Writing a Personal Statement on your CV
The art of CV writing has transformed over the years, with business support professionals having to adapt to new structures, Applicant Tracking Systems, and unique job titles. The one constant is the need for a solid and eye-catching personal statement.
To avoid the automatic rejection pile, your personal statement needs to demonstrate you as the prime candidate for your desired role. Within this article, we shall cover the best practices for writing a short, sharp and succinct statement.
What Should you Include in your Personal Statement?
As Corinne Mills, Managing Director of Personal Career Management stated, ‘Recruiters are scanning CVs very quickly so you have to grab their attention early on in your CV to persuade them to read further. Otherwise they’re already onto the next CV by the end of your personal statement.’
To complete a compelling profile, we would recommend a maximum of 4-5 sentences at the top of your CV, highlighting your relevant abilities and catching the attention of the recruiter. Think of it as a headline to describe your professional portfolio.
Your Job Title:
Job titles vary between organisations for similar roles; therefore, if you have experience, you should use the job title that the recruiter uses in their job advert.
Secure your professional identity and reinforce your suitability for the role. For those in PA Jobs, don’t shy away from describing yourself as an Executive Assistant if you have the experience to back it up.
Specific Expertise:
Understanding the niche and specific skills required for a particular role is the key to writing an impactful personal statement. Read through the job description, and tailor your expertise accordingly. This is a place to highlight your hard skills, such as budget and diary management, and avoid generic statements, such as ‘work well on my own or in a team’.
Hone into the finer details of the application, by stating your unique skillset. For example, if you’re applying for an Executive Assistant position within retail banking industry, you could state, ‘EA with 8 years retail banking experience (Barclays and NatWest), supporting the C-Suite Customer Service Director’.
As Corinne Mills states, ‘include your personal strengths. For instance, are you a great relationship builder, a practical problem-solver or very resilient working under pressure. Choose ones that feel authentically true for you so that they also get a sense of your personality.’
The Upsell:
Professionalism and efficiency are vital in your personal statement CV. Recruiters are looking for high achievers. Modesty plays no role in a CV; upsell your skills and prove your worth. Include your impressive achievements, use powerful verbs to describe them, and quantify your facts.
Active Language:
Active Language: arguably the most important aspect of writing your personal statement. When compiling your paragraph, you should use the active voice. Active language focuses on you, it’s clear and direct.
Focus on power verbs to describe your achievements, such as ‘developed’, ‘resolved’ and ‘conducted’, instead of ‘made’, 'fixed’ and ‘did’. Being creative and strategic with your use of language will stand you in good stead with the recruiter.
Adjust to Each Role:
Finally, it’s essential to adapt your personal statement to each role you are applying for. Putting in the effort to write a tailored paragraph will increase your likelihood of being shortlisted and carried through to the interview process.
Discover the SecsintheCity blog for further CVs & Career Advice. Reach out to Personal Career Management, offering a free career review to SecsintheCity subscribers, to find out how career coaching can help you. Click to book or call 01753 888 995.
