Guest post by Brittany Thorley

Applying for university or college courses can be a challenging experience for first time students – especially when mastering that personal statement. After leaving the comfort of education and making the transition from campus to career, the skills, tips and tricks learnt during those days or even weeks spent painstakingly crafting the perfect personal statement for your college application don’t have to be wasted , instead you can put these to use when applying for your first job in your chosen profession.

We have devised the 5 essential dos and don’ts of personal statements and demonstrated how these will come in handy when tackling your first job application…

Don’t Fill Your Application with Clichés

Just like your college administration team, your potential employer is likely to loathe clichés, and unfortunately these are very common across job and university applications. Remember tutors and employers have heard it all before and grow bored of phrases like “I’m an excellent listener, “I am an enthusiastic individual” and “I have the passion and drive…”.

Instead of making these sweeping gestures, be prepared to use your experience to demonstrate the qualities that make you a success, discuss circumstances where you have gone the extra mile to prove your communication and listening skills are second to none or talk about an instance that shows real passion for the industry you wish to progress in.

Want to know why you really need to apply online? Click here to find out!

Do Boast about Your Skills

Showing a certain level of confidence in your skills, qualities and experience within your career or education is highly recommended, especially when it comes to getting your foot in the door when submitting your cover letter and resume. It is a competitive world out there and employers want to recruit a skilled and confident candidate that they can rely on. Many personal statement examples show students doing all they can to stand out and showcase what makes them better than the next student, and your job application should be no different.

Don’t have much job experience? Click here for some great tips on how you can overcome this in the job interview!

Don’t Tell Porkies

Whilst it is important to show your skills, telling lies or making wild claims about your experience or qualifications is a step too far that tends to land candidates in hot water. Be trustworthy in person and on paper by giving the facts and figures behind your application.

Do Use Your Personal Experiences

It’s not just examples of your professional experience that make an application stand out – how you have been challenged in your personal life can provide the perfect anecdote for an application and really show the real you. However, make sure you don’t use this rule to share your life story or place a bid for sympathy, instead use your personal experience to demonstrate how it has influenced your professional progression or simply made you a stronger person.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be the Individual You Are

Whether you are crafting the perfect personal statement or cover letter, the aim of both of these documents is to sell you! The first step to selling yourself is to be true to your personality, for example, don’t use pretentious language if it isn’t you or if you’re known for your humour show it in your application. Putting your personality on paper as well as your personal and professional experiences is the key to success when filling out an application for your dream job.

About the author: Brittany Thorley is from the Personal Statement Service, this UK-based service provides professional assistance to students with personal statement writing advice and personal statement examples.