3 Simple Steps to Writing Your Personal Statement

Selling, or even talking, about oneself can be a nightmare for some people. Unfortunately, this is the main role of a personal statement.

This section of your CV is the first real representation that a hirer has of you. Choosing the best bits of your personality and putting them into words can be difficult, so here’s an easy guide that we have found useful to follow:

Think of Who, What and Why.

Who Are You?

In this section of your personal statement, your aim is to get across your key qualities. If you are stuck with this, try asking a colleague or a family member what best three adjectives describe you.

Are you hard-working?

Are you a dedicated team player?

Perhaps you are organized and punctual?

Ideally your answers for this exercise will correlate with what an employer is looking for. Now, making your best effort to avoid first person, create a couple of scent

What do you do?

What are you seeking by applying for this role? If you are looking to enter a new industry, what has made you do so? Looking for a new challenge, explain what it is exactly. Have you recently left college? Relay that in your personal statement.

Why you?

Hirers will have a pile of applications and CVs for every job role they seek. With limited time, they will only scan by the ones that stand out. What makes you stand out from the crowd? By highlighting your biggest achievement so far and including it in your personal statement, it will save them having to scroll through to your most recent job role to find it. (That’s if they even get that far!).

Here’s an example of a Personal Statement for a role in career progression:

An ambitious, dedicated and data-driven team player, currently looking to advance their career in manufacturing sales. Passionate about creating meaningful relationships that secure repeat business for companies. Previously lead the sales team to revenue growth of 50% YOY, three years in a row.

Your personal statement should be unique to you. It is your chance to sell yourself with a first impression, prior to securing an interview.

What does your personal statement look like? Post it on our Facebook Page and we’ll help you review it for free!