How to Perfect your Personal Profile

Five lines might not seem like much to sum up why an employer should hire you, but this little summary at the start of your CV is your best chance to impress an employer from the start.

Your Personal Profile or Personal Statement represents possibly the most crucial five lines on your CV. What you say here will determine whether the recruiter carries on reading about you, or whether your CV will be confined to the ‘no’ pile. The idea is to create a summary about you, your skills, successes and achievements that will get an employer to buy into you from the get-go. Here’s how to perfect your personal profile:

1. Avoid looking like everyone else

Don’t fall into the trap of using tired, old phrases such as ‘I’m a great team player’, ‘I have good communication skills’. Try not to state the obvious. What you need to do is give something that makes you stand out in relation to the role. What are your capabilities? What can you bring to the table?

2. It’s not the place to tell a story

Your statement should be in third person and written in an objective way. It needs to read like a sales or marketing brochure, all about you: what service are you selling? Does it demonstrate who you are? What is your position in the marketplace? Why are you the right service provider to do the job? Keep it short and impersonal. For example, a project manager might write the following:

“Highly experienced Project Manager with a track record of delivering projects successfully, on time and within budget. Familiar with all the latest innovations, working with a broad range of products…”

3. Think twice before including a photo

We advise that you don’t include a picture with your personal statement, unless you are going for a modelling job! It takes up valuable room on the page and if you include your Linkedin profile link, the reader can see a photo of you there.

4. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself

There are so many applicants out there today that you need to make sure you stand out in the crowd. It’s not just about having the capability to do the job anymore – out of 100 applicants, 80 will be as qualified as you. An employer will be looking for someone who can give them a good rate of return in their investment – they don’t just want anyone, they want the best candidate. To show that this is you, you need to sell your achievements, your strengths and your successes. It’s not boasting, it’s simply being honest and not being afraid to shout about what you have done and what you can do.

Take a look at your current profile … does it reflect you in the best possible light? Think about your unique selling points, your greatest skills, greatest achievements and best personality traits and aim to reflect these in your personal profile.

Example Personal Profile:

Alison is a highly focussed, results oriented leader and manager with 15 years consumer marketing and sales experience in the communications industry. She is self-starting, with initiative and imagination, achieves through setting strategic direction and translating effectively into action. Self-confident and credible, is respected for consistent delivery and excellent people skills.

Identifying your Unique Selling Points
Creating your Personal Profile

Take ten minutes to think about your own key skills and experience.
Work on your own or with a partner and ask the following questions:
What are your 3 greatest skills or competencies?
What are your 3 strongest personality traits?
After thinking about your answers try to include the things you have identified in a personal profile. An example is given below.
Re-read your profile a few times and think about if it is a good reflection of who you are. If you were an employer would it make you want to meet you?

Example Personal Profile:

Alison is a highly focussed, results oriented leader and manager with 15 years consumer marketing and sales experience in the communications industry. She is self-starting, with initiative and imagination and achieves through setting strategic direction and translating this effectively into action. Known for her good humour and positive nature she is self-confident and credible, respected for consistent delivery and excellent people skills.