Rethinking Personal Statements
If you’re wondering “What IS a personal statement?”, you’re not alone. The various pieces to presenting yourself to a potential employer can be overwhelming – and sometimes disheartening when we hear about hiring managers “skimming” everything that took days, weeks, or months to compile.
The good news is that a personal statement is not as complicated as some make it out to be, and because it is a statement – and not an entire page like a cover letter – it’s not as skimmable… Let’s dive into the personal statement and the difference between a personal statement and a cover letter (for a hiring manager).
Personal Statement vs. Cover Letter
While job seekers still use both a personal statement and a cover letter when applying for jobs, it’s possible to use one or the other depending on your preferences and your goals. If you’re looking to save time, a personal statement may be the way to go. But if you want to personalize your application, a cover letter may be the best route. Here are the differences between the two:
Personal statement is more of a story of your professional journey, including your work and ethic, as well as your beliefs whereas your cover letter is more of a formal introduction to the hiring manager prior to their reading of your resume.
Personal statement expedites the process, skipping the cover letter and jumping straight to the resume, including the personal statement, whereas your cover letter enables you to sell yourself apart from your resume.
Personal statement revolves around displaying your passion for your profession, as well as your personal story whereas a cover letter can be addressed to the hiring manager, giving you the opportunity to personalize your communication.
Personal statement liberates you to concisely display relevant information whereas a cover letter may pose a risk of your writing too much.
Personal statement can be scanned more effectively by the hiring manager whereas a cover letter can be scanned a little too much, failing to capture the hiring manager’s attention.
Personal statement requires that you customize your resume to match each position for which you apply whereas a cover letter is where the changes take place, leaving your resume intact.
Personal statement has the potential to lean toward the generic side without allowing you to fully flesh out your experience and skill set whereas a cover letter can be targeted toward the position for which you’re applying, allowing you to spell out in detail how your experience and skill are a great match for the position.
Let Optimum Staffing Solutions Guide You
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