You are wondering how to catch the interest of a company? How about writing a personal statement on top of your CV which stands out from the crowd. A personal summary of who you are can be challenging. Almost everyone struggles with writing something personal about themselves, so check out our tips on how to start to write a personal statement that will get you your dream job straight away!
Ensuring that employers can find you is just the first step in your job application process. When then recruiters might reach out and ask for your CV, the first thing they will notice about you is the personal statement on top of your CV. It will catch their attention and it might increase your chances of an invitation for an interview or even a job offer. We have personal statement examples for your CV and more to get you a professional look to your resume and modern Regardless of how perfectly structured your CV is, a professional personal statement is needed to really succeed! What a personal statement is about and how to shine will be explained further, so stay tuned!
What is a personal statement?
First of all, your personal statement is on the top of the CV, it comes right after your personal details. In this statement, you write a brief description of yourself, which includes your goals, interests and your professional accomplishments. It basically summarizes your best qualities and objectives which should match the job description. It as well gives the recruiter a glimpse if you’re a good fit for the team and for the startup ecosystem as a whole. This is why the personal statement should be spot on, where you highlight what sets you apart from the other applicants.
This is an example where your personal statement can be placed in a CV:
source: novoresume
How to get started?
It’s always tough to begin, most of the time you don’t know where to start, or which qualities, goals, or interests should be pointed out. It’s not enough to come up with the top strengths you want to mention but you also have to structure your bio well, as you have quite a limited space. How about you start creating a mind map about yourself, where you include your skills, attributes and experiences? Write down everything which comes to your mind!
Then you’ll do the same for the company with the job position you are applying for. After that you compare them both and you’ll see automatically which qualities of yours should be included in the personal statement.
What should be included?
To help you create your personal statement, here are a few questions that you can ask yourself:
- What is your job title you have/had, or when did you graduate, which degree you hold.
- What is the most relevant experience for this position? Point out your talents, and experience in the field you are applying for. Tell the company, what’s their benefit when they will hire you.
- Share your ambition, where you’d like to see yourself along the career path.
What makes a good personal statement for your CV?
- It should be placed on top of the CV, so it catches the eye of the recruiter which leaves a first impression.
- Set a clear message, it’s best to be brief and point out your good qualities, it should be max 3-4 sentences long.
- Give specific illustrations, why you are interested in this job position, is there a story behind it?
- Include a couple of hard and soft skills. General skills can be learned via numerous online course providers as well as more specific ones like coding or digital marketing skills. Don’t forget, always tailor these to the specific job.
- Writing in the first person is the traditional approach (“I am…”) but you can as well use the third person (“She is..”).
- Pay attention to the wording, vocabulary of the job description, the website of the company and their social media channels. Then try and use the same language, this will show them that you’re a good fit for the organization.
Here are some examples of a personal statements:
Project manager personal statement
As an experienced project manager who is excellent in identifying problems and finding solutions, I can save your company a considerable amount by speeding up project execution. My track record tells my story better than I can: I saved my previous employer in excess of $250,000 in the past three years by completing projects an average of 15% faster than my peers.
Remote data scientist, personal statement
While focusing on statistics and analytics at my university, I worked in the financial sector through an internship at a multinational firm. Due to my education and practical experience, I developed technical capabilities in data engineering and science. As I have been working remotely most of the time, I am very familiar with communicating and being transparent with my team members. Moreover, I have proven my ability to achieve project objectives within the given deadlines, solve mission-critical problems and prioritize tasks while maintaining the high standards expected of my role. I am longing for a position in an established data science firm to further my career goals and advance my knowledge.
Recent college graduate, Copywriter personal statement
Recent college graduate with freelance writing experience at major print magazines as well as online outlets and the college newspaper. I am a strong writer who always meets the given deadlines, and matches the company tone and voice. I am longing for a staff writer position and eager to get to know the insights of the magazine trade from the ground up.
Internship in HR area, personal statement
An enthusiastic college student in the (X study program) with practical experience due to recent hands-on projects at the university. Due to this, I have gained motivation to seek more experience in the HR area. I am a hardworking person and very ambitious when it comes to getting the best possible results. Also I am eager to learn new skills and forward my knowledge in that field, therefore I am longing for the internship position to forward my career prospects.
Career change, personal statement
“An enthusiastic professional individual who is seeking a new challenging career after many years of being in (X profession). I am a hardworking person who strives to achieve the best in all areas, also I am eager to learn new skills and advance my career as best as possible. As this is a significant career change, I have completed a training course (enter course or work experience that has introduced you to a new career), constantly read forums to stay up-to-date, and I am ambitious to build upon new knowledge and continue to learn within this sector. As a self motivated individual, I am eager to follow my dream within this new industry of becoming (new career/job role).”
Summary
To sum up all the important points, a personal statement is a perfect way to highlight yourself and your ambition. The main goal is to avoid oversharing and only include information that is relevant to the job at hand. Don’t worry if it takes more time than you expect, that’s quite normal. And remember to always edit your personal statement for the job position you are applying for.
And if you feel confident enough, go ahead and apply to one of the European startup’s jobs!
