In today’s competitive job market and digital landscape, a professional bio is so important for selling yourself. Whether you run a local consulting business or are hunting for your next music gig, a well-written professional bio can help shape your image and get you noticed by the right people.
One of the main things to keep in mind is that you want to establish why a prospective client or employer should want to work with you. While a resume is critical to establishing yourself as knowledgeable in your field and outline your experience, a professional bio should be more like a marketing tool, and make the hiring manager want to learn more about you. It should be well-written, captivating, and tell your story in such a way that the reader wants to learn more.
A professional bio should not only only highlight your career, but also what got you there, what interesting life experiences helped shaped you as a professional and a human being.
A few great aspects to highlight include:
- Awards received
- Publication and media outlets you’re featured in
- Professional or personal situations that have shaped your life
- Any special credentials that would appeal to your target audience
- Volunteer work or special causes that you’re involved in
The length of your professional bio depends on how you’re using it. If the bio is going to prospective employers or business partners, one page is adequate. If you’re writing a bio for social media, keep it short of course and work within the parameters of word count for each social network. If the bio is going on a company website, longer is okay.
Keep the bio professional, but a little creativity and flair is always a nice touch, and will go a long way in capturing your reader’s attention initially. Don’t forget to talk about your hobbies and family life — you can do this at the end of the bio in the last paragraph. Again, you want hiring managers and prospective employers and business partners to know about the real person behind the bio. Who are they hiring or partnering with? Is this someone they want to work with? Engaging your reader while also wowing them with your personal story and expertise is critical to selling them on the most important product — you.
Need a professional bio written? Talk with the bio writers here at EDK! Learn about our bio writing services. Give us a call at (818) 488-1543 or email us at info@edkandcompany.com.