Show why you are the best fit with a strong personal value proposition

If you’re looking for a new job or are actively building your professional network, then you probably spend a lot of time explaining to people what your background is, what you know, and why you are an outstanding worker. You may have even crafted a brief summary to give to people verbally or in writing to tell them about yourself. The personal value proposition is a great way to formalize your professional introduction. We’ll tell you about it and how you can create one. This article will cover the following topics:

• What is a personal value proposition?

• When should you use a personal value proposition?

• How do you write one?

• An example of a personal value proposition statement

What is a personal value proposition?

You may have heard about the personal value proposition (PVP). It sounds like a cool thing to have, but what exactly is it? It’s a brief statement that tells people what your best skills and areas of expertise are, and why you are an outstanding asset to an organization. A PVP can also be called a personal unique selling proposition because it should be your own and not like anyone else’s.

A personal value proposition is short, usually 100 to 200 words. Being concise is important because you don’t want to be long-winded when you’re telling someone your story. Think elevator pitch. A good PVP is only a few sentences. We’ll get into how you do this later.

When should you use a personal value proposition?

A personal value proposition can be very handy in networking situations and interviews. For jobseekers, you can build your PVP into your resume summary or, if the job doesn’t require a cover letter, you can create a personal value proposition statement instead. We’ll give you an example of one later in this article.

If you’re doing a job search campaign with emails, then you can use your personal value proposition statement as the basis of the email you send out. Your professional online profiles are another good place to utilize your PVP. It makes a great introduction statement for your LinkedIn profile. You can also use it for any other social media profiles you use for business. Since it is short, it can also fit on your resume, or you can use parts of it to bolster specific sections of your resume.

How does a personal value proposition differ from a cover letter?

A cover letter is a one or two-page business letter that introduces you to a hiring manager for a specific role. Your PVP can be used within a cover letter to provide a great introduction or perhaps a bullet point showing why you’re a fit for the position. A cover letter is typically much longer than a PVP, and it goes into greater detail about your skills and achievements, as well as expounding on why you’re the best candidate for a specific job opening.

How do you write a personal value proposition?

To create an effective personal value proposition, the first thing you need to do is examine your skills and values. What are your strongest capabilities? What are you looking for in a career? What are you passionate about professionally? These are all things that you can use in your PVP.

Select two or three of your very best strengths and work with those. Ask yourself how can you leverage those skills to create value for an organization? Remember to keep your statement focused on the present and future, and not on what you’ve done in the past. It’s okay to mention achievements, but make sure you follow that by stating how you’ll apply this in the future.

When you’re pursuing a specific job, tailor your personal value proposition for the role. How do your skills and values make you the best candidate? What can you do for the organization? Why are you interested in the role? Your PVP is a short, clear, and authentic statement of the unique benefits that you will bring to the position.

Need some help organizing your job search? Use our Job Tracker to manage the companies and jobs you apply to in one place. 

Key takeaways 

1. A personal value proposition (PVP) is a quick way to tell people your professional story.

2. Include your best skills and accomplishments.

3. Keep it concise. About 100 to 200 words, at most.

4. Get your PVP out there and go after that great new opportunity!