Your Personal Profile is one of the most important selling points of your CV. It is usually the first section that a potential recruiter or employer will scan directly after the headline and sub-headlines. Statistically, you have between 6 to 8 seconds to grab the reader’s attention before an initial decision is made. Based on this, you have a golden opportunity to get your CV placed in your future employer’s ‘Yes’ pile.
Forming part of DiamondCV’s “How to Write a Powerful CV to Dominate Your Niche” series, this post will guide you through the steps required to draft a job-winning CV profile…
What is the Purpose of a Personal Profile CV Section?
The definition of the word ‘Profile’ is:
“a short article giving a description of a person or organisation.”
Definitions from Oxford Languages
This explanation sums up the profiles currently occupying prime space on the majority of people’s CVs. You need to dig deeper and think creatively. What are the most important skills and experiences you have gained that an industry-specific employer would love to see?
Consider that every employee is hired to solve one or two of these organisational problems:
- How to make money and,
- How to save money
The clearer your profile answers these two problems, the greater the chances of your success.
How to Structure Your Personal Profile CV Section in 3 Steps
Step 1: Describe Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Companies have Unique Value Propositions and so should you. You are, after all, representing ‘Me Inc.’ and looking to sell yourself to an organisation. Try to show them the value you could add/problems you could solve.
Therefore, I find the most effective way to start the first sentence is with two, unique and powerful adjectives. For example:
“An influential and strategic Business Development Manager…” or “An industrious and intelligent Designer…“
Try to make use of a thesaurus to identify power words that are a little less generic; avoid trite words like “passionate” or “trustworthy”.
Following your introductory statement, continue the sentence by describing your most important UVP; which could be in the form of a highly sought after skill or gained experience. For example:
“An influential and strategic Business Development Manager, consistently outperforming sales goals through the acquisition of +50 key, FTSE 250 clients over a 10-year period…“
The more specific the better, and providing an outstanding, quantifiable achievement can really help sell your cause.
Step 2: Expand on your Opening Statement
The next one or two sentences should expand on your methodologies, education, and/or experience in the form of achievements. Perhaps you inspired multi-departmental collaboration to achieve annual financial goals or developed new strategies to increase your client portfolio? Any achievement linked to your specific career will help sell you in a succinct way.
As an example, a Sales Manager could state:
“Applied advanced technical knowledge to build thorough and clear sales strategies, achieving millions of pounds in sales revenue while leading the project life cycle from inception to completion and handover.”
Step 3: Be Specific about What YOU Want
Lastly, you will need to think deeply about what YOU want from your next role. Based on your current skill set and experience, what would be your ideal next move? It is imperative that you state this in your profile as clarity, about your own ambitions, is appealing to potential employers.
As an example, a Business Development Manager could state:
“Seeking the opportunity to direct an ambitious and dynamic sales department to rapidly increase business revenue and contribute to the long-term growth of a forward-thinking organisation.”
Final Thoughts on Your Personal Profile
Your personal profile, along with your headlines, are the first sections a recruiter will see. Therefore, when scanning your CV, I would encourage you to draft this section last. At that stage, you would have generated a full list of quantifiable achievements, responsibilities, and experiences.
Further Assistance…
In conclusion, if you are in need of assistance with your CV, then why not book an In-depth CV Analysis? Priced at £30 (discounted to £24 for students), this highly valuable document will give you bespoke guidance on each section. From there, you can continue to build your CV or get us to help with a New CV/CV Rewrite. Please click here for more information on our services or click here to contact us directly.
We wish you phenominal career success, happiness, and hope to continue to support you in the years to come…
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