How to Write a Personal Statement for a Charity Job

A personal statement is like an essay that you have to write about yourself. You may have been asked to write one of these during your time in education, perhaps before going to college or university.

However, there are occasions when an organisation might ask you to create a personal statement during your job search.

If that happens, this gives you an opportunity to highlight your core values and ambitions and give the recruiter a real insight into who you are. This can be really important in the charity sector as it offers you a chance to prove that you’re kind, empathetic and charitable.

Now, we understand that’s a lot of pressure to put on just a few paragraphs, but if you get this right, you can increase your chances of being invited for an interview.

What’s the difference between a cover letter and a personal statement?

If you’ve not been asked for a personal statement before, it’s vital that you don’t confuse this with a cover letter.

A cover letter accompanies your CV and provides more detail about your work experience, professional achievements and qualifications. It’s another chance for you to really sell your skills to the employer and you should tailor them to the job description. Because of this, it’s a formal document and the language should reflect this.

A personal statement, on the other hand, can be less formal. It should still be professional, but you can afford to be more creative and fun with the language you use.

The content will also differ as your personal statement is a longer narrative about who you are, your background and what drew you to your chosen career path. It’s used to help the recruiter to build a more in-depth understanding of who you are as a person.

When might you be asked for a personal statement rather than a cover letter?

Although asking for personal statements is less common than cover letters, there are some instances when this does still happen. Some of the most common reasons a recruiter might ask for a personal statement include when applying for internships, volunteering opportunities or entry-level charity jobs.

This is because you may not have a huge amount of professional or related experience to talk about, but a personal statement gives the recruiter a chance to find out more about you and what makes you a good fit for the role.

It could also be that the recruiter isn’t as interested in your formal experience or in ticking boxes. Instead, they may want to find out more about your top qualities and whether you’re suited to the type of work involved, such as working with vulnerable people.

An organisation might also ask for a personal statement as part of an online application form. While CharityJob is discouraging the use of application forms, as they can be a barrier to applying for roles, some recruiters may still be using them. But recruiters shouldn’t ask you for both a personal statement and a cover letter for one application, as this is bad practice.

How to write a personal statement for a charity job — 5 top tips

Now you have a better understanding of what a personal statement is, here are our top five tips for how to write a great personal statement, so you can take the next step in your charity career.

1. Start strong

You need to start your personal statement with an engaging introduction that grabs the recruiter’s attention and encourages them to read on. As such, you should put the most interesting and persuasive information right at the beginning of your statement for the strongest possible start.

This could be a quick but captivating sentence about who you are, an impressive achievement or even an anecdote. For example, sharing details of a fun, interesting or challenging activity you did to raise money for charity. Perhaps you walked hundreds of miles, travelled the globe or organised a local fundraising event.

2. Emphasise your passion

Wanting to work in the charity sector already says a lot about who you are as a person, but it’s still important that you emphasise your passion for the industry.

You can do this by sharing your past experience and volunteering efforts. Plus, as this statement is all about who you are, you can also explain what it was that made you want to help others and work in this sector in the first place.

You can share stories of how you’ve harnessed your passion in the past and highlight the key qualities involved, such as dedication, understanding and patience.

3. Show your potential for future success

Following on from our last point, you can also take this chance to show your potential for personal growth and development in a charity role.

You can do this by making it clear that you’re not just passionate about the industry and those you’re helping, but that you’re hoping to progress and make a real difference long into the future. Dedication and drive are important and therefore desirable in the non-profit sector.

4. Highlight relevant experience where possible

As we said, a personal statement can be a little more informal than a cover letter and doesn’t need to include relevant work experience as this will be on your CV. That being said, if you can give examples of achievements or experience related to the specific role or organisation you’re applying to, this can earn you extra points with the recruiter.

So let’s say, for example, you’re applying to work for the children’s charity NSPCC. If you can, give details of other children’s charities you’ve worked for or volunteered at in the past, this could boost your application.

But if you have no relevant experience, that’s OK too. You can still share other impressive things you’ve done or highlight the achievements you’re most proud of, such as ‘personally raising £1,000 for Save the Children’.

5. Check your statement thoroughly

Last but certainly not least, before you submit your application, you need to check through your personal statement several times to ensure it’s perfect.

Each time you read it through, you’ll have the opportunity to tweak and edit the content until it’s just right. You’ll also be able to spot any spelling or grammatical errors and make sure your statement reads well.

This step is crucial, as errors, clumsy wording and overused clichés could cost you the job. So take some time to ensure your personal statement is well-written, engaging and free from any errors.

By doing this, as well as following our other top tips, you‘ll learn how to write a personal statement that will help you secure an interview.

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