Sample Psychology personal statement
I am a highly motivated individual with a proven track record of flexibility; I effectively balance working as a teacher with being a mother of two young children while simultaneously volunteering on the Board of Governors to campaign for better food standards within schools. I am an excellent communicator and pride myself on maintaining strong working relationships with all students, colleagues, clients and customers I encounter. The progression I desire will give me an opportunity to take my career in a different direction and to bring my skill set and experience together in a new and exciting challenge.
Ambitious and diligent, I always push myself to succeed in each new challenge that arises and approach each new role with skill and commitment. I have a talent for languages and speak English, French, and Spanish and am currently learning Italian. I am used to working under pressure and thrive in fast-paced working environments as a team player or as a leader. My aim is attend university to complete a Psychology course. I feel that my personality is suited to this course as I am non judgmental and confident in my ability. As a mature student, I have life experience on my side and for psychology, this experience in crucial in understanding how people will behave and their variations.
My experience of working in education has given me the confidence and the ability to strive for a career in psychology. This strong background has taught me a wide range of skills, which will be valuable in any psychology career; working with people, exploring how the minds of different children work and more basic skills such as organisation and team playing in the workplace. I began my career as a French teacher and received a retention point due to my hard work, designing and implementing homework booklets for KS3 classes.
Over the years at this school, I was promoted and given more responsibility until I was allocated the short-term role of Acting Head of faculty. I was consequently appointed Head of French where I increased my managerial skills due to my responsibility for four other members of staff. I was in charge of a newly qualified teacher and enjoyed the challenges that this has created. My career has given me the opportunity to mentor student teachers and students alike and has allowed me to gain an understanding of people’s differences. I have also observed countless lessons and provided support and feedback. My work has involved coordination of assessments, recording and organising resources, re-writing schemes and managing the school budget. I have even been involved in timetabling and taking charge of an action plan. This shows the ability I have for management and learning new things.
I have with my background in education, and my strong interpersonal skills, I enjoy helping people. Teaching in a classroom of 30 children means that it is not always possible to address all children’s needs in the most effective way. My interest in people and their varied behavior has led me to read numerous books on the subject. Currently I am reading “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins in order to further my understanding of biological and Evolutionary Psychology. I find it fascinating that natural and sexual selection can provide explanations for variation amongst living beings.
I keep myself aware of developments in child Psychology by reading Psychology Review, which looks at Psychologists experiments and updates on their research. Works like these have given me an insight into the impact of the way people are can have a major impact on society. They have given me a great insight into how economics, politics and even the nature of society can have an impact on how people.
I have a good basic knowledge and understanding of psychology due to personal interest but am keen to draw on the knowledge that I have and my life experience and cement it by attending university to do a psychology course. I have already shown the level of my interest by going back to education. I am studying at Birkbeck to ensure that I am aware of the biological basis of psychology. I have successfully completed Foundations of Modern Psychology. These qualifications will ensure that I have the necessary points to commence a psychology degree.
I am highly interested in the biological approach to behavior, in particular diagnosing and treating mental health issues. Because of my interest, I have I have started to read journals and articles in an aim to research memory impairments, an issue which is significant to so many people, especially with a population that lives longer than ever.
I feel that I am highly suited to working as an educational psychologist due to my background in education and my proven skill set in this particular field. However, there are other areas of psychology, which has significantly interested me already and this may change while I am studying at university.
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