Your Personal Development Statement

 

Below you will find the first stage of a progress file. This will allow you to record your academic study, work experience and extra-curricularPicture of pen activities. Try to complete it in as much detail as possible.

Identify the important things you have done in each aspect of your life. Describe the things you have done, including any responsibility you have taken.

Note down any skills or personal qualities that might be of interest to employers. Use the hints to give you ideas of what type of information to include in each section.

WHY A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT STATEMENT?

After completion click on the "SUBMIT FORM" button at the bottom, you can then save your results by clicking on the FILE menu (top left of screen) and then on SAVE AS. You can save it to your computer or on to a USB stick. The file will be saved as an .htm file which you can then open in MS Word, to edit or add to.

Name:  

Email address:

Date:   

ACADEMIC STUDY

Detail here anything relating to your degree course. Also include qualifications from school, and any postgraduate study.
  • Courses at Kent and skills you have developed on them
  • Projects
  • Extended Essays
  • Year Abroad
  • Language Courses
  • Word-processing and Computing Courses.
  • Professional Examinations
  • Evidence of meeting deadlines, working in a team, analysing data
  • Leading Seminars
  • Making Presentations
  • Examinations passed at school
  • Solving Problems

WORK

List all your work experience here, no matter how trivial and give dates and employer names as well as the job title. If you've had no jobs, don't be put off - list any voluntary work or similar things.
  • Course placements
  • Full-time jobs
  • Part-time jobs
  • Temporary jobs
  • Voluntary work
  • Work abroad
  • Work experience
  • Work shadowing
  • Work relevant to the job you are seeking after graduation

    Evidence of:
  • Working in a team
  • Leadership
  • Office skills
  • Computer skills
  • Working under pressure/to deadlines
  • Responsibility taken
  • Positions of leadership

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Detail here your hobbies and interests, including anything significant that you did in later years at school. Also include holidays and travel here.
  • Membership of clubs and societies
  • Evidence of taking responsibility - chair, secretary or treasurer
    of clubs, house or sports captain at school, youth leader etc.
  • Creative activities - orchestras, drama groups, school and college
    magazines and how you contributed
  • Practical, artistic, musical or sporting abilities and awards
  • Charitable work, helping children, the elderly or disabled, Niteline,
    fund-raising for Rag etc.
  • Holidays and travel abroad - what did you gain from this?

    Evidence of:
  • Planning and organising
  • Showing initiative
  • Working in a team
  • Contribution to university life

OTHER SKILLS OR AWARDS ACHIEVED

  
  • Driving Licence
  • Word-processing or computing skills - be detailed
  • Languages spoken - to what level?
  • Prizes or scholarships e.g. Duke of Edinburgh Award

PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

  
Note any domestic circumstances that might influence your career choice e.g. preference for a particular part of the country, obligations to other family members (e.g. children, elderly parents).

OTHER INFORMATION

Include here any additional information your tutor might find useful when writing a reference for you.

This might include:
  • What are my key strengths?
  • What are my main limitations?
  • List three ways in which you might be able to convert each limitation
    into an opportunity
  • The things that prevent me doing my best are:
  • What type of job(s) would you like to do?
  • Why are you interested in it?
  • Why are you suited to it?
  • What type of employer would you like to work for?

"We recruit graduates from a wide range of degree disciplines. Although degrees with an element of computing experience are relevant for the more technical positions, many Arts graduates prove to be just as successful in these areas."

IBM