Many people who have a good resume don’t pay enough attention to their profile. If you don’t have the right experience, your resume profile won’t make a big difference. However, if you are trying to get your first job, your personal profile can make you stand out. Continue reading to learn how to write a personal profile for a job application!
What is a personal profile?
Basically, the profile of a resume is a personal section to give the reader an idea about your personality and your values as a person. Generally, a profile is a summary of things about you and your life, but different from a mini biography. No prospective employer wants an in-depth analysis of your psychological construct.
A successful profile gives the reader some clear clues about your identity. This should also mention possible conversation topics for when the interview reaches the stage of “getting to know you a little more”.
Think of a successful personal profile as an opportunity to show some of your strengths that will help you create a good and first image of yourself in the reader’s eyes. However, you shouldn’t look like you’re selling yourself too much. If it seems exaggerated, it will make you look arrogant and/or soon they will discover that you are false during the interview.
What should you write on your personal profile?
There are basically three main elements that you should put in your profile. First of all, it will be very positive that you put some personal characteristics that do not have to appear again in the rest of the resume. A good example would be to say that you are a self-motivated person or that you have passion for details.
Obviously, everyone can say this kind of thing about themselves, so make sure you give at least one example where it is evident that you possess such a characteristic, whether your personal or professional life.
For example, you could say that you like to work as a team since you have been successful in teams working alongside other professionals in the past. You can also mention that you were an important and valued member of your local sports club. You have to look for an example that makes the best impression for your particular case.
Secondly, you should mention some of your skills. Some of these will be indicated by your own name, such as you’re a skilled driver, when you have already put in your resume that you have a professional driving license. Use your personal profile to mention other skills you have other than the professional and main ones.
To finish, your profile should mention any experience you have related to work. No matter that you are open to many different areas of work, mentioning work experiences with transferable skills is ideal. Talk about your past, explain past successes or recommendations to make a good impression.
You can also read: Learn how to make your online resume stand out
Tips for writing a personal profile
Read your personal profile out loud. You are selling yourself to an employer in these first lines of your resume. Be as specific as possible. You can simply specify that you have excellent writing skills. However the employer will be much more impressed if you can claim, for example, that you write for a school or blog magazine with thousands of readers.
Use a checklist. With your personal profile you should be able to answer at least the following questions:
- Who am I and what do I want to do?
- What qualities and skills do I have that will make me successful in this position?
- What are my ambitions and what is my vision for personal development in this role?
Mistakes to avoid when writing a personal profile
You should avoid these mistakes when writing a personal profile:
- Write a too generic profile with characteristics that may fit any other candidate. The personal word is used for some reason; the statements/characteristics you put must be specific and not interchangeable.
- Spelling and/or grammatical errors. Evidently you don’t want any misspellings or grammatical errors in your resume, especially in the first lines. If this is something that is not easy for you, you can ask a friend to help you correct it.
- Use dots (to create lists) or keywords. You must write entire sentences. Notes or points (lists) will play their role in other parts of your resume, but not in your personal description.
- Use many words that say little. Ornate language is not well-liked.
- Focus only on work requirements. This can make you stand out. It is true that recruiters will see that you possess the fundamental skills, but you have to give them a little more information. Be sure to write down at least one item that other candidates don’t have.
- Mix first and third person. Either way is fine, just make sure you don’t use them at the same time.
- Don’t make up things about yourself or say things that may contradict elements you have put in the rest of your resume.
These were some tips to write an online personal profile for a job application. We hope this information has been useful to you!
If you want more people to know your work, but you don’t know how to reach them, don’t worry. Go to gofamed.com and claim your Google presence in just a few clicks!
