Writing a Personal Profile
Struggling to write a personal profile? Here are our top tips!
Composing the core components of your CV, like employment history and education, should be a relatively straightforward task, but how do you make your CV stand out from the rest of the crowd? Adding a personal profile to your CV could give it the extra “pizzazz” to help you secure that all important interview and role.
1. What is a Personal Profile
A personal profile, or personal statement, CV profile or career aim, is basically an overview of your career portfolio. It should be a small paragraph that sits at the top of your CV, and is your chance to showcase who you are, along with your skills and strengths relevant to your specific sector or job role.
A personal profile is similar to a cover letter to write, but you will be selling your expertise and proficiency to a potential employer in around 4 sentences. If you have invested time sprucing up your CV to catch the attention of recruiters or employers, adding a personal profile can be key to your CV engaging your future employer.
2. Is a Personal Profile Necessary?
The simple answer here is no, it isn’t necessary, you don’t need to have a personal profile included to have a complete CV. However, in a world where time is at a premium, many recruiters don’t have time to spend on reading through every single CV that lands on their desk. Rather than your CV being one of many that pass-through recruiter’s hands, add something that gives a reason for them to read on.
There may be legitimate reasons for not including a personal profile on your CV. For example, if you are including a cover letter with your CV for a specific job role, then you may decide to remove a personal profile from your CV.
If you are a new graduate, it is a good idea to leave your personal profile until you have gained some relevant work experience. Instead, highlight that you have a relevant degree and perhaps discuss your career aims. Add some information on your final year dissertation and it’s relevant to the industry or role you are applying for. If you have gained any strengths or experiences from your university career that are pertinent to the role, highlight these and make it clear how these are applicable to the role.
A personal profile is a great way for you to grab the attention of, and persuade recruiters to continue reading your CV, because you’re telling them from the off exactly why they should hire you.
3. The Format
Your personal profile should be around 4 sentences long, definitely no more than 6, so you should be aiming for 50 to 200 words.
Split your profile into 3 sections; who you are, what you can offer and your career goals.
4. Who you are
A couple of examples:
“An experienced Deputy Director of Finance seeking first board level appointment in an …”
“A highly skilled finance business partner looking to progress into…”
5. What you can offer
This section is where you can sell your outstanding skills and strength, and back these up with evidence. If you are applying for a specific job, use the job specification to create your profile. For example, if the employer is looking for someone with attention to detail, and you have experience proofing essays, then say so.
If your profile is going to be more general, with a job title in mind, include any achievements or expertise that will help you to stand out. For example, if you are looking for a position in SAS programming and you have completed your SAS certification examinations, mention this. Not only are you able to claim you are a proficient SAS programmer, you can back this up with real evidence too.
Don’t litter you profile with buzzwords. You might be “an extremely driven strategic thinker with excellent communication skills and extensive experience in marketing”, but all you have told a potential employer that you have some marketing experience, with no proof of what that experience is. You have also communicated this information in a way that recruiters would have heard numerous times before; you want to try to stand out from the crowd when you are selling yourself. To make a strong statement, highlight relevant skills, and back them up with evidence.
A couple of examples:
“Knowledgeable engineer with a wide skills-set, including condition based maintenance, through working on automated systems such as…”
“During my degree, I have developed an excellent eye for detail due to the heavy demands of assignments and research. As a result, I am also able to work under pressure, especially when balancing my educational workload with my volunteering placement at local nursing homes.”
6. Career Goals
This section gives the employer an insight into your professionalism, and shows that you are worth investing in.
A couple of examples:
“I am looking to secure a challenging role in a market-leading automotive company where I can bring fresh strategic vision and value to the business.”
“I am looking for a challenging, fast-paced environment within media to utilise my written knowledge and develop my creative skill-set further.”
7. Hints and Tips
Be concise – no one likes to read buzzwords and waffle
Provide evidence of your skills and other claims
Use the job specification to tailor your profile
Proof read for spelling and grammar
Read your profile aloud to make sure it flows properly, or better to get someone else to proof read it for you.
Westwood Harris Burns are specialists in Executive Search and Senior Finance appointments within the Public Sector; with particular expertise in NHS, Housing and Charity Sectors. With over 60 years combined experience, we have extensive knowledge of the market, proven track records and established networks, allowing us to provide a wide range of services to both clients and candidates alike.
To learn more about how we can support you to either build your team or career, visit our Get In Touch page.
