Personal Statements

Personal Statements

Get help and ideas to complete your personal statement.

The Personal Statement can be one of the most important parts of your application. It is usually a blank box asking you to write about your skills, strengths and experience and how they fit the job.

Below are some of the skills and strengths employers ask for, and some questions to ask yourself. Answer these to help build your personal statement.

Think of examples from your life that would show you have the right skills. Examples could be from:

• Employment
• School
• College
• Education
• Work experience
• Hobbies
• Volunteering

What to include in a personal statement

Experience

Be specific. Look at the job description and use examples that are relevant.

• What do you do on a typical day in your work, work experience or volunteering?
• What IT software, machinery or technical equipment have you used? How did you use them in your job?
• What new skills have you learned to do from your work, work experience or volunteering?

Communication Skills

• When have you spoken to other people to explain something to them, and they have clearly understood?
• When have you stayed polite even in a difficult situation?
• When have you listened well and had a caring attitude?

Teamwork

• Have you been in a sports team, or in a group where you have had to work together?
• How did you feel about working in a team?
• What did you do in the team?
• What contribution did you make to the team?

Reliability

• What can you tell us about the times when you made sure you were on time, and attended regularly?
• Have you got an example of when you stayed working at something until you got it right?

Hard work

• What do you work hard at to achieve?
• What goal have you set for yourself and achieved?

Ability to learn new skills

• What new skill have you learned?
• What do you enjoy about learning new skills?
• When have you motivated yourself to learn something new?

Adaptability

• When were you flexible in helping someone out even when it was inconvenient?
• Have you adapted to change quickly?

Organisational skills

• When did you plan and prepare for something that worked out well?
• How did you organise things?

Problem solving

• When have you come across a problem and been successful in working out a solution?
• How did it feel to find a solution to a problem you faced?

For further support or careers advice call 0800 028 4844