When it comes to a CV profile section, personal statement or summary at the top of your CV, the jury is out. Space is a sacred commodity on your CV so some candidates can wonder whether or not to put it in at all. Does it serve a purpose? I spoke to a few members of the RECRUITERS team to find out their thoughts.
Garrett O’Gorman, a principal consultant in accounting and finance recruitment said he gets the impression from clients that the majority of them are not interested in a personal statement as they can be very similar, generic and don’t say anything ‘important’ about the candidate. “What is definitely more important is having the work experience broken down into the day-to-day responsibilities and then having achievements listed as well,” he said. “The secret for candidates when it comes to securing interviews is making their CV relevant to what the employer is looking for. This increases the chances of an interview massively.”
In a similar vein, client services director Brian McFadden believes that other sections can do the job of a personal statement. “I think relevant recent work experience, tenure and companies are the most important things and achievements can say the same as a personal statement – but achievements are more concrete than personal statements. People serious about securing interviews and landing a new job should ensure they have a strong CV template to begin with. We've worked with Resume.io in the past and have always been impressed with the templates and options they have for candidates.” he said.
However, if you can use it to sell yourself in an effective way, it can sometimes be beneficial. You might even use it to put your biggest professional achievements or top skills at the very top of your CV and help to showcase that USP we talked about.
Laura Murphy, senior associate in contracting recruitment actually loves to see a personal statement. “It’s usually a good indication of the standard of the overall CV. In my opinion it should always be tailored to the role the person is applying for – it’s right at the top of the CV so is often the first impression the reader gets of the candidate and as a result it needs to impress. At times when I don’t have space to keep it on the CV, I’ll often lift a line or two out of it and use it in my recommendation.”
So, whether or not you want to include a personal statement is up to you, but it seems the most important thing to think about is whether or not you’re sacrificing valuable space that you need to better highlight other competencies. Is there a way to add the attributes in your CV profile into your achievements or cover letter? Or is it something you really believe is giving you a USP? If it is a selling point, would it affect your decision to know that a hiring manager would skip it? This is what you should think about when adding a CV profile section, personal statement or summary.
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