How long should a personal statement on a CV be?

Three to five sentences, or roughly 50 to 100 words. It should sit at the top of the CV without pushing your first job or qualification too far down the page. If an advert asks for a longer personal or supporting statement, that is a separate document.

Is a CV personal statement the same as a UCAS personal statement?

No. A UCAS personal statement is part of a university application and explains why you want to study a subject. A CV personal statement is a short professional summary for employers, and it is only a few sentences long.

Should I write my CV personal statement in the first or third person?

Use the first person but drop the "I", for example "Qualified electrician with five years in domestic rewiring". It reads naturally and keeps sentences short. Avoid writing about yourself by name in the third person, which sounds odd on a CV.

Do I need a personal statement on my CV at all?

It is not compulsory, but most UK CVs have one, and it helps a reader decide quickly whether to look closely at the rest. It is especially useful for career changers, returners and graduates, whose experience section may not explain itself.

What should I avoid in a CV personal statement?

Lists of adjectives, clichés, claims with no evidence, a focus only on what you want, and a copy of your job history in sentence form. Also check you have not left in details from an application to a different employer.

What is the difference between a personal statement and a supporting statement?

A CV personal statement is a short profile at the top of your CV. A supporting statement is a longer document, often required for NHS, school, council and Civil Service jobs, where you show how you meet each criterion in the person specification with examples.

CV personal statement examples and how to write one

CV personal statement examples all share one shape: three to five sentences at the top of your CV saying who you are professionally, what you offer this employer and what you want next. It is not a UCAS statement or a job application supporting statement. Below are examples for five common situations and a structure to follow.

By Adam Smith, EditorPublished 28 September 2026Updated 28 September 2026

What a CV personal statement is, and what it is not

On a UK CV, the personal statement is the short paragraph under your name and contact details. Some people call it a profile, a personal profile or a summary; they all mean the same thing. Its job is to tell a reader in a few seconds whether the rest of the CV is worth reading closely for this role.

The phrase causes confusion because other documents share the name, and they are much longer:

A UCAS personal statement is part of a university application. It explains why you want to study a subject and is written for admissions tutors, not employers.
A supporting statement, sometimes called a personal statement, is a separate document that many public sector employers ask for alongside the application form. NHS, school and council applications often use one to test you against the person specification.
Civil Service applications may also ask for a personal statement. The Civil Service recruits against Success Profiles, which assess behaviours, strengths, ability, experience and technical skills, and each advert says which elements it will assess and how long the statement should be.

This guide covers the short paragraph on the CV itself. If the advert asks for a supporting statement of several hundred words, that is a different piece of writing, although your CV profile is a good place to start it.

How long it should be

Aim for three to five sentences, roughly 50 to 100 words. Shorter than that and it tends to say nothing specific. Longer than that and it starts repeating the experience section below it. On a one-page CV, three sentences is plenty. It should never push your first job entry off the first half of the page.

A structure you can follow

Most strong statements answer three questions in order. You do not need to be rigid about it, but if you are stuck, write one sentence for each:

Who are you, professionally? Your role or field, your level and how long you have been doing it, or what you are studying.
What can you offer this employer? One or two specific strengths, backed by something concrete: a result, a qualification, a type of work you have done a lot of.
What do you want next? The kind of role you are applying for, named in words that match the advert.

The third sentence is the one most people leave out, and it is the one that makes a statement feel written for this job. A reader who sees their job described in your first paragraph keeps reading.

Examples for different situations

Each example below describes a fictional person. Use them to see the shape, then write yours from your own facts. A copied statement is easy to spot, and it will not match the rest of your CV.

Recent graduate

It leads with the degree because that is the main qualification, then uses the project and placement as evidence. The final sentence names two sectors, which is fine if you tailor it before sending.

Career changer

A career changer has to do the translation for the reader. This statement names the old job, then describes it in the language of the new one, then adds a qualification that shows the move is serious.

Returning to work after a break

Mention the break briefly and without apology, then move straight to what you did before and what you have done since to stay current. Say up front if you want part-time hours.

Experienced professional

At this level, scale and results carry the statement. Numbers such as site size, headcount and one measured improvement tell a reader more than any adjective. The numbers here are illustrative; use your own, and only ones you can explain.

School leaver

A school leaver does not need to oversell. Qualifications, one real piece of responsibility and a clear goal are enough, and they read far better than a string of adjectives.

First person or third person?

Write in the first person, but leave out the "I". So not "I am an experienced buyer" and not "Sarah is an experienced buyer", but "Experienced buyer with...". This is the most common style on UK CVs. It keeps sentences short and avoids the odd effect of talking about yourself by name. If you find a sentence reads badly without "I", it is fine to use it occasionally. Just avoid starting every sentence with it.

Mistakes that make a statement forgettable

Stacking adjectives: "hard-working, motivated, dynamic team player". Every other statement in the pile says the same.
Talking only about what you want: "seeking a role that will develop my career". The employer wants to know what you bring first.
Claims with nothing behind them. "Excellent leadership skills" needs a team size or a result somewhere nearby.
Repeating your job history in sentence form. The statement summarises; the experience section gives detail.
Clichés such as "thinks outside the box" or "passionate about excellence".
Leaving in the name of a different employer or job from the last application. Read it through every time.

Tailoring it for each application

The statement is the easiest part of your CV to tailor and the one where it shows most. Before each application, read the advert and pick out the two or three things the employer cares about most. Then check that your second sentence offers evidence of at least one of them, and that your last sentence names the role you are applying for in the advert's own words.

You do not need to rewrite the whole thing each time. Keep a master version and a small bank of alternative middle sentences for the different kinds of job you apply for. Swapping one sentence and the job title takes a couple of minutes. If you want to see how closely your CV's wording matches an advert, our free ATS CV checker will compare them.

Where it goes on the page

Directly under your name and contact details, before anything else. Give it a heading such as "Profile" or "Personal statement", or no heading at all if your CV template makes it obvious. Keep it in the same font and size as the rest of the CV. Putting it in a coloured box or a sidebar can cause application software to read it out of order, so a plain paragraph is the safer choice.

See it in a full CV

Start from our graduate CV example and make it yours.

Start with this example

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Check your CV free with the ATS checker: see how an application system reads it, with your top three fixes, and no sign-up.
Tailor your CV to a job advert: paste the advert and see which parts of your CV to change.

Questions people ask

How long should a personal statement on a CV be?: Three to five sentences, or roughly 50 to 100 words. It should sit at the top of the CV without pushing your first job or qualification too far down the page. If an advert asks for a longer personal or supporting statement, that is a separate document.
Is a CV personal statement the same as a UCAS personal statement?: No. A UCAS personal statement is part of a university application and explains why you want to study a subject. A CV personal statement is a short professional summary for employers, and it is only a few sentences long.
Should I write my CV personal statement in the first or third person?: Use the first person but drop the "I", for example "Qualified electrician with five years in domestic rewiring". It reads naturally and keeps sentences short. Avoid writing about yourself by name in the third person, which sounds odd on a CV.
Do I need a personal statement on my CV at all?: It is not compulsory, but most UK CVs have one, and it helps a reader decide quickly whether to look closely at the rest. It is especially useful for career changers, returners and graduates, whose experience section may not explain itself.
What should I avoid in a CV personal statement?: Lists of adjectives, clichés, claims with no evidence, a focus only on what you want, and a copy of your job history in sentence form. Also check you have not left in details from an application to a different employer.
What is the difference between a personal statement and a supporting statement?: A CV personal statement is a short profile at the top of your CV. A supporting statement is a longer document, often required for NHS, school, council and Civil Service jobs, where you show how you meet each criterion in the person specification with examples.