Eish! London 9 April

Thursday, 9 April

 

            My first agency email came from Jonn today, it seemed so formal. Interestingly, no other agency asked me for a personal statement. This was the email:

 

From: Jonn

Subject: Personal statement for your CV

Date: Thursday, 9 April, 2009, 6:19 PM

 

Dear Shannan

 

Can you possibly put together a brief personal statement for your CV? Generally it’s used to support your application for jobs and highlight your successes and strategies as a teacher.

 

Give me a shout if you have any questions, and as for length of the statement, a paragraph is usually the norm.

 

Regards

 

Jonn

 

            I replied to his email with difficulty. How do you sell yourself honestly and not boastfully? How do you make yourself look good without looking vain and self-absorbed? I decided to stick to the facts; hopefully that is the right way about it…:

 

From: Shannan

Sent: 09 April 2009 16:59

Subject: Re: Personal statement for your CV

 

Dear Jonn

 

My Statement:

 

I began earning an income for myself from the age of 14, as a waitress in a tea-garden. I started setting goals and achieving them at that age too. I was a school prefect in Grade 12 and received both the best actress and best on stage performance awards in the same year (1997), as well as Honours for Drama. I then went on to complete my undergraduate degree in 3 years. I travelled overseas, returned and continued to work in numerous industries where I interacted with clients, bosses, colleagues and suppliers daily. I have learnt about respect, dedication and hard work. I have learnt that how I work with people, and the impression I inevitably leave behind, is far more important than achieving any monetary goal or climbing a hierarchy. I have learnt that no matter what job I am doing, or who I am working with/for, the only way I will be satisfied is if I give the task the very best I am capable of. I believe in being committed, passionate, objective and honest, because these are the qualities that I believe will reap invaluable rewards and these are the factors that I use as to judge whether or not I have done a job to the very best of my ability. The last set of goals I achieved were 1) Obtaining my post grad whilst teaching 5 grades and controlling 2 of them, 2) Writing 3 successfully performed South African plays, 3) Obtaining 3 dancing certificates, 4) Having my last Grade 12 class of 30% – 80% individually averaged learners obtain an 82% class average for their government set Grade 12 examinations (practical and theory combined). I am proud of what I have achieved and of who I am; but then you don’t have to believe what I am saying about myself, instead you can call any of the people I have worked with and see what they have to say.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Kind Regards 

 

Shannan