Writing A Personal Statement: Advice and Information

Many application processes want you to include a 'Personal Statement' which is a requirement of the application form to state why you believe that you are suitable for the job in question.

This section of the application form is simply known as a ‘personal statement’ and it is your opportunity to convince the reader that you are interested in the position and that you have all the necessary skills and aptitudes to be successful in the role.

Quite often you will see something like the following on a section of the application form:

Please use the space below to indicate why you feel that you are suitable for this post, including details of relevant experience and evidence of your ability to meet the selection criteria.

The purpose of a personal statement like this is to demonstrate that you have the right work skills, knowledge and attitude to meet the requirements of the job role. The job application form is a standardised way of collecting identical information from all job applicants, but this section is where you have the opportunity to differentiate yourself.

Postgraduate Study

A Personal Statement is also frequently required to support for application for entry to higher degree courses such as a Master's Degree. In this case the application may include this:

"All applicants – please attach a personal statement that describes your academic interests and your purpose and objectives in undertaking graduate study. If you are applying for a master’s or diploma programme this is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the selectors.

Please describe your academic background, strengths/interests, ambitions/research interests. Your statement should be typed, and should cover 2-3 sides of A4 paper. About 900 - 1000 words. If your chosen programme has more than one stream (e.g. MSc Social Research Methods) you should indicate which stream you are interested in following."

Meeting Their Requirements

Most organisations which use application forms as their main method of job application, will provide you with a job description and a person specification. This second part is what you must concentrate on when preparing your personal statement.

Your aim is to meet as much of what they have identified as the key requirements of the role and the type of skills and experiences that are important. These are shown in the ‘person specification’ for the job, which is a comprehensive list of all the criteria against which all job applicants will be measured.

If they don't give you a person specification, you will need to do some careful thinking, maybe research other similar jobs online, to get a good feel for what they are most likely to want from you. Here's some help with identifying your skills for this statement.

No Waffle, PLease...

Now don't think that you should just fill the space on the form with a lot of vague claims about yourself. Structure this piece of writing carefully and include only relevant information, making it persuasive and supported with evidence i.e. examples that show actual experience.

There is no one way to write a personal statement, but my recommendation is to copy out the person specification and break it down into sections in a text editor.

Once you've done that you can start to write a paragraph about each point, but don't waffle, keep it succinct with the point you want to emphasise coming at the beginning of your response. Look for the specific criteria in the person specification, especially those marked as essential, then prepare a matching statement drawn from your own experiences.

When you have responded to all, or as many of the criteria that you can, you are in a position to edit it into a readable statement; I suggest that you start with an introduction that answers the following questions:

• Why you are interested in this particular job role.

• Why you are interested in this organisation.

• How you will provide evidence and examples that you have the skills required for the role.

Show Confidence

Use confident language throughout as you would in a covering letter to create an enthusiastic tone for your personal statement.

A confident opening will work well for your statement:

"I am an accomplished Project/Programme Manager (PRINCE2 Practitioner) with a proven track record of delivering significant multi-million pound IT Infrastructure, Local Government and Construction projects within the public & private sectors. My experience includes defining resources and schedule for programme implementation requirements and creating plans for the full project life cycle deployment. I make certain of delivering results by creating strategies for risk mitigation and contingency planning. My key approach is planning and scheduling all of the project deliverables, goals and milestones so that I keep on track throughout my projects."

Here is an example of a person specification which you can analyze to get the feel for what you need to do. Click on the image to enlarge it.

The principles for writing a personal statement are much the same for any job or position, although the emphasis you place on different aspects of your background and experience may be different depending on the job.

Your aim is to persuade the person reading your statement that you are enthusiastic about the job and the organisation, that you have the requisite knowledge and experience, and that you will be a successful new recruit if they offer you the job.

CV writing, cover letter writing and preparing personal statements all need special attention - they need to focus positively on the next job, which builds naturally upon your previous experience.

There is a knack to getting it right so if you need help just get in touch with me; I have lots of experience and I can help you get this right. I charge from £35.00 for a fully detailed statement for a job application form, up to £90.00 for a Personal Statement in support of you application for entry to a degree course.

I'll need to see your CV and the job details and you can get more information by calling me on 01270 881811, without obligation.

Completing a job application form? Use your key strengths when you prepare your personal statement.

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