How to write a Personal Statement that doesn’t suck
Posted by
Recruiters – probably most people in fact – are very cynical about Personal Statements on CVs. And when you’ve read a lot of them, you can easily understand why!
We’re talking here about the paragraph, which heads up your CV, and aims to showcase your potential contribution.
Unfortunately, most people see this as their ‘sales pitch’ – and they present an unrealistic picture of a superhero. You see the same themes over and over again, as people think – “What do they want, and how can I convince them I fit this picture?” You see phrases like “I’m very committed, hardworking and enthusiastic”; “I have very good communication skills”; “I’m a fantastic team player”. Or applicants try to hedge their bets by covering all the bases – “I’m good in a group but also working independently”; “I’m happy working on projects or on-going work”.
You get no real picture of the person, so the text isn’t at all memorable.
Other people cringe at the thought of putting something like this on their CV, so they omit the Personal Statement entirely. Then their CV consists of a series of descriptions of exam results, job roles and possibly some achievements. It’s like a body without a head. There is no sense of personality or humanity about it; you can’t tell how this person will fit into the team.
But it is possible to write a really good initial profile. The key thing you want to keep in mind is what differentiates you as a person and makes you stand out. What do you really enjoy at work, and do well?
To improve your Personal Statement, answer these two questions:
TAKE AWAY
Remember that you are not trying to write a sales pitch that will get you any job. You are trying to honestly share key information that will help a manager quickly get to the heart of the kind of work you will be great at. A really good Personal Statement won’t get you every job – it will just help you get jobs that are a great fit to your strengths. And that’s how you build a successful career.
We’re talking here about the paragraph, which heads up your CV, and aims to showcase your potential contribution.
Unfortunately, most people see this as their ‘sales pitch’ – and they present an unrealistic picture of a superhero. You see the same themes over and over again, as people think – “What do they want, and how can I convince them I fit this picture?” You see phrases like “I’m very committed, hardworking and enthusiastic”; “I have very good communication skills”; “I’m a fantastic team player”. Or applicants try to hedge their bets by covering all the bases – “I’m good in a group but also working independently”; “I’m happy working on projects or on-going work”.
You get no real picture of the person, so the text isn’t at all memorable.
Other people cringe at the thought of putting something like this on their CV, so they omit the Personal Statement entirely. Then their CV consists of a series of descriptions of exam results, job roles and possibly some achievements. It’s like a body without a head. There is no sense of personality or humanity about it; you can’t tell how this person will fit into the team.
But it is possible to write a really good initial profile. The key thing you want to keep in mind is what differentiates you as a person and makes you stand out. What do you really enjoy at work, and do well?
To improve your Personal Statement, answer these two questions:
- If a senior manager you respected walked through the door now, what three things would you want them to know about you?
- Why would those three things be useful to them? What would they see as the benefit of having those things in their team?
TAKE AWAY
Remember that you are not trying to write a sales pitch that will get you any job. You are trying to honestly share key information that will help a manager quickly get to the heart of the kind of work you will be great at. A really good Personal Statement won’t get you every job – it will just help you get jobs that are a great fit to your strengths. And that’s how you build a successful career.