How to Write a Convincing Personal Statement for Your CV

How to Write a Convincing Personal Statement for Your CV… When applying for a job, what stands you out from other applicant is your personal statement. Your personal statement summarises your skills and experience and it has to be convincing enough for you to be considered by your prospective employer.

What is a Personal Statement?

A personal statement is usually a reflective write up of why you should be considered for an offer. It is usually situated at the top of your CV. Your personal statement is a brief summary given to prospective employers to help you stand out from other applicants.

There are different ways of writing a personal statement, usually dependent on the job role or skill set. However, most job application forms will also include a personal statement section.

Why You Need a Personal Statement

Lest to say, your personal statement is one of the most important parts of your curriculum vitae. It is the summary of your specific skills and experience that makes you perfect for the position you applied for. A convincing personal statement will motivate the recruiter to pick interest in you.

A personal statement is just like a banner summarising your whole selling point. In fact, a well written personal statement might be all you need to get to get that dream job of yours.

READ ALSO: Tips to Help You Get a Job Abroad.

How Long Should a Personal Statement Be?

There is no definitive answer to how long a personal statement should be. However, your personal statement should not exceed 150 words or four to five lines of your CV. Keep in mind that it is a summary, not a cover letter. Any attempt to add more lines will make it take up valuable space on your CV.

Structure of a Personal Statement

Your personal statement should be well structured in clear paragraphs and good punctuations. A convincing personal statement should answer the following questions;

• Who are you?
• What can you offer?
• What are your career goals?

Your personal statement should be able to answer the above questions convincingly. You can tailor your personal statement based on the job description you are applying for.

How To Begin a Personal Statement

Your personal statement should start with who you are, with a quick introduction to the first point. The first sentence of your personal statement should include;

• Your job title.
• The number of years’ experience.
• A particular expertise you have.
• Active positive words or verbs.

Example of how to begin a personal statement.

1. A qualified and enthusiastic Sales Personnel with over 2 years working experience, currently searching for an Executive Sales Manager to utilize my skill and take the next big step in my career.
2. A qualified Project Manager with over 3 years working experience managing complex IT projects for Zinox Technologies operating across Africa.

READ ALSO: How to Write a Persuasive Career Objective for Your CV.

What Tense It Should Be written in?

Your personal statement can be written in any tense, but it must be consistent.

You should avoid statements like: I am a fresh business administration graduate. I am result oriented and self-motivated individual that gives 100% in assigned task. Ability to work under intense pressure.

How to End a Personal Statement

There two ways of ending a personal statement.

Entry level – My career objective is to develop good leadership skills on a project and human resource management while contributing to the growth of the company.

You can be more specific in your goals while ending your personal statement.

Career developer – Hoping to join a dynamic and innovative company, and develop my digital marketing skills further.

Things To Avoid While Writing Personal Statement

There are certain things you should not include in your personal statement. Below are a few of them;

• Uninspiring phrases – Avoid using clichés that could describe anyone in any role at any level
• Generic statements – Your personal statement should be tailored to a specific job description. Don’t use one personal statement for every job you apply for.
• Exaggerations – Avoid exaggerations as much as possible, it might be discovered by your recruiter.
• Negative language – Don’t use negative languages, your personal statement need to speak positively about your person.
• Personal information – The employer is not interested in your marital status or how many dependents you have, keep this information away from your personal statement.