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Bio

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About this lesson

Learn how to create a bio for business use.

Exercise files

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Bio.docx
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Bio - Solution.docx
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Quick reference

Topic

Learn how to create a bio for business use.

When to use

When applying for a position at a new company that requires a bio, or when an employer requests one.

Instructions

Purpose

Typical purposes for a bio:

  • Job application process
  • Internal communications document
  • Professional-to-professional communications for meetings or presentations
  • Corporate materials or staff listings for customer-facing materials

Formatting and Content

  • Start by asking about any required formats or suggestions for content from whomever is requesting the bio
  • One long paragraph is a standard length, but consider creating a shorter bio as well as a longer more detailed version to keep on hand
  • Write in the third person (as if you are speaking about someone else)
  • Summarize your career in short order, beginning with current position, or most recent role if unemployed
  • Focus on major business posts and highlight accomplishments
  • Include something unique about yourself or a worthwhile perspective if there is room for it and/or if this is the style requested

 

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  • 00:05 Our work with professional business writing moves on to your professional bio,
  • 00:12 the short biography that summarizes your story highlights for business purposes.
  • 00:19 It's a great idea when you're working on your resume and cover letter
  • 00:23 to also prepare a bio appropriate for your current stage in your career and then keep it
  • 00:29 updated as time moves on. The idea is to condense your resume
  • 00:35 and draw from your cover letter, bringing life to both in a quick read that will serve a variety of purposes
  • 00:41 for many audiences. Beginning with...
  • 00:44 The job application process
  • 00:47 especially if you're working with a recruiter
  • 00:49 or a longer hiring process, you might need to create this kind of a personal statement. A bio will also be useful as an internal communications
  • 01:00 document for an employer, for instance it could be part of your employment file when you're being considered for a promotion.
  • 01:10 Professional to professional communications
  • 01:13 also require a bio; a project report or investor deck might feature of the bios of all the contributing team members.
  • 01:25 Bios can reach to a very wide audiences as well. Customer facing materials like staff listings and catalogs for example or facility web sites.
  • 01:37 You will often find yourself writing your first bio to meet that specific request or a particular purpose.
  • 01:44 Like the bio shown here for Ken Puls; he is the GoSkills tutor for the Microsoft Excel course.
  • 01:55 This is actually a super easy way to begin writing your bio: start by asking about any required formats are suggestions for content
  • 02:04 from whomever is requesting if from you.
  • 02:08 One long paragraph is the standard length. As long as you're writing, why not create shorter
  • 02:15 version too though, as one with more detailed information like Kens here just to have on hand.
  • 02:22 Write in the third person.
  • 02:24 That means writing as if you were speaking about someone else. You can see how can does this from the start
  • 02:32 with his first words, "Ken is a certified management accountant who never remembers life without spreadsheets".
  • 02:42 A good bio will summarize your career in short order beginning with
  • 02:47 your current position or
  • 02:48 your most recent role if you're not employed.
  • 02:53 Be sure to focus on major business posts and highlight accomplishments.
  • 02:58 You don't have to have a lot of space to work within a bio to keep the most impressive things forward, like how NASA's made use of Ken's
  • 03:07 web site and how he has won prestigious awards from Microsoft.
  • 03:14 Include something unique about yourself or a worthwhile perspective
  • 03:18 if you have space. Although not all bios allow for personal information
  • 03:23 some make a point of including it. You should keep a general and sincere for example here we have a
  • 03:29 quote from Ken about how the power of Excel software still amazes him.
  • 03:35 So whether it's your very first bio or you have an experience of a veteran and you now have some strong reminders on
  • 03:44 how to bring your business highlights to life in a story that has the power to speak about you personally
  • 03:51 from the third person perspective.
  • 03:53 And it can go beyond both your resume and your cover letter.

Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.

Cover Letter
4m:34s
Business Letters
4m:21s
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