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How to write a Personal Statement? Template and Structure of a Good Personal Statement

You need to compose a personal statement for a new job. Many employers want you to send them a personal statement alongside your resume. If you have just graduated and want to know how to write a personal statement. I want to share the best examples and templates that would help you create a job-winning personal statement. Besides, you need to know how long a personal statement should be so that you don't send a lengthy statement that would cost you a job opportunity. So, let's start exploring every little detail that you should uncover before writing this statement.

What is a Personal Statement?

It's an introduction to your professional skills, achievements, experiences, and goals. Consider it more like a story of your professional life that you need to narrate for your prospective employer. The purpose of this statement is to tell a compelling story that convinces the employer to give you an interview call.

A personal statement's end goal is to win an interview call, where you will perform well and ultimately land on your dream job.

How to Write a Personal Statement?

For writing this statement, you need to understand its basic structure comprises three parts, aka opening, content, and closing.

Personal Statement Opening

You need to hook your reader through a great opening sentence. I suggest writing the body of your content first. In this way, you will know what you have added in your statement, and creating an eye-catching opening won't be a no-brainer in that scenario.

Your opening is your introduction:

  • Who are you?
  • What do you do?

A good opening line of a personal statement includes the following things:

  • Years of experience
  • Your specific job role
  • A department where you work

You won't write a boring introduction such as I'm a manager - because no one wants to know more about you. 

An excellent example is:

I've been working as a marketing manager for five years in the Digital department of Digiskills. 

This opening line offers a clear introduction alongside all the specifics that an employer would be interested in. So, this kind of opening line would be more engaging and make a recruiter read more.

Writing Body of Your Personal Statement

Once you have provided a quick introduction, you will now have to craft body content. You should know that your personal statement must be relevant to a job you are applying for. Therefore, you will pick all those skills, experiences, and achievements relevant to a specific job.

I suggest reading the job ad first to get an idea of what your employer wants. For example, the employer will mention that he will hire a candidate with good time management skills for a virtual assistant job. So, it's a hint that your personal statement must include time management skills (it's how you will create a job-winning statement)

 

  • Degrees/Courses - You can mention a relevant job degree. You will add details of your recent degree or a course that is helpful for a current job.
  •  
  • Achievement: Did you do something unique in your current job? You might have achieve a social media manager award or wrote a book. If an achievement is relevant to employment, go ahead, mention it because it's how you will increase the employer's interest in your profile.
  • Highlight Skills: Every employer is interested in your skills. Read about job-related skills and mention only two in your statement. You won't get much space to highlight all. Thereby, you will pinpoint the two best job-relevant skills.
  • Why will the company hire you? - That's an important question. You need to use your creativity skills here and come up with the best answer. An employer asks for a personal statement because he wants to know how you will add value to a company. So, you better give him the right answer and reason to bring you on board.
  • Your Professional Goal - Recruiters like visionary people. So, it would help if you defined your professional goal. Like where you see yourself in the ten years. A hint here is to tell the company that you see yourself in the same company's higher management position. And if you are applying for a marketing intern, say that you want to become a marketing head in the upcoming ten years. No one would hate you for that. On the flip side, they would like your passion and goal.

You will write three to four sentences as a body of your personal statement. Keep in mind one thing; no one has time to read lengthy statements. 

Personal Statement Conclusion

The ending lines of your personal statements matter the most because when you craft them well, you will leave a lasting impression on your employer. So, you will add three main things in the conclusion.

  • Show your passion for the job. Why Passion for job is Important?
  • Tell your employer how this current job will help you achieve your professional goal.
  • Create a summary of your achievements.

When you add all three elements to your job, your employer will be bound to give you a chance. He would make you an interview call, and it's the primary purpose of writing your personal statement. 

Structure of a Good Personal Statement Includes only three parts such as:

  1. Opening Lines- Two Sentences
  2. Body -Three-Four Sentences
  3. Closing Lines - Two sentences

 How long should a Personal Statement be?

Typically, an employer specifies the length of a personal statement in the job ads. In case he doesn't mention anything specifically, then your personal statement should be less than 200 words. You should know that a personal statement for a job is always short and concise. However, when you create a personal statement for your university or academic purpose, it is lengthy, like more than two pages are required. 

The length of your personal statement for a job should be between 100-200 words maximum. That means you will comprehend all essential skills, experiences, and achievements. No employer has time to read a two-pages lengthy statement. Thereby, don't waste your time and energy, creating such a lengthy statement that worth nothing in the employment world.
 

How to Write a Good Personal Statement for Job? Seven Tips 

Here are some tips that help you craft the best personal statement.

Stick with structure

As I told you before, you won't have to write a lengthy statement. Give your introduction in the opening line, talk about your professional life achievements, experiences, and skill in the body, and then create an enticing summary.

follow structure for writing personal statement template

If you stick with the structure, your employer will convince you that you know what you are doing. Besides, you become successful in creating a statement that is engaging for your reader.

Keep it Simple

Your personal statement is your life story. It offers you a chance to show the best side of your professional life. While you explain everything, you don't need to add any fancy language, terms, or jargon. Use easy-to-read sentences.

Proofread

You don't need to write a personal statement when you have no time to write it. When you are in a hurry, you make mistakes, and sending a statement full of grammar or spelling mistakes won't help you secure a job interview. Don't hit the send button unless you have proofread everything you mention in your personal statement.

I suggest you get help from your friend. A second opinion on your statement helps you figure out some mistakes and room for improvement.

Keep it Concise

You have only 200 words limit to write your personal statement. So, it would help if you used it wisely. Don't repeat anything, and don't add those words that don't add any value to your statement. Also, you won't write any relevant skills or achievements.  

Rough Draft 

It's good to write a rough draft first. Print job ads, take a highlighter and then start highlighting critical skills and requirements. As you need to answer why a company hired you, it's better to find its answer by reading the ad twice or thrice. Take note of relevant skills and experience so that you can add them to your final personal statement. 

Right a New Statement Every Time

Many job seekers are desperate when they are unable to find a job after multiple trials and applications. The problem is jobseekers send the same CV and personal statement for a job. They don't bother to write job-specific statements. They create one statement and then copy-paste it for every other position they get. 

If you want to get hired by a company fast, you need to stop following the same path. A recruiter is used to check CVs and statements. When he comes across a statement where you don't put any effort and is more like a template, he will ignore your applicant right away. 

Instead of applying for all the jobs. It's better to make an effort for only a few and try to follow the right path to tailor your resume and personal statement as per job specifications.

Try to understand what an employer is seeking in the applicant and then create a personal statement that explains job-relevant achievements, skills, experience, and goals.

Positive Tone

No matter how bad or hard your professional life was, you won't explain it in your Statement at all. You might take a break due to personal reasons or a tragedy in your life. However, when you write a career break statement, you never mention that issue there. 

Why? Employers want to hire candidates with a positive mindset. They don't want to hire crazy or confused people at all. So, never give them a hint of your troubled mind-state through your statement.

Keep the tone of your personal statement positive. Know: How to Think Positive

No Personal Information

You won't add any personal information about your marital status, kids, or lifestyle in your personal statement. Some people think that this statement is more like a unique story. However, it's nothing but a misconception. This statement requires only your professional life highlights, nothing from your personal life at all.

Know: How to Write Personal Reference

Personal Statement Examples 

As you have got an idea of what a personal statement is and how you can write one, the next important thing to check is some examples through which you can compose your statement.

Personal Statement for a Fresh Graduate

As you graduated from a job, you don't have any professional experience. Still, you need to add something valuable about you like to talk about your internship, apprenticeship, expertise, and volunteer experience. 

I am a fashion design graduate from XYZ University. I recently joined Fashionista academy, where I created three creative outfits, one of which got selected by a local fashion brand while another was featured in a fashion magazine. I want to become an iconic fashion designer. Therefore I'm applying for a job in your fashion department to put my creative and fashion designing skills to the best use. It would be fun to become a part of your fashion team, where I will get a chance to learn from the best fashion designer in the country.

Know: How Fresh Graduate can get Job After Pandemic

Personal Statement Example for a Career Change Applicant

Career change is a big step in a person's life. It's not easy to get a higher position in another career. Although you might not have a job-specific degree or experience, you can showcase your transferable skills. Here is how you will write a career change personal statement.

I've been working as a teacher at Sophia Jens High School for ten years. Now I have decided to join the administrative department to use my organizational skills to keep everything in order and keep track of every activity through the organization. My goal is to become an admin manager, and this job as an administrative assistant is the first step in my new career ladder. I am excited to take this different management route in professional life as it would help me grow my organizational and leadership skills at a fast pace.

Career Break Personal Statement Examples

Many women have to take a career break due to their family responsibilities. So, when you take a break and decide to go back to the professional world, it's a bit hard to cope up with the challenges. However, if you are determined and ready to do anything it takes to resume your work activities, then certainly nothing can stop you. 

 

Here is an example for your reference.

I worked for XYZ company as a relationship officer for almost ten years. I took a break of four years to take care of my family. During that time, I learned social media marketing skills that helped me stayed connected with the digital world. Now I'm ready to step back into my professional field to make the most of my excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Your job as an internal relationship officer would help me achieve my goal of becoming the country's best PR officer. My recent social media management qualifications have offered me a chance to know about both the digital and non-digital world, so coping with international communication challenges will be a no-brainer for me. 

 

Accounting personal statement example

One thing about an accountant is that they are very good with numbers but bad with words. They always search for how to write a personal statement for an accounting job. One of my friends also has an account, and he often shares his bad experience of writing a wrong statement. Therefore, I decided to share an excellent personal statement example for an accounting job.

Highly motivated and qualified assistant accounting with comprehensive knowledge of financial statements, processes, and control. In-Depth commercial awareness with a strong ability to analyze and create accurate management reports promptly. I'm an expert in producing cost-saving practices, financial forecasting, and budget management reports. My goal is to become a financial manager; your job as an assistant accountant would broaden my experience in this field.

Marketing Personal Statement Example

One of the most common entry-level jobs in the world is available in the marketing sector. Many fresh graduates take their career start from a marketing job. Therefore, I'm presenting an example of this personal sector statement to use this template and create one perfect job-winning statement for themselves.

personal statement examples and templates tips

Highly qualified marketing manager good at boosting sales through research and effective marketing strategies. My expertise in complex project management offered my employer a competitive advantage. I can maximize profit scale while delivering projects on tight deadlines. My goal is to become a marketing executive, and I believe that my strong interpersonal and customer service skills help me achieve this goal in your marketing department. My recent development of digital marketing skills makes me a proactive marketer in the digital field, looking to grow my learning in your company.

Wrap Up

Writing a personal statement is writing your professional story with some eye-catching words and engaging sentences. It would be best to keep in mind all tips while writing a personal statement for a job. I have told you about the exact length of your statement. So, please don't go beyond this set limit of 200 words.

 

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