CV Personal Statement: Three Examples

Example for a graduate applying to an archive

This fictional profile is for a history graduate applying for an archive assistant vacancy. It is usable as a shape, but the degree, project and tasks must be replaced with your own facts. The opening says what the applicant has done; the middle offers an example the education section can substantiate; the last sentence names the work sought.

Prospects suggests that a graduate with limited paid experience can draw on relevant degree work and career direction.¹ The profile does not claim professional archiving experience from a university assignment. It gives the employer a reason to read the project entry below it.

Decision: the project supplies evidence; the final sentence links that evidence to archive work without promising expertise the graduate has not shown.

Fictional example

Recent history graduate seeking an archive assistant role. For a final-year project, I organised a catalogue of public records, checked references against the original documents and wrote concise descriptions for the project team. I would like to bring that careful record work to a role supporting researchers and visitors.

Example for a career change into administration

The next fictional applicant has worked in hospitality and is applying for an office administrator role. The sentence names the current work honestly, then selects transferable tasks. It does not relabel a restaurant role as office management. Keep a statement like this only if your work history backs up the bookings, records and handovers mentioned.

The target job matters. For an administrator vacancy focused on appointment booking, the first evidence sentence may be enough. For a finance-heavy post, this applicant would need a different, real example. The National Careers Service advises matching a CV to the advert and showing the skills the employer asks for.²

Decision: the profile translates specific tasks between settings. It does not claim a qualification or software package absent from the CV.

Fictional example

Hospitality supervisor moving into office administration. I maintain booking records, prepare shift handovers and answer customer queries in my current role. I am seeking an administrator position where accurate records and clear follow-up are part of the daily work.

Example for an experienced care coordinator

This fictional applicant is applying for a care-coordination role. Unlike the graduate, the applicant can open with the role already held. The rest identifies work the experience section would need to explain. It avoids a list of personality traits and a claim to have improved outcomes without records to support it.

A personal statement is less useful when it repeats the next section word for word. Here it gives the reader a route through the CV: look for scheduling, records and communication. Prospects notes that a profile should be aligned with the CV and the specific job, while acknowledging that some advisers consider a statement unnecessary.¹

Decision: each claim is something an experience bullet could explain. Delete a claim if it is not true for you.

Fictional example

Care coordinator with experience arranging appointments and keeping service records current. I work with colleagues to pass on changes to care plans and answer routine questions from families. I am applying for a coordination role where accurate information and calm communication are central.

Write your own from the job advert

Before writing, read the vacancy and your CV side by side. What is the employer asking someone to do? Which completed task, project or responsibility demonstrates that you can do part of it? Draft the profile from those notes, not from an adjective list. Prospects advises using the job description and giving evidence rather than empty statements.¹

A practical draft can use three moves: your present position or training, one or two supported examples, and the kind of role you seek. This is a writing aid, not a required formula. If the profile still says only that you are hardworking, motivated and a team player, delete it and begin with the evidence section. Avoid naming an employer as your lifelong ambition unless you can explain why that employer and role fit.

1. Underline two tasks in the advert that you can already discuss from experience.
2. Choose one concrete example from your CV for each task.
3. Draft the profile, then remove any sentence the rest of your CV cannot support.

Edit for honesty and useful length

Keep the statement short enough to read as an introduction, not a second cover letter. Prospects recommends no more than 150 words and says a single paragraph is usual.¹ These samples are much shorter because each has one clear job. A longer statement is not automatically stronger; add words only if they give the reader new, relevant information.

Pick first person or third person and stay consistent. Check that tense matches the rest of the CV. Do not copy a sample profile into an application: its qualifications and duties belong to a fictional person. Prospects also warns against unnecessary personal information and generic wording.¹ If the employer asks for a separate supporting statement against selection criteria, answer that request separately rather than assuming this small CV introduction replaces it.

Place the profile in the finished CV

Put a useful statement below your name and contact details, before education or experience. Then inspect the next section: it should supply the proof the opening promises. If your strongest evidence is a project, consider putting that project high enough for the connection to be visible. If you are returning after time out of work, describe the chronology honestly rather than using the profile to conceal dates.

ApplyBrio's UK CV builder gives you a place to draft and revise your own profile. Read the finished document as an employer would, checking whether every claim can be traced to a dated role, qualification or example elsewhere on the page.