Personal statement template

Unfortunately the idea that there might be a master personal statement template, into which you could plug your skills and experience, is rather prevalent.

Perhaps even more unfortunately, that simply isn’t the case.

Your statement should always be designed to give you the best chance of achieving your goals, whether that be a place at university, a graduate position or you dream job. Given that your goals are likely to vary wildly throughout your career, it’s hardly surprising that a ‘one size fits all’ template is simply not going to work.

You will find websites that offer free personal statement templates, and they are rather alluring when you’re in the position of needing to write a compelling statement – Life would certainly be much easier if you could avoid making key decisions about the structure of your statement. Unfortunately, these templates simply are not effective, as they fail to take account of the unique circumstances surrounding you, your goals, your previous experience and achievements or the job/course you’re applying for. So please don’t use them.

These tips are designed to help you write your own powerful personal statement, so whilst you will have to engage your brain and set aside an appropriate amount of time – possibly more than you think – the result will be far stronger than anything that could be produced using a template.

<< What to include in a personal statement || Personal statement word limit >>