Purpose of a Professional Bio
Dear Deb,
Q. I recently had my résumé written by Careers Done Write. My writer did an awesome job and now I am ready to have my professional biography done. I wanted to better understand the purpose of a professional bio. Would you explain the difference between a résumé and a bio and give me a better idea of how I can use it effectively? Thanks – ST, Colorado
A. Great question and one we hear all the time. A professional biography is complementary to a résumé and is a must to complete your portfolio. It is a prose summary or overview of your accomplishments in a brief one-page story format, written in the third person.
A professional bio provides an overview that highlights your accomplishments and your talents from 10,000 feet. It serves as a marketing tool that allows you to give a more complete picture of your activities, successes, involvement in organizations, and history of general career accomplishments. The professional bio allows you to show things that can’t be represented using bullets.
A professional bio can be sent as an attachment alongside a résumé or can be used on its own to garner interest in your background in instances where there may not be an immediate role available. If you have a blog or website, your bio should be your “about me” page. It should be a key document at the core of your professional branding efforts.
If you have a question for Deb, please email debra@careersdonewrite.com. The Ask Deb column appears weekly on Fridays at http://www.careersdonewrite.com/blog.