Writing Effective Personal Statements
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A personal statement is a self-written document that articulates one's skills, qualities, interests, motivations and ambitions. It shows how one is suitable for an opportunity and is an important part of many application processes. The document provides tips for writing an effective personal statement, including exploring the context, using keywords, giving strong evidence through examples, and getting feedback. It emphasizes being authentic, relevant, clear on motivations, and following any guidelines.
Writing Effective Personal Statements
- 1. Writing Effective Personal Statements Professor Gary C Wood, Academic Director Dr Sarah M C Peers, Head of Academic Skills Centre gary.wood@nmite.ac.uk | @GC_Wood www.garycwood.uk
- 2. What is Personal Statement? • A self-written statement • Articulates your skills, qualities, interests, motivations and ambitions • Shows and evidences your capabilities • Explains your interest and suitability for an opportunity • An important part of most recruitment and selection processes – used to evaluate candidates.
- 3. Why write a Personal Statement? • Personal statements are a common part of the (application) process for: • University places • Advertised jobs • Training programmes with companies • Introducing yourself on social media, e.g. LinkedIn • Or in a CV… • An opportunity to present and ‘sell’ your profile and to make your case for selection.
- 4. What makes a good statement? • What do you think makes a good personal statement? • Write down all your ideas • Talk to the person next to you, if you possible • 5 minutes.
- 5. Content • What to include: • Who you are • Your interest in the opportunity – why this specific opportunity? • Your skills and experience aligned with the opportunity • Your strengths, interests and motivations • Your aspirations and what you can bring to the opportunity • Relevant personal background(e.g. personal/learning difficulties, additional responsibilities, unexpected barriers).
- 6. Content • Start by understanding the context • Who is the reader of your statement? • What can you find out about them? • What is their role within the organisation? • What do you think the process to read your application involves? • What is the reader looking for? – put yourself in their shoes (if you were them, what would you be wanting to see?)
- 7. Content • Look for keywords and key points to include • Identify keywords in the advert/specification • E.g. skills, experience, qualifications required, etc. • Use those keywords in your statement • This makes it easier for you reader.
- 8. Blow your own trumpet! • “To blow your own trumpet” = to talk about yourself or your achievements in a way that shows that you are proud • Being asked to write a personal statement is an invitation to blow your own trumpet! • Nobody else will do it for you • What you tell the reader is all they are likely to know about you at the time they are reading • The statement is for you to convince the reader that you are the person he/she is looking for! • But: avoid boasting. Giving evidence helps you do that…
- 9. Evidence • Avoid just saying you’ve got a skill, experience or interest • Show the reader, by giving examples as evidence • Imagine your reader has a stamp that says ‘So what?’, and you are trying to avoid him/her using it • The STAR method can help…
- 10. STAR S Situation When I worked on a team project to develop and sell a new product, T Task my role was to work on marketing messages and requirements for the new product. A Action I carried out market research, including running focus groups to find out what features would be useful to users. R Result The team was delighted with my research as it helped to focus development on one option.
- 11. • Tell me about a time when you had to work effectively in a team. S Situation T Task A Action R Result Have a go…
- 12. Structure • Keep to the purpose • Include what is relevant to the organisation and the opportunity you are applying to. • Tell a story about yourself… • Beginning – an introduction to you • Middle – key messages, with evidence • End – link to the opportunity • Write in full sentences and in a formal style • Use your own words, weaving in the keywords • Keep it succinct (usually 400-1000 words, maximum).
- 13. What a good statement looks like • Well-written – grammatical, error-free • Relevant to the opportunity (remember the keywords) • Interesting for the reader • Authentic, and about you (not your team)! • Emotive, conveying your passion • Evidenced, demonstrating: • real interest in the opportunity – what attracts you to it? • your strengths that makes you good for the opportunity.
- 14. The statement represents you • Is it written sloppily? • You are sloppy… • Does not seem relevant to the job/application? • You have not thought about what is relevant. • Is it boring and too long? • You are not interesting. • Is it not credible and a bit too amazing? • You are not believable. • Does it not say much? • You have nothing to say.
- 15. The statement represents you • Is it carefully written and interesting? • You are careful and interesting • Is it to the point and relevant? • You are relevant • Do you sound human and likeable? • We want you on our team • Does it convey excitement in the opportunity? • You will make the most of the opportunity. • Is it about your story? • That’s what we want to hear!
- 16. Examples I have an good attention to detial and I responsibility and work really hard all all the time. I have a good attention to detail. I am conscientious and responsible. I have not been able to achieve good scores in my exams because of the bad teaching at the school. I was disappointed in my exam results and have learnt that I prefer a different way of learning. I was the best student ever at my school. I have received several awards at school for my academic performance.
- 17. Examples The programme at NMITE looks very interesting to me. I am particularly interested in the learning by doing approach at NMITE. I have always liked tinkering with building toys and taking things apart. One of my hobbies is Lego building and I am currently trying to model the perfect city in Lego. I am also pulling apart a sewing machine to see how it works. My ambitions are in engineering because I am interested in making the world a better place. I would like to become an engineer, because I want to work on better energy solutions for everyone.
- 18. Six steps to a good statement… 1. Explore and brainstorm • Get the keywords • Note down the key things you need to include and the evidence for each 2. Organise your ideas into a beginning, middle and end • Write bullet points for each section • Check the bullets against the opportunity – is everything covered? 3. Draft the statement into full sentences and paragraphs.
- 19. Six steps to a good statement… 4. Check and revise the statement • Think about your reader – is it telling them what they want to know? • Is it covering everything important? • Is there anywhere that the reader could use the ‘So what?’ stamp? 5. Get it proofread, and ask for feedback • Ask a teacher or colleague to offer you feedback • Get somebody to proofread for you 6. Finalise and submit the statement.
- 20. More hints and tips • Read any directions, or the job specification carefully • Word limits? Prompts? Keywords/points? • Check for any other guidance: • UCAS webpages provides a lot of guidance • Large international companies often have guidance on websites • Check LinkedIn and other professional sites for ideas • Attend open days or careers events – and ask questions • Share your draft personal statements • With people who know you well • With careers advisers and mentors for guidance.
- 21. What makes a good statement? • What do you think makes a good personal statement? • What were your ideas earlier? • Do you still agree with them? • Would you add anything else?
- 22. Summary • Be authentic – a personal statement is your story • Be relevant – look at the context, choose keywords and key requirements • Be clear about your motivations – what attracts you to the opportunity • Give strong evidence through examples – use the STAR technique to help you • Check guidelines and get help from others, especially with proofreading.
- 23. Some additional resources • Target Careers: How to structure your UCAS personal statement, • UCAS: How to write a UCAS undergraduate personal statement • Indeed: 16 Winning Personal Statement Examples (And Why They Work) • Grammarly: How to Write a Powerful Personal Statement
- 24. Writing Effective Personal Statements Professor Gary C Wood, Academic Director Dr Sarah M C Peers, Head of Academic Skills Centre gary.wood@nmite.ac.uk | @GC_Wood www.garycwood.uk