Contents
Knowing what to include in your personal statement can be very confusing, especially when you factor in that this little statement could mean the difference in you getting a position at a company or your desired university.
With that being said, we want to make things as easy as possible for you, which is why we’re going to put everything you need to know about writing personal statements in this very article.
Once you’ve implemented our advice, there is no way you’ll be turned away by a future employer or administrator.
A Personal Statement
What’s the Purpose of a Personal Statement?
A personal statement is your chance to show just how enthusiastic and committed you are as well as what value you can bring to a company or university.
Your personal statement is your opportunity to sway things in your favor when someone is trying to choose between you and another candidate; it’s your last chance to impress whoever makes the final decision.
How to Write a Personal Statement
There are many elements that come together when you’re trying to craft the perfect personal statement for you; below we are going to go over things like what you should include and how long your personal statement should be.
Afterwards, we’re going to get into some personal statement examples so you can see how everything fits together; and doing so will hopefully give you some inspiration when you go ahead and create your own.
What to Include
Here is a checklist for the things you should be including in your personal statement:
- Your career aspirations.
- How you became interested in the position you’re applying for.
- Provide examples of the related academic or work experience.
- Previous job roles/education you found the most interesting.
- What attracted you to the particular company/university.
- Other academic interests, passions, or hobbies that display good character and personality.
Genuine experiences of extra classes you might have once taken, or jobs you loved will help make your personal statement stand out from the rest; this can all be used to find out if you have good character or not.
How Long Should Your Personal Statement Be?
The length of a personal statement varies, and it all really comes down to the quality’ of the company or university you’re looking to apply for.
We would recommend that you keep it below 1000 words, but make sure that you’ve got everything you need within there which shows off your good character.
There’s no use in cutting corners just to save on word count, especially when we’ve already established the fact that this personal statement alone could make or break your application.
Common Personal Statement Errors
Along with not lying on your personal statement about things like your personal life or education history you do not want to over-exaggerate who you are and what you’re interested in as they’ll easily see through the lies.
Along with this, you should not:
- Submit a personal statement that is too long or too short.
- Submit a personal statement that included negative or unimportant information
- Submit a personal statement that does not have a good structure to it.
Additional Personal Statement Tips
Before we move onto some good examples of personal statements, here’s a list of some personal statement tips we think could be helpful:
- Start things strongly to grab the attention of the reader
- Link outside interests and passions to the position you’re applying for
- Be as honest as you can, but don’t be negative
- Don’t attempt to sound to clever
- Express a passion for your line of work
- Have an outside eye help proofread it
- Don’t use material you used in your CV/Resume
Personal Statement Examples
Career Break Personal Statement Example
A highly motivated and experienced programmer, hoping to continue my professional career and passion after committing the previous 5 years of my life to raising a family. Excellent problem-solving skills, thanks to my knowledge in C++, Javascript, Python to name a few. On top of this I also have experience with liaising with clients. After refreshing my skills working on a few personal projects over the last couple of months, I’m ready to continue my career on a more full-time basis.
Career Change Personal Statement Example
As an accomplished programmer, my day-to-day work life required me to have excellent problem skills as well as an eye for detail. My excellent networking skills also provided my company with vital client leads which have helped to increase their revenue by 20% year on year. After 10 wonderful years in this line of work, I’m currently seeking a new challenge that will utilize my current skill set.
How to Write a Personal Statement | Image
- 10 Rare Words for Expanding Your English Vocabulary - June 5, 2024
- What Does the Term “Hypocritical” Mean? - January 27, 2024
- SWAG Meaning: What Does it Mean? - January 25, 2024
