Writing about yourself is hard! Whether you’re writing a cover letter, a statement of interest, an annual review, or a personal narrative, most of us feel uncomfortable when we have to “brag” about our accomplishments.
Writing short descriptions of our work experience or how we respond in different situations requires clear, concise, persuasive writing. What really stands out in strong cover letters and statements of interest is when your writing sounds personal and real.
How are you going to convince someone that you’re a real person who can truly excel at a job when you don’t sound like a real person in your writing?
Your readers need to be able to picture you doing the job. But, many of us are so afraid of not sounding professional enough, that we instead sound like robots.
When we most need to write authentically, we end up writing “at arm’s length.”
Why do I sound like a different person when I have to write about myself?
Distancing yourself from what makes you uncomfortable — like writing about your accomplishments— is a really common reaction. And this distance comes across in your writing even though you’re probably unaware you’re doing it.
Your word choices and even your sentence structure can create distance between you and your reader, making you seem impersonal.
Below are some common problems I see over and over when I’m editing personal narratives, annual reviews, cover letters, and statements of interest.
3 ways to personalize your writing
Keep it active.
I know you’ve probably seen this advice a lot: avoid using the passive voice. But that doesn’t just mean avoiding the standard {BE verb + past participle} formula.
Overusing any BE and HAVE verbs [is, am, are, was, were, has, have, had] can take the wind out of your writing and leave your actions sounding passive.
Here are a few examples with potential improvements.
- My supervisor was impressed by my proposal. => My proposal impressed my supervisor.
- I would act as a translator as reports came in to ensure communication was efficient. => By translating reports as they came in, I ensured efficient communication.
- I have extensive experience working with teams as well as being good at working alone. => In past jobs, I actively participated in team projects while also proactively managing my own caseload.
- My task was to deal with problems as they arose. => I handled problems as they arose.
- I was able to deliver lessons online instead. => I delivered lessons online instead.
Focus on what you did NOT what happened to you.
Remember that when you’re writing about what YOU did that you should be the main character in the story. Think about how you can center yourself in the situation.
How can you help your reader see you doing things in the scene?
Focus less on describing the situation and more on what you did. Again, think: action verbs.
- My job includes analysis of companies and market trends on an extremely large scale. => I analyze companies and large-scale market trends to….
- The need for such a program seemed immediate. => I immediately saw the benefit of creating a program, so I….
- To address the issue of funding, we decided to organize… => To fund the club, I proposed organizing….
- The meetings were an important first step in the negotiation process. => I organized the initial meetings that were critical to the negotiation process.
Don’t begin sentences with “there is/was” or “it is/was.”
It’s really common to overuse sentences that begin with “there is,” “that is,” and “it is.” These are really weak ways to begin a sentence. [see what I did there? 😉 ]
First of all, “there” and “it” are false subjects. They don’t actually say who or what is doing the action. Secondly, “be” verbs (is, are, was, were, etc.) don’t show action. To activate your writing and make it sound more immediate and real, check your writing for false subjects and try to edit them out.
Here are some examples and ways to fix them:
- Based on my work history, there’s no doubt that I can do the job. => Based on my experience, I’m certain that I can do the job.
- There was a communication breakdown between the supplier and the client. => Communication broke down between the supplier and the client.
- It was so popular that the number of seats had to be increased. => Due to the event’s popularity, I added 3 extra rows of seats.
- As a manager, it was my responsibility to… => As a manager, I was responsible for…
- There was a discussion about who to let go and the managers wanted my input. => The managers asked for my input when discussing who to let go.
- It was an honor to have been invited to participate in the roundtable discussions. => I was honored to participate in the invite-only roundtable discussions.
Focus on you & your actions
Your experiences are unique to YOU. Keep the focus on your actions, center yourself on the stage of your story, and remember to be real. The examples above may help you, but everyone’s writing is a little bit different. With a little practice, you can become a better editor of your own writing.
If you’d like to work with a writing coach (me!) to help you develop your ideas and write about yourself more clearly and confidently, contact Stephanie.