of effective opening lines:
- A creative digital marketing professional with extensive work experience in social media and email marketing.
- An ambitious salesperson with a proven track record of meeting targets and getting results.
- A web developer with 3 years’ experience working with CSS, PHP and WordPress.
- A well-presented and outgoing customer service advisor with a passion for building relationships.
- A creative honors degree graduate who studied graphic design and has recently completed a work placement.
Concluding your personal statement
The final part of your personal statement should highlight what you’re looking for and this should be in-line with the job role you are applying for. Here are some examples:
- Looking for a new challenge within sales where I can continue to develop my skills and make an impact within a successful business.
- Looking for an entry level role where I can start my teaching career and put the skills and knowledge I have learnt at university into practice.
- Hoping to find a new role where I can fully utilise my graphic design and project management skills within a creative and forward-thinking company.
What your personal statement SHOULD do
- Grab the reader’s attention
- Use a professional tone
- Range from 50-150 words
- Highlight what you can bring to the company
- Indicate what you’re looking for in your next role
- Clarify any career break details
What your personal statement SHOULDN’T do
- Use clichés e.g. I work well individually and as part of a team, or I’m a hard worker
- Include irrelevant information, for example that you’re married and have children
- Use flamboyant language to make yourself sound clever
- Exaggerate or lie
- Be too long – If you want to expand further you can do this in your cover letter
- Start explaining your employment history
CV Personal Statement Examples/ CV Personal Profile Examples
Example One
As a driven graduate from Manchester University with a passion for business, I am now looking to further develop my skill-set and knowledge with a market-leading company. My year in industry as part of my degree has enabled me to build my commercial awareness and enterprise skills. I am now hoping to transfer these skills to a business-focused role where I can progress to management.
Example 2
As a strong communicator with a passion for customer service, I am looking for the next step up where I can further develop and make the most of my skills. Having worked my way up to Assistant Manager within a retail environment, I am now hoping to move into a B2B role where I can use my skill-set to focus on building long-term relationships with customers.
Example 3
I’m a creative digital marketing professional with 3 years’ experience working in a digital agency. My key area of expertise and passion lies in social media marketing and I am hoping to focus on this area in my next role. I’m looking to take on more responsibility and am keen to manage social campaigns that will produce some fantastic results for businesses.
Bringing it all together
Remember, your personal statement should only be bite-sized but at the same time it needs to show off who you are as a professional and what you have to offer. Take your time to get your personal statement right and to tailor it to each specific job you apply for. It could be the difference between success and failure when it comes to your job applications.
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