What should I include in the short at the start of my CV?

so I am applying for a software engineering/digital technology and solutions/cybersecurity apprenticeship and was asking if anyone had any examples or tips for the short statement at the start of my cv as I am a bit lost. Also what do I include in the cover letter?

Hi Jake,

So the short bit at the start of your CV is called the personal statement (same name but very different to a UCAS personal statement). It is basically just three or four sentences that summarise yourself as a person.

You want to get 3 things in here: who you are, what you want and your skills/qualities. You can cover the first two in your first sentence - e.g. "A Year 13 student interested in a degree apprenticeship in digital and technology solutions". You can then use the next 2/3 sentences to summarise your best skills/qualities. (Good tip here is to personalise this for each company by using the required skills from the company's job description.)

If you want, I can send you a link with an example personal statement section and walkthrough of writing it. Just let me know if you're interested in that.

In terms of a cover letter, this needs to include: who you are, research on the company, highlight some work experience, highlight some key skills and explain why you are interested. Extra tip here is to not repeat things from your CV - you have an opportunity to put down more skills and experiences here, so if you just copy the same things you're not showing off your broad range of skills, achievements and experiences. Presentation is important here because you want to make a good first impression, so you need to structure it properly like a formal letter. I can send you another link which explains the structure and presentation more thoroughly, and gives you an example cover letter too. Again if you're interested just let me know.

Hopefully that helps with writing your CV and cover letter. Any questions or if you want those links, feel free to ask

yes if you could please send it I would really appreciate it