A personal statement is usually the opening paragraph on your CV. It should be a short summary about you, to help employers see how you view yourself as a person and as an employee.

We’ve put together three simple tips for writing your personal statement:

How long should it be?

Your personal statement should be one paragraph, aiming for a minimum of 5 lines up to a maximum of 12 lines on a word document. If you’re looking for a word count, aim for up to 150 words.

If it’s too long, you risk repeating yourself and rambling too much!

If it’s too short, you’re not selling yourself enough!

What should it include?

You need to think about three key questions:

    • Who are you and what do you currently do?
    • What are your career goals?
    • What can you offer to your next employer, that could make you stand out above the rest?

Can I keep the same one for every job I apply for?

All job requirements are different. If you have the time, it would be beneficial to adapt your personal statement each time you apply for a job, so you can make it as relevant as possible to the role you are applying for. Make sure you do your research on the specific requirements the employer is asking for, both for the job and personal skills.

Remember, your personal statement gives you a chance to sell yourself in one paragraph. The rest of your CV is your work experience and your qualifications, so this gives you the opportunity to add that personal touch.

Here’s an example we’ve put together:

“As an experienced project manager, I have a proactive approach which has resulted in numerous successful completions of important projects across the rail industry. I am now coming to the end of my current project and am seeking a new challenge. I am a reliable and well-organised manager, bringing various expertise and knowledge to the table. I have extensive experience across the board and my attention to detail and communication skills is what makes me stand out from the rest.

TOP TIP

Make sure you ask someone to read through this for you to pick up any spelling or grammatical errors! You can’t always see these when you are writing yourself.

Advance TRS’s Rail & Infrastructure Director, Mick, and our Principal BD Consultant Andy, were pleased to attend the Welsh Transport Conference which was held at the Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel & Spa on Thursday 29th November 2018.

This one day conference brought the leaders from the region together to discuss devolution, new technology and innovation, funding and investment, the skills shortage and how we are going to align apprenticeship programmes to fit the needs of the sector, electrification, smart ticketing and much more.

There were some brilliant talks and speeches, one held Brian Meechan, BBC Wales Today Business Correspondent, followed by a Keynote Address by Simon Jones, Director of Transport for the Welsh Government. He spoke about the challenges and opportunities for Transport for Wales across all transport modes.

Attendees also heard from representatives from Siemens, Network Rail, Balfour Beatty, Keltbrayn, Wifi Spark, and there were talks from many other speakers. The conference also offered technical seminars from Furrer+Frey, ABB Ltd, AD Comms, TfW, SPL Powerlines, Centregreat and Atkins.

“This event proved to be a brilliant Networking opportunity, as well as a great way to find out what is happening in the Industry and specifically, what is happening with Transport in Wales. I am always looking for new opportunities to connect with people so this was a great new event to attend” Explains our Principal BD Consultant, Andy, who specialises in recruiting for OLE and Civils.

To view the latest jobs we are recruiting for in the Rail industry, click here!

The latest news this week in the Rail Industry

 

Shadow transport secretary McDonald considers extending control periods to 7 years

The shadow transport secretary has suggested increasing the current spending period length by an extra two years to give the supply industry greater time for planning. Read more…

Tree felling review: ‘Passenger safety is as vital as wildlife’

Review chair John Varley has called on Network Rail to be not only the safety railway in Europe but also the greenest as a report into the infrastructure manager’s tree-felling practices has been released. Read more…

HS2 work on injunction site halted by overnight protesters

Four environmental protestors managed to stop work on part of the HS2 rail link at a construction site, which was protected by an injunction ordered by Chris Grayling, chaining themselves to part of the site. Read more…

Colas Rail: Sense of identity

From rail grinding to freight, on-track plant to train maintenance, it’s difficult to know where to start with Colas Rail. A series of acquisitions and mergers over the last decade have given the UK subsidiary of the French construction giant Bouygues its own distinct identity. Read more…

‘Another kick in the teeth’: Rail fares to rise by 3.1% in New Year

Rail fares will rise by an average of 3.1% in January, the Rail Delivery Group has confirmed today. Read more…

Bombardier and Hitachi commit to high-speed rail learning programme if HS2 bid is successful

Hitachi and Bombardier are to work closely together in developing a high-speed rail learning programme as part of their joint bid to build trains for HS2. Read more…

 

Browse our latest rail jobs here.

Register for job alerts here.

The latest news this week in the Rail Industry

 

Jones in as rail minister following Johnson’s resignation over Brexit plans

Andrew Jones has been announced as the new rail minister following Jo Johnson’s resignation. Read more…

Grayling ‘sees no reason’ to follow European standards in post-Brexit rolling stock regulation

The transport secretary has categorically opposed the following of European Union rail standards when Britain leaves the EU, arguing he can see ‘absolutely no reason’ to follow the regulations. Read more…

Branson exports Virgin Trains brand to US

Last year Richard Branson visited Brightline, the USA’s first privately-owned passenger train service since the 1980s, and following discussions, is set to make a minority investment in the company. Read more…

HS2 kicks off the bid race to build Curzon Street station

HS2 has announced the start of its search for contractors to build its new £435m Curzon Street station. Around four contractors will be shortlisted for the design and build deal ahead of the arrival of HS2 in Birmingham in 2026. Read more…

Network Rail: Preventing suicides on the railway

Gillian, from Hertfordshire, intervened when she saw a man in distress while walking her dog with her husband. Read more…

Commute times surge by five minutes in past 10 years, with Wales and North East suffering most

Travel times to and from work now take an extra five minutes longer, with rail commuters facing the longest journeys, new analysis shows. Read more…

 

Browse our latest rail jobs here.

Register for job alerts here.

The latest news this week in the Built Environment

 

Building new city-centre lines instead of using existing network inflates HS2 cost by 15%

HS2’s second phase will cost more compared to similar overseas schemes because it relies on new dedicated high-speed lines into city-centre terminal stations at Manchester and Leeds rather than using the existing conventional railway. Read more…

Nearly 98% of bathing waters pass EA quality standards

The Environment Agency has announced that 97.9 per cent of England’s bathing waters passed standards following tests this year. Read more…

A6 Manchester Airport relief road creates thousands of jobs

Greater Manchester is set to benefit from 5,000 more jobs thanks to a new road improving connections in and around the city to Manchester Airport. Read more…

Industry set to ‘smash’ government target after new build completions see 6.4% year-on-year rise

According to the latest government statistics, new build completions accounted for 195,290 of supply in 2017-18 in the year to April – a rise of 6.4%. Read more…

Wates wins £82m London Haringey tower job

Wates Construction has been appointed by London residential developer Anthology to build a 32-storey tower in Tottenham Hale. Read more…

 

Browse our latest jobs here.

Register for job alerts here.