YOUR PROFESSIONAL BIO
Tips for Making It Great
Kris M. Smith, Copywriter and Author
HireMe.WordWhisperer.net, YellowBalloonPublications.com)
Most of the business owners and entrepreneurs I know loathe the idea of writing their own bios, even when they know they need one.
Before I figured out how to tackle this chore in a less self-conscious way, I hated the idea, too.
I dithered for days…white-knuckled my way through various drafts…hated them all.
Then I fell on a plan that worked like a charm.
I’m sharing what I discovered so you can write your bio, too, without developing an ulcer in the process.
Write your bio in the third person. For most people, it’s a lot easier to pretend you’re a reporter who has discovered—and is reporting on—a notable professional than it is to brag about yourself. (Please see my bio—attached—to see how this works.)
- Briefly list educational credentials as bullet points; use the rest of the page to engage the readers with other aspects of your existence and personality that you believe will resonate with them (include favorite pastimes that people in your target audience probably share: sports, hiking, volunteering, whatever).
- Church/synagogue/mosque and other group affiliations—list or avoid them? (Depends on your audience. Keep several bios on file and swap them out to suit the specific audience)
- Keep your bio to one page or less
- Match its tone to your intended audience (Have fun with this!)
- Note your expertise in areas where you shine and can provide insights
- Mention important achievements and/or awards you can claim
- Include links to professional organizations you belong to
- If you’re published, link to the most recent publication(s) that feature you
- Include contact information and request the reader to use it!
- Compare your bio to other professionals in your field (LinkedIn is a great place to find them) and make revisions as you see fit.
Following is the bio I wrote for myself based on the above principles. It’s written in third person. It was far easier to write this way (I was able to “get out of my own way” and write the way I would write about someone else), and since I’m frequently introduced to audiences, it’s a simple matter for the emcee to use part or all of the bio without having to change it from first person to third.
Kristine M Smith, Author & Copy Writer—Helping Clients Win Clients
A Pacific Northwest native, Kris M. Smith transformed her copy writing business from a struggling start-up to a going concern in near-record time. Prior to launching her own business in 2008, Kris served as a fledgling copywriter for a local on-hold script production company, where she won Employee of the Quarter the last two quarters she worked there.
Kris’s freelance writing career was launched by actor DeForest Kelley more than forty years ago. It was Kelley and his wife Carolyn who encouraged Kris to try Hollywood on for size, which she did from 1989 to 2003. Kris served as Mr. Kelley’s personal assistant and caregiver during the final months of his life and presented heartfelt sentiments about her mentor at Paramount Studios’ memorial service for him in 1999. She has written two books about him: DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best and The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend.
In Hollywood, Kris served as an administrative assistant and secretarial floater to writers, producers and—later—information technology professionals at various studios. Most of her Hollywood career was spent at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank where she served as an executive secretary for the VP of Software Development and as a Hardware Lease Administrator. Kris’s most notable creative endeavor at Warner Bros. was writing the copy for an intranet website to help newly-arrived secretaries learn the ins and outs of serving on the WB campus in record time. The website earned her a monetary reward and the coveted (don’t laugh!) Carrot Award (Bugs Bunny runs da joint, ya know!); the accompanying Certification of Appreciation was co-signed by the head of the Human Resources Department and her boss.
The author of eleven books, Kris’s sixth title, Serval Son: Spots and Stripes Forever—a cautionary true story about what it’s like to own, and be owned by, a wild cat for seventeen years—reached the #2 and #4 spots at Amazon in two niche categories when it debuted in September 2011.
Kris’s newest title, YAY-SAYERS; The Good Guides, is a chapter-by-chapter guide and confidence-booster written for teenagers and young adults whose career dreams bring out the worrywart and mother hen in their parents and/or significant others.
Kris loves dancing with words and interacting with people.
You can reach Kris at mailto:kris@wordwhisperer.net or by calling (253) 474-6240.
Visit her website at hireme.wordwhisperer.NET.
WEAVING WORDS INTO WEALTH—YOURS!—BY TURNING YOUR BROWSERS INTO BUYERS