How to write a perfect personal statement

what is a personal statement?

This is a succinct summary of self that provides information that sets you apart from the competition to probable employers or intended university. It is either included in a CV, resume or university application letter. It involves selling yourself to the respective party while staying relevant to a particular topic or interest. Additionally, it is advisable that you include your skills and experiences and explains them in a brief and concise manner. Moreover, consider the fact that a personal statement should allow you to say all about yourself in a brief and appropriate manner using about 150 words.

What should you include in a personal statement?

This may differ when writing a college application form to when applying for a job. The main points nonetheless include;

·         Who are you?

·         What is it that you can offer?

·         What are your career dreams, goals and objectives?

Writing on your skills may prove a difficult challenge. To make your work easier you may use the job description provided by the employer to act as guidance in explaining your skills and experiences provided you maintain relevance and observe honesty. Despite insisting on writing a brief statement, ensure you write something that makes sense and abides with the grammatical rules.

The tense used when writing a personal statement is not defined or specified. The persona is undefined too. The persona and tense of your choice should, however, remain consistent throughout your statement.

The personal statement changes with each job application as it is aimed at pleasing the employer and each employer/ job require a different set of skills from the next. Most importantly, you should be authentic in your writing. Generic writing easily rules you out as they consider people to shortlist.

What are the do and don’ts to perfect your personal statement?

Do’s;

·         Be straightforward- ensure your statements are straight to the point and are easily understood. As earlier stated provide all the required info in about 150 words. The university or college applications may require you to write a longer essay.

·         Maintain focus- always answer the question earlier stated i.e. who are you, what are your career goals and what can you offer? Use these questions as a guideline and answer them in relation to the job description.

·         Quantify achievements- the description of you should not be basic. When stating achievements it is vital to quantify where possible. E.g. instead of writing “I have helped companies increase their profits”, write “I have helped X company to increase its profits by y%”.

·         Avoid being a platitude- hiring agencies deal with a lot of CVs and therefore a lot of personal statements. Use of clichés will only discourage your acceptance. Be as personal as you can possibly can. Phrases such as a team player only prove you have nothing unique to offer. Remember you are trying to stand out from a crowd of fellow applicants.

·         Use adjectives that help your cause e.g. successfully, experienced etc.

Don’ts;

·         Focus on unnecessary attributes, skills or experiences. Provide what makes you unique and increases your chances to stand out

·         Confuse tenses, make grammatical or spelling errors, use colloquialisms. The personal statement is part of a formal document and therefore should also be official. In addition, proofread your work to avoid simple errors that may be used to rule you out. Always consider the application as competitive and you strive to be the best.

·         Elaborate on achievements as if you are writing a cover letter. A cover letter is where achievements are elaborated on and the roles you played in particular stages spelt out. In a personal statement, however, the key is to mention the achievements and experiences

·         Provide your achievements as if it is a list. Your listed achievements and experiences should be used to form concise but elaborative statements e.g. a qualified and experienced author of three publications within 5 years.

Following the above guidelines, you are bound to write a perfect personal statement.