Without question, looking at the career bio gives recruiters a snapshot of the candidate’s experiences, abilities, and areas of expertise in the workplace. Professional bios are helpful not just for resumes but also for networking purposes and as a means of establishing credibility when you need to represent yourself and your ability or seek out new chances.
Here is my detailed step-by-step guide with templates for creating a simple yet compelling professional bio. Let’s check it out!
In this article:
What Is Professional Bio And What Should Be Included?
As you can tell by the name, a professional biography is a brief introduction to yourself, your career, and some highlights of your accomplishments. A short professional bio provides a more comprehensive overview of your personality to potential employers, coworkers, and others you are networking with.
I know the term “short” is ambiguous and has several meanings. The good news is that there is no set length for your bio—unless you’re working with a character or space constraint. Although most short biographies are between one and four paragraphs long, you are free to write yours as long as you believe it would be most effective.
What To Include In A Professional Bio
A potential employer, customer, or contact will frequently read your brief bio before contacting you, so it’s critical that it be truthful, educational, and memorable. It is advisable to incorporate:
- Full name
- Current job title
- Personal brand statement or company name
- Education
- Personal and career goals
- Past professional achievements
- Relevant skills and expertise
- Personal interest and hobbies
How To Write A Professional Bio
Writing Guide
Use these guidelines to create a concise, compelling, and expert bio.
Step 1: Select the proper title and name for your profession.
Selecting an appropriate name and titles for a professional bio is the first step in writing one. The goal and target viewers of the bio could influence the choice of names and titles.
Some people decide not to include their given name in their bio, for instance, and instead use an alternative first name. Instead of taking on a new surname after marriage, other professionals stick to their former last name. You may also wish to include or exclude job titles like Esq (esquire), MD (medical doctor), or Pr (pastor), etc.
Step 2: Provide a summary of your current role or professional motto.
If you’re writing a bio while still working, include your title or role, such as “Editor” or “Senior Associate.” You can include your prior position or your present area of expertise in your bio if you are jobless and developing one for an internet presence. You may put “Professional Nanny” or “Web Developer”, for instance.
Step 3: Name your employer or firm (optional).
You may provide your readers with a better understanding of your experience, industry, and availability for a job by mentioning your present company. Determine your employer once you have determined your position, title, or function. Notice that this step is optional, and you may skip it if you work for yourself or don’t have an employer at the moment.
Step 4: Determine your career and personal objectives.
In this step, you need to ask yourself, what makes you succeed? To assist the reader in understanding what drives you, you could want to offer the response in your profile. For instance, you may write, “Building solid relationships is the cornerstone of my work, personally and professionally,” if you feel this is crucial for your job.
Step 5: Consider whether to include interesting or intimate information about yourself.
Most of the time, you are not required to include personal information in your bio. On the other hand, it might be advantageous in some circumstances to help others understand you as a complete person.
Popular personal information in bio examples include:
- Interests
- Favorite films, TV series, or novels
- Details on the family
- Facts about a person’s interests or habits
- Personal background
Sample Of General Staff Bio Template
(Your Name) is a (job title) who works with (who/company you help) and (how you assist them).
I/ He/She (believes/knows) (what you believe/know about your job).
I/ He/She have (supported/ worked at/ garnered/ secured/landed) (insert your most remarkable experiences and achievements). (Your first name) is a (certified/trained/awarded) (insert relevant certification, training, awards, etc). I/He/She holds a (cert/degree) in (study field) from (college/university).
Adapt Your Professional Biography For Different Forms And Situations
LinkedIn Summary
First-time job seekers, here is something you might not know: LinkedIn is the hot spot for headhunters like me to seek outstanding candidates. So, it’s worth paying some attention to your LinkedIn profile. Determine how you now use LinkedIn and how you would like to utilize it. Are you happy where you work but want to get in more contacts? Do you want to draw in recruiters?
Your LinkedIn summary should reflect your engagement on the platform, regardless of what you’re looking for. For example, a profile devoted to industry networking would read differently from one that is actively seeking employment. Modifying the design above for your LinkedIn bio will be much simpler when you’ve determined your aim.
You should start the bio with your job position and any other information from the opening paragraph. Next, proceed with the accomplishments or abilities most pertinent to your LinkedIn objectives. Finally, articulate those objectives.
Example
I have over eight years of expertise managing market share development in assigned areas as a field sales manager, and I am well-versed in pharmaceutical sales and territory prospecting. After refining and implementing these professional skills to meet multiple corporate objectives, I was honored to receive an invitation to become a member of the National Marketing Council. These days, much of my time is spent devising sales tactics and making connections with other business experts who are eager to discuss shops.
Twitter Bio
You may even stand out with a concise 160-character bio. Use the opening two phrases similar to the bio I just prepared to create a fantastic social media profile. It contains a wealth of amazing information about you and your work, including your educational background, interests, methods, and beliefs.
Then, make sure your statement is as brief as you can. Finally, add a little pizazz. Squeeze is the key term. Pay no attention to irrelevant features or oddities.
Example
Head software developer at Belly and a proud eight-year member of @IEEEorg. Enthusiastic about new developments in mobile applications and code.
Company Website Blur
You can exclude certain common information, such as your title, and instead include relevant details that highlight your qualifications (or unique qualities) in a bio for your corporate website (such as on a staff page).
After all, your job title will probably be shown by default, and everybody reading this bio knows where and who you work for. Therefore, you may use the template’s second and third paragraphs to write a bio highlighting your distinctive qualities.
Example
Margot attained the highest CEM-seller position by surpassing all Clarabridge sales targets by a minimum of 84%. This prepared her for the demanding key role of developing sales strategies for the NASP (National Association of Sales Professionals). Clarabridge has become a national leader because of her astute and creative ideas in sales force growth, and she has a talented and competent staff to assist them in upholding the high bar she helped create.
Portfolio Or Personal Website
This is the moment to fully expose yourself to your viewers. You are free to modify and expand on any parts of the professional bio you wrote using the above template, and you may use as much of it as you wish. Provide a compelling “About Me” page explaining your value to potential employers or partners and why you’re the right candidate.
Example
Chad Wilborn enhances digital marketing initiatives for businesses on the West Coast by simplifying intricate technological concepts into visually appealing images. His expertise includes several marketing and visual design initiatives focused on updating the customer experience, along with training in traditional advertising. Chad’s portfolio shows off his ability to make the most of every frame and pixel for the benefit of new or existing businesses looking to connect with customers. Having won several design and branding accolades with his services, he is eager to assist your business to achieve optimal sales growth.
Tips For Writing Career Bio
Writing about yourself may still be challenging, even after reading my bio-writing advice. Self-promotion can be draining, even for the most self-assured individual. But have no fear! You don’t have to pull teeth to coherently maintain your “about me” writing. Here are some of my tips that you might find useful
- Avoid overanalyzing it: It’s OK that most bios follow a template. Generally speaking, you won’t need to deviate too much from the ordinary to stand out on professional biographies, LinkedIn summaries, or speaker bios at events. Making your bio stand out from the crowd may be as simple as including a word that describes interesting accomplishments.
- Be concise: I’m sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but most individuals don’t have enough patience or time to read a seven-paragraph essay detailing your personal life narrative. Thus, avoid using run-on phrases and to make your statements concise.
- Being relatable: This can help you build stronger relationships with people, regardless of your accomplishments. It might benefit you to emphasize your brand and add personal characteristics in this situation. Becoming relatable may help others understand you better and decide whether you would make a good employee, whether that’s through a hobby, passion, or other function outside of work.
- Avoid expressing negativity: This is particularly important if you update your bio following a termination or layoff. Despite how tempting it may be, refrain from expressing unfavorable remarks or charges in your bio. You’ll go far with positivity and a positive outlook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should Bio Be In The Third Person?
It depends. Although writing your professional bio in the third person is more customary, writing it in the first person is acceptable if you want to utilize it in a more casual setting. One thing to bear in mind is that writing about successes in the third person might seem more natural since it allows you to mentally distance yourself from coming off as boasting about your awesomeness.
Should A Bio Include A Picture?
Yes. Although biographies serve as a professional synopsis, adding a little personality is acceptable. And uploading a photo is the best way to do so. The picture you choose to put in your bio should ideally be a headshot taken by a professional. This will help increase professionalism and credibility.
What Tense Should A Bio Be Written In?
You can write your bio in either the past or present tense as long as you maintain the same tense throughout your writing. Using past tense gives the reader the impression that they are learning about the subject’s growth and accomplishments in great detail. Nonetheless, there can be situations in which you can use the present tense to showcase your continued influence or current activities.
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The Bottom Line
You’ve read such excellent examples of professional biography templates. Let’s get started and write your professional bio now. Compile a list of the things you believe your bio should cover if you are experiencing blank page anxiety.
For instance, your primary competencies, professional experiences, and employment status. Before you reach the final version, create a draft, set it aside for a bit, read it again, make edits, and evaluate it.
