How To Write A Professional Bio That Feels Like You
What is a professional bio?
Your professional bio is an opportunity to introduce yourself to your community and show the world what you’re made of. Does that sound like a bit much? Well, it’s not. In today’s world, we’re all limited for the time that we have to spare. We’re busy. We’re overwhelmed. And we’re grasping for ways to make our lives easier.
So when you’re looking to connect with someone, it’s very much on purpose. From how you choose your therapist to how you choose your virtual assistant to how you choose your mentor, I guarantee that you have read their bio. And something in that bio made you want to learn more, or at least take the time to click the button to send an email or schedule a call.
A professional bio, when done well, is a chance to effectively initiate a relationship by establishing your credibility and giving someone a sneak peek into who you are. If done really well, a professional bio can also propel you further by helping you own all of your strengths.
Now, your bio might not resonate with everyone—and that’s a good thing. Because just as much as it can be a relationship starter, it can also help weed out individuals that wouldn’t be a conducive connection (for both of you). This is why it’s so critical to get your bio right, so that you can ensure you’re attracting the people you want to be magnetic to and making your life easier by keeping those who’d be unaligned at bay.
What does a professional bio look like?
Depending on where your bio lives, it can be in the third person or first person. If you’re submitting a speaker application or updating your LinkedIn profile, I typically recommend using a bio in the third person. For some “About Me” pages, a first-person bio feels more personal to your reader. Here’s mine, for example:
Sonya Matejko is all about finding the right words, so your story gets heard. As a writer, poet, and entrepreneur, she is driven by crafting stories that flourish into conversations. After writing her first book at the age of five, it was clear Sonya was always meant to be a writer. Her passion for storytelling led her to the advertising industry, where she worked for global and mid-sized agencies. After making herself an asset and cultivating relationships, Sonya stepped out of the corporate world and created a world of her own. She founded Nurtured Narratives in 2019, a boutique storytelling company on a mission to help purposeful entrepreneurs tell their stories and purpose-driven companies create powerful narratives. Since launching, Sonya has worked with brands like T-Mobile, DocuSign, and WayUp as well as female entrepreneurs across the globe. Her clients have been seen everywhere, from the New York Times to Fast Company, and her writing has been published across The Atlantic, Forbes, HuffPost, Psych Central, Yoga Magazine, etc. On top of running her company, Sonya writes poetry on Instagram as @aforceofnurture and teaches yoga. Oh, and she does all of the above virtually while living abroad. Learn more: www.nurturednarratives.com.
You can also experiment with different lengths. For instance, I have a 350-word, the one above which is 200 words, a 125-word, and a one-liner. (If you work with me, we can decide together which variations are most useful for your unique purposes). It’s good to note that some people, particularly those in academia, may even need a bio that’s > 500 words.
What’s included in a professional bio?
I believe a bio is less about sharing your role and more about sharing how you impact those around you—as well as setting you up in growth mode. With that said, it does require a few technical items to set up your foundation for credibility. Here are a few things you’ll want to have on deck before preparing your bio:
Official credit line
Purpose statement
Communities you serve
Any press (e.g., media mentions or speaking engagements)
Bragging points (challenging to come up on your own—easier to work with someone who can help pull these out for you!)
A concluding CTA (such as your website, social media profile, portfolio, etc.)
How to put your professional bio together
Now comes the fun part (or the part you’ll really want to hire someone for). Once you have some of your foundational elements, it’s time to get creative. To get you in the mindset of what story you want to tell, here are some exploratory questions you can ask yourself:
How do I want someone to feel when they read my bio?
Who is the ideal person reading my bio, and what can I do for them?
What’s the best place to send someone to connect with me further?
Where do I see myself in 2-5 years? Can I fold that into my present narrative?
What’s the most significant way I can make an impact in the world today?
What am I most proud of (that maybe I don’t share enough about)?
What are my biggest values, and can I represent them in this bio?
When your write some of these exploratory things down, you’ll naturally come up with phrases or anecdotes you’ll want to weave into your bio.
My suggestion is to start with your purpose statement: the ONE thing you want someone to know about you off of the bat. From there, describe what your impact is and who you make that impact on. That can be followed by the evidence of how you’ve done it or go deeper into why you do it. In the end, include that CTA to initiate that relationship. When you have a draft, ask all of the above questions again and see if it’s hitting all of the boxes. Would you want to meet yourself?
Remember that, when you have a story that blooms, you’ll attract a garden of opportunity. And if you want help in telling that story using our signature formula (which goes deeper than the above), schedule a call with me, today or check out our Blooming Bio service for more info. (Psst, you get even more free goodies to help you tell your story if you book a call with me!)
I can’t wait to see how you introduce yourself to the world. Good luck!