A complete personal statement must have included in it your work experience, even if you have zero work experience. This is valid for either a job personal statement or an admission personal statement.
Are you a fresh graduate or an individual without work experience?
Are you worried you won’t be able to write an excellent personal statement because you don’t have any work experience?
If you are, then worry no more. This article will teach you how to write an excellent personal statement without any work experience. To begin, we will discuss what a personal statement is, the dos and don’ts of writing a personal statement, and other important information. Let’s begin!
What is a Personal Statement?
A Personal Statement is an essay required by the admissions board as part of your application. This essay gives your application reviewer more information about you than what your transcripts and academic records state.
It is also an essay you write when applying for a job. It is included as part of your application documents when applying for a job, as requested by the employer.
Your Personal Statement is an important document that has the power to either get you admitted or employed, depending on what you are using it for or not. Therefore, you must present yourself well.
Importance of a Personal Statement
A Personal Statement is of the following importance;
- It shows your intellectual prowess.
- It gives the recruiter an idea of who you are.
- Your personal statement shows your possible area of contribution to the company if employed or to the school if admitted.
- It also shows your future ambitions and aspirations.
Dos and Don’ts of a Personal Statement
The following are the things you should do and shouldn’t do in your personal statement.
Do’s
- Write clearly and concisely.
- Write a story and make it about you. It’s called a personal statement for a reason.
- Start with a captivating introduction.
- Write within the required word limit.
- Proofread and correct grammar errors.
- State the reasons why you want to attend the university or college
- State the reason why you chose the company you are applying to.
- Show your strengths
- State your motivation, and personal and career goals.
- Sound enthusiastic.
- Include previous work experience.
Don’ts
Do not…
- repeat what is on your CV or resume on your personal statement.
- exceed the word limit.
- write vaguely.
- submit your first draft.
- write in a casual tone.
- submit a poorly written personal statement.
- write your personal statement at the last minute.
- use big words.
- write using clichés.
Do I Need Work Experience for My Personal Statement?
Yes, work experience is needed in your personal statement. However, the work experience you include should be relevant to the job you are applying for. This shows that you are serious with your career. It also shows that you, at least, have a working knowledge of how an organization functions.
If you do not have work experience, you can write about any volunteer experience that you may have had in the past. No matter how little the work was, provided it is relevant to the job you are applying for, ensure to include it. You should also include the skills and anything else that you gained while volunteering.
Personal Statement with Zero Work Experience Sample
How to Write a Personal Statement with Zero Work Experience
If you are writing a personal statement but have no work experience, you can write it by following these steps;
Step 1: Make an outline
Your personal statement is an important part of your application process, either for a job or for education. Therefore, before you start writing it, outline. This guides your writing.
Step 2: Brainstorm
This is the process of writing down your ideas and the possible topics or how to approach the personal statement. At this point, you write down everything that you can think about. You also write down the possible stories about you that you could tell in your statement.
Step 3: Write your first draft
Write everything that you can think of to include in your personal statement. You have to refer to the first step to guide you in writing down your story. However, do not let it restrict you at this point. Following that structure, write all that comes to mind. It is your first draft anyway, so you can be as free as possible.
Your draft should be written in the order of
- The opening statement
- The body of the personal statement
- The closing statement
For the opening statement, it is advised that you leave it as the last thing you will write. This will give you ample time to write a better attention-grabbing opening.
The body of the personal statement is to contain your story, your intellectual trajectory, work experience, and other relevant information. In a situation where you do not have any work experience, you can do the following:
- Demonstrate your passion, motivation, and understanding of the course/role you are applying for.
- Reach out to practicing staff or students.
- Keep up to date
- Do some further reading
These will help you better present and position yourself to be granted the job or be admitted.
For the closing statement, summarise the key points in your personal statement.
Step 4: Rewrite and rewrite
You have to re-write the draft that you have written. You have to go over it again and again and rewrite it as much as is needed till you get a personal statement that you can submit.
Step 5: Proofread
Proofreading is an important step in your personal statement writing. You are to go through your personal statement over and over again to detect any grammar errors, typographical errors, and other errors. If you are from a non-English speaking country, get someone who speaks and writes English to go through it for you.
Step 6: Get feedback
You can give your finished copy to someone to go through it. Let the person know what to look out for and also be as critical as possible when going through it. Let them be as open and critical as possible.
Note: To read more about how to write about work experience in your personal statement, click here.
Conclusion: How to Write Personal Statement with Zero Work Experience
Your personal statement is an important part of your application. Be sure to give it your best shot. You can follow the steps in this article to write an excellent personal statement even if you do not have any work experience.
In a case where you still need help writing your personal statement, you can contact us here. At Fasthire, we have professionals who write personal statements amidst other professional services that we render.
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