CV Personal Statement: How to Write One, With Examples

A CV personal statement is the short paragraph at the top of your CV that tells a reader who you are before they get to your experience. Done well, it saves them the work of guessing. Done badly, it is a row of adjectives that could sit on anyone's CV. This guide covers what to include, how long to make it, and three examples for different situations.

What Is a CV Personal Statement?

It goes by several names: personal statement, profile, personal profile or professional summary. On a UK CV it usually sits under your name and contact details and runs to three to five sentences. It is not the same thing as the personal statement some application forms ask for, which is a longer standalone text. If that is what you need, see How to Write a Personal Statement for a Job.

Do You Need One?

It is optional. It helps most when your job titles do not tell your story on their own: you are changing career, applying for a first job, moving between sectors, or returning after a break. It helps least when it would only repeat your job title and the first line of your experience. If you cannot write anything more specific than "experienced professional seeking a new challenge", leave it out and use the space for experience.

What to Include

Three things, in this order. First, what you do or have trained in, in plain words. Second, one result or fact you can stand behind, such as a project you delivered or a number you actually achieved. Third, what you are looking for or what you offer this employer. Write it without "I" or "I am", as a statement, in line with the convention we describe in our guide to writing a CV in the UK.

How Long Should It Be?

Three to five sentences, five lines at most. If you are cutting to fit, remove the sentence that could be true of anyone. Then reread it against the advert and change a few words so that it uses the employer's own terms.

Three Examples

These illustrate the pattern, so replace the details with your own real ones:

• Experienced: "Data analyst with five years in retail. Automated the weekly sales report, cutting its preparation from a day to an hour. Looking for a role that combines SQL and data visualisation."
• First job: "Business administration graduate with a six-month placement in digital marketing, managing the content calendar for three social channels. Looking for a junior marketing role in a consumer brand."
• Career change: "Eight years coordinating teams in hospitality, now retraining in data analysis with two personal projects in SQL and Power BI. Looking for a first analyst role where operational experience is an advantage."

Common Mistakes

The most common is the row of adjectives: "hard-working, motivated, team player". Every candidate writes them and no reader can check them. The second is a long first-person paragraph that tells your working life as a story. That suits a LinkedIn About section better, where first person is normal and there is more room (see How to Write Your LinkedIn About Section). The third is sending the same statement to every employer. Change at least the last sentence so that it names the kind of role you are applying for.

Related Guides

For the rest of the page, see How to Write the Skills Section of Your CV, How to Structure a CV and How to Write a CV in the UK.