Writing a Professional Bio

By Barbra Sundquist


It seems that everyone needs a bio these days. Whether it's for social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, for a website, or for a job interview, the bio is part of the deal. The problem is most of us find it very difficult to write about ourselves. As a result, we tend to put off writing our bio until the last minute, or even delay filling out our social media profiles for lack of a professional bio.This article provides tips to make it easier to get your professional bio written in a way that you feel happy about.

The reason most often cited as to why people put off writing their bio is that it's hard to decide what to include and what to leave out. How do you summarize a life and career in just a few sentences? The trick here is to think about who is going to be reading your bio, and then focus on your accomplishments as they relate to that particular reader or readers.

The first thing you should do in writing a bio is make a list of the highlights of your life, career, and accomplishments as they relate to your target audience. Then edit it until you have it narrowed down to a few key details--things that can be described in two or three paragraphs. Edit, edit, edit is a must do!

Start your bio with words that place your career in perspective. For instance, "John Smith has over 20 years experience as a senior manager," or "Jane Doe is an award-winning mystery writer." Shortly after this you should put down the details of your expertise and relevant achievements.

Above all, keep it short. Remember, readers are only going to spend at most 30 seconds reading your bio. If you write too much, people will just skip over the details. Take charge of what people remember about you by writing a short bio that highlights your best accomplishments.

Does the thought of writing a professional bio worry you? If so, get a fill-in-the-blanks bio template written specifically for your type of job. With instant download, you'll have it all done and complete in no time!




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