I’m always surprised when I ask a person who’s been working professionally for 15+ years if they have a bio and they say, “No, I’ve never needed one” or “I’m not sure what I’d use it for.”
Stable employment can breed complacency.
If there is a silver lining to our current unemployment situation it is that many people now know they need to continually network proactively. An essential tool for networking is a bio. Whether you are providing background information about yourself for a committee position at your church or a board at a non profit; a bio makes it easy for people to get a good glimpse into who you are and what your experience has been.
A bio is different from a resume in that it is a narrative. The goal is tell a story about yourself that helps the reader understand where you’ve worked, what interests you and what is special about you. It only needs to be 4-5 well written paragraphs.
When someone asks to meet me for networking and they send me a resume, I assume they want to ask me for a job. But when they send me a bio, I learn interesting information about the person and I can build a conversation around things I read. I have more information about how I might be able to help.
I happen to be a published author (poetry and non-fiction.) My publications are not related to my work experience but I can highlight this work in my bio. It helps me to let people know my various skills and interests in a short, readable format. I can also highlight the foreign languages I speak or the charities I’m involved in. These help me be human and memorable.
Make sure you have several trusted people read your bio. Writing a concise and compelling story is not easy. Everyone has a story. Be sure yours is less blah, blah and more hmm, that’s interesting.
What is it that makes you unique?
http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-write-a-professional-biography
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/07/07/how-to-write-a-professional-bio/
Cheryl
August 10, 2009I use a :30 elevator speech which is almost the same thing but shorter. I have found that after :30 people are onto another thought or question. Thanks for sharing.
Deborah
August 10, 2009Hi Cheryl, thanks for your comment. I agree an elevator speech is very important but that can’t be emailed and doesn’t give the kind of breadth and depth of experience that a bio can. Two different tools for two different purposes!
Arthur
August 11, 2009Deb,
Loved your blog! I’m a great example for you to use – 18 years in advertising and marketing and I never needed one. Your blog showed me the value that a good bio can have, so I’ll add that to my to-do list!
Regards,
Arthur Catalanello
http://www.linkedin.com/in/arthurcatalanello
http://www.visualcv.com/acatalanello
http://twitter.com/acatalanello
Deborah
August 11, 2009Arthur, thanks for your comment; your visual cv is terrific. Keep up the great work.
Jenna Mourey
August 14, 2009Mom,
You know way more about everything than me. You’re amazing!!
<3 your daughter Jenna
Deborah
August 14, 2009Thank you my darling daughter. you rock.
Tim Tyrell-Smith
August 31, 2009Hi Deborah – I really like the blog. Keep up the good work! Job search (especially your first in a while) is a huge teachable moment. I agree that complacency can be very damaging. Keeping your marketing materials current and fresh is key.
Deborah
September 1, 2009Hi Tim, I’ve talked to over a thousand job seekers and HR professionals about using social media in the job search. As part of that, I talk about alternative types of resumes and tools and I mention spin strategy. thank you for your wonderful contribution to helping people find work.