15 Tips to keep in mind before writing a Personal Statement

Writing a personal statement can be either easy or difficult depending on whether you know how to write a personal statement that delivers the right message. Personal statements are meant to support your application when you apply for a job or to get into a course in college. Usually a personal statement is where you tell the authorities or admission staff why you should be chosen for that position in that particular company or college.

Learning how to write a personal statement can be very useful for you, and if you have the best personal statement it can often be very decisive into giving you that job or position. Sometimes a personal statement is also called a statement of purpose which can also be seen as the definition of a personal statement in an alternative way.

How to write a Personal Statement?

1. Research the job or position you’re applying for. Look at the requirements and descriptions. This helps you plan on what you need to write about.
2. Make a rough outline to structure your personal statement. This gives you the privilege of always knowing where you’re going with what you’re writing.
3. Usually a personal statement has a character count (with or without spaces). Make sure you make a draft version before actually counting the characters so that you can edit it after that.
4. Sell yourself. Best personal statements make the reader feel as if they’re in a conversation with the writer. Tell them why you’re applying, your motivation and why you’re the best person for this position.
5. Include everything that makes you right for the position. Often companies and universities are looking for very specific and suitable candidates based on the personas they’ve prepared. Mention every single achievement, even if they may seem tiny and irrelevant to you.
6. Companies and universities aren’t aiming to see your knowledge for the position through your personal statement. What they want to see is your drive for the position, how much you want it and how much it means to you. Make sure you’re able to differentiate between these fine lines and don’t start talking about the job description or course itself.
7. Don’t rush your personal statement. Take as much time as you need. Start writing well in advance so that you don’t need to rush it in the end and can edit it as much as possible to make it perfect.
8. Mention all extra and co-curricular activities you’ve been a part of. This should involve any clubs, organizations or councils you’ve been a member of. This speaks for the fact that you can multi task and that you’re an all-rounder.
9. Make sure your usage of words is right and positive. Try to have more active statements, rather than passive. If your English is not perfect, don’t worry as there are many online platforms like Google Translate which can translate and give you synonyms. Just make sure you don’t overdo it, as otherwise your personal statement could be quite complex.
10. Always play to your strengths. Make sure you mention them, try to combine it with point 3 while selling yourself and try to avoid mentioning any weakness you may have.
11. First impressions are something that last long. This is true in every sense of the statement and what it means in terms of a personal statement is that you must make your first statement (opening statement) strong and engaging to the reader.
12. It’s a personal statement. Make it personal. Try to add a few personal pronouns and try to have a conversation with the reader through your personal statement.
13. Be honest with what you’re writing. A certain extent of exaggeration is okay but being dishonest will always go wrong for you in the long run.
14. Make sure your content is as original as possible and is your own work. Even though it’s hard to plagiarize while writing personal statements, make sure you take care that it’s 100% unique and authentic.
15. Have your personal statement read by somebody else (preferably someone who is experienced and has good grammar) so that they can give you feedback in terms of grammatical and fine mistakes.

What to do after writing a personal statement?

Learning how to write a personal statement can be quite easy if you follow these tips, but it’s important to know what to do after writing it. The first thing is the submission process. Make sure you submit the article at least five to ten minutes prior to the deadline, so that circumstances like your personal statement not being delivered on time due to slow internet can be avoided. Once you’ve sent in your personal statement, it’s necessary for you to forget about it and just wait for the result.