From a previous article here on Brand-Yourself.com, we learn that personal branding consists of projecting three main qualities about yourself: your competencies (in other words, your skills); your personality, which includes your goals, values, and identity; and the unique value or benefit you are able to provide (i.e. what do you have to offer that sets you apart from the rest?).
As an extension of your personal brand, your personal bio must reinforce the image you present to prospective employers. Do your best to stay true to your established brand identity, while also keeping in mind these three personal bio tips:
- Keep it short and sweet.
Brevity is the soul of wit, as Shakespeare says, and the people reading your bio will be relieved if you stick to this idea. They are on your website to get a quick idea of you, not to read a novel. Stick to the same rule-of-thumb as for your résumé: include all essential information, but keep it concise and to-the-point. - Call him Ishmael.
Remember to write your bio in third person. After including your full name once, it is fine to refer to yourself by your first name for the remainder of the bio. If, however, your career path requires a more formal style, use your surname for the rest of your bio instead. - Be yourself.
You are not writing a research paper on pelicans or economics, so resist the urge to revert back to college composition class (where you wrote a certain way because you needed an A). Your personal bio needs of course to be readable and grammatically correct, but don’t confuse a need for professionalism with a reason to stay bland and generic in your writing. Allow some of yourself to show through your words.
Writing a personal bio may seem like a daunting task at first, but remember that you are the one in power (and that you are not being graded!). Keep it simple and honest, and ensure that it remains cohesive with the other aspects of your personal brand.
Brand-Yourself.com is a platform to diagnose, manage and monitor your online reputation for career success. Did you know that 83% of employers use the web to research job applicants? If you’re ready to proactively control your Google results and get hired, rather than cut from the applicant pool, try us for free and start controlling how you’re perceived online. Go ahead. Take our tools for a spin.
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Gabrielle is a recent graduate from Syracuse University, where she studied fashion design and fashion communications. She is in the process of building a small fashion business over the internet and plans to return to Syracuse in 2010 to pursue her Master’s Degree in art journalism.
