Not my specific area of expertise, but I'd lean towards making sure the info is on there as a priority vs putting them in order i.e. do it the "hits all the points, but in a different order" way.

Otherwise, if there's stuff marked "desirable" rather than "essential" or "assessed in interview" rather than "assessed in personal statement", you could risk missing them off... but I'd avoid it if you can.

Again, my knowledge may be out of date, so make sure you look at what some of the others are saying!

There's 2 pages of points, and no guidance for the statement! I've been out the application game so long I barely remember how to do this shit

Thanks it's impossible to answer it in order with the examples I've got. I've got stuff that hits all the points but can't do it in order. Will that be an issue?

There is no set meaning for it. It could refer to a wall of text, the top few lines on your CV or another name for a cover letter. Does it have a word limit to help figure out what it is?

If it's a beefy bit of text, aim for just under that amount of text. Go through the job description and cover all the points in there, and refer to previous experiences (could be within work, uni, school, volunteering, anything really, tbh could make it up or exaggerate an event) to demonstrate that skill of requirement. Try to use I did x rather than we or x happened. In the examples, you could have something that went wrong and what you did to fix it. (E.g needs to be a team player in job description becomes I work well with team members by listening to the input from others and also putting my point of view across where relevant and helpful. For example, in my final year at university we did a group project on x. Two of my team members got into an argument about which direction to go. I talked to both of them to calm down and as a group, I encouraged everyone to evaluate each idea by the positives as well as areas of improvement. That way, we were able to take the best option for the group and move forward to complete the project.) Or some bollocks like that...

Don't use AI to blindly write it. You can use it top give you examples of what to put in or to proof read but chances are 90% of people will just use AI which they'll be able to tell and they'll sound the same so not using it will stand out.

Don't spend too much time and effort unless you really really want the job. They'll be mostly skimmed through if read at all.

How big is the "company/group/place" that you're applying to?

If it's a large enough place that your application will initially be skim-read by "HR and office types" who know nothing about the actual role (especially if it's a council or other institute type job), the person spec etc is often a literal tick list, and it seems to be preferred to answer it in order, like a robot.

Some job application packages give you a person spec, with a table that says whether each point is addressed in the application form, personal statement or the interview etc - that's normally a pretty clear indicator that they want it "robot-like".

If it's anywhere that's not that i.e. smaller places, where the person initially reading the application might be actually involved in the job and know what any of it means, then you should be a little more free with the writing.

Also, depending on who/what the place is, the job application may have a "for any questions, please contact (name/number)". Though it may be quite terrifying to do so, you can literally ask them directly how they prefer the application, i.e. "Hi, I just wondered if you'd like the personal statement to address all the 'person spec' points clearly and simply in order, or to be a more freely written statement about my experience and abilities". They don't want to reject applications on form-filling technicalities - if you have the skills they're asking for, they'd rather have you at the interview - so it's not a 'stupid question' to ask them.

My information may be a bit out of date, though I know a Council job earlier this month still followed this format.

So, while I've never solely been HR (I've mostly worked at start-ups or SMEs and worn a lot of different hats at all times), I've done a lot of hiring at different companies in the UK.

I have always been of the opinion that the CV explains what you've done so far, and the covering letter / personal statement should then explain why what you've done makes you a viable candidate. So the CV is about you, the personal statement is about you and the role/company. You certainly don't have to cover the spec points in order (and don't even always need to cover them all). Just sure you address as many of the 'essential' elements as possible. But, even if you can't cover them all you might still be a viable candidate. I've hired people who had skill gaps because they had some stuff I really cared about and I knew we could teach them to cover the missing stuff.

Caveat: this was before AI. I assume that's fucked the human element of the entire process completely in a lot of companies. For <20 headcount orgs your application might still end up in front of a human.

I'd be surprised if anyone reads it. No disrespect. It's just I can't see anyone sitting down to read a personal letter and then the CV and then do that for all the candidates before even an interview. You'd be surprised what recruiters do in order to sift through their workload quickly.

Having said that write a short statement of who you are and why you feel the job is important to you. Make it... personal to you. Obviously. Can't hurt to have one even if they don't read it in full. I wouldn't spend a lot of time on it.

What's the points and the job?

So was I, but then I witnessed "a professional" tracing a leak at my mum's house, and watched them cover her entire front room with dust pulling the ceiling apart.

Trust me once you pay someone do it once, and realize what shortcuts they take and what standard they work to, you become more than willing to have a go yourself.

Cowboys. No exception!

Jamaica. Will definitely go back

Thanks! It's been a long road putting my wife through optometry school, and then having her first employer turn their back on her. We're really hoping to finally put down roots soon, and southwest England feels like the right place to do it

You're a braver person than me, I absolutetly hate doing DIY! I'm always terrified of causing irrepareable damage or killing myself.

Good luck with the move, I hope it all goes smoothly!

Sounds awesome! Where abouts did you go?

Been good. Been abroad for 10 days in the Caribbean so havent had to think about anything. Most pressing decisions were what cocktails to have by the pool.

Reality has hit like a fucking wrecking ball today though.

The muddy walks season is at its peak. We have two energetic dogs that need their walks, and right now all the decent paths around here are more or less covered in mud. That’s probably the same everywhere this time of the year.

Really good, despite being mildly under the weather. We had a friend visiting from abroad. Hadn't seen them for a year, good to catch up. We went to the Wes Anderson exhibition at the Design Museum on Saturday.

The big move is finally set to proceed. Really excited about the new area, just found out there's a bridleway or some kind of wooded footpath that goes all the way to the swimming pool from where we are.

Ive started on the DIY again, pulling down the entire kitchen roof to locate a leak from the shower.

I was hoping it would be a simple leak from the drain, but nope, its leaking from the shower water inlet which is in the wall...

.. at least I now know where the persistent mould is coming from. It smells so bad in summer sometimes. The whole house needs some TLC, but money is an issue

Still, while I still have a job, I plan to sink every penny into the house to get it up to scratch. If I get laid off I might be able to rent a room

A good week. Mike Wozniak on Thursday and Sue Perkins today. Don't normally get chance to go out but two gigs in one week! I've been spoilt which is nice after a couple of long months.

❤️

Lost my job

I'm sorry to hear that! I hope you find something soon!

Second oldest daughter became a Christian overnight

...I'm sorry to hear that! Hopefully it's just a bit of a phase and doesn't try to push things onto you.

Lost my job. Second oldest daughter became a Christian overnight (neither my wife nor I have ever mentioned religion in the house and are both decidedly atheist/agnostic) and don’t we dare suggest the fact that religion is trending on social media might have anything to do with it!

Other than that it’s been a splendid week.

Thank you. I think he was a beautiful boy too, especially when cuddling!

I've realised what people mean when they say they've lost interest in their job.

I used to chalk it up to meaning "I have lost my enthusiasm, and no longer do it with gusto, and am happy to just take the money and wait for retirement".

No. It does not mean that. It means "I can no longer motivate myself to do tasks in a timely manner. The tasks still need to get done, but now I have to put in extra time and effort into psyching myself up to do it".

You literally expend more mental energy, and it's stressful as hell when the deadlines come around each week

That's a beautiful color, I don't think I've seen many chocolate cats

Avoid doing dishes by hand, too. Gloves if you have to, protect those calluses at all costs.