How to Write About Your Professional Background

A great way to share more about your background is to have a prepared document,like a professional bio。

A professional bio can be shared with prospective employers, shared with your colleagues, included in your social media profiles, used for speaking engagement announcements, or used as anauthor bioon a blog.

第一次撰写有关您的专业背景的文章可能会感到具有挑战性或尴尬，但这并不是一定。

Here, we'll explore some tips to help you feel more comfortable when writing your own professional background. Let's dive in.

Your professional background includes previous jobs you've had, successful projects you've worked on, significant accomplishments like promotions or awards, professional networking organizations you belong to, and anything else you'd share with someone who wants to know more about you professionally.

Not only is sharing more about your background a great way to tell more about yourself to others, it's also an opportunity to wholly reflect on your professional journey and the goals you've achieved — plus, what you hope to achieve in the future.

Next, let's dive into how you can get started.

1.不要从头开始。

如果您在弄清楚从哪里开始时遇到了麻烦，请尝试使用专业的生物模板指导您。像下面的模板一样，模板使您更容易专注于个人信息和成就，而不必担心结构。

特色资源：Professional Bio Templates and Examples

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2。Know your audience.

Take into consideration who will be reading your professional bio and cater to your reader.

You may also want to draft different versions of your document to best fit specific audiences. For example, the version you post on your LinkedIn may not be as detailed as the version you post on your personal website, and if your reader is a potential employer, it would help to include details that specifically highlight why you're the best candidate for the role for which you're applying.

HubSpot创始人Dharmesh Shah使用不同的BIOS用于不同的平台。在Twitter, for instance, Dharmesh's bio is short and sweet, which is perfect for Twitter's character limit.

Alternatively, onINBOUND's website, Dharmesh's bio is written in third-person for attendees. This bio makes Dharmesh's current role clear while providing some key background information.

Finally, in hisOnstartups Bio，达梅什的声音是有风度的，因为他直接与读者说话。这使读者直接从他的角度直接洞悉了佛法的背景。

The best part about this approach is that you can create as many versions of your bio as you'd like, or simply recycle a general version whenever you need it.

3。Show professional progression.

As you're writing, think about structuring your professional bio in a way that creates a timeline to show your progression. Explain what your different roles were like, and emphasize responsibilities that set you up for success in your latter roles.

It's important to note that your timeline doesn't have to be linear.

"Look for a theme that runs throughout several of the jobs you've held, and present your choices in a way that shows common threads running through each of your career decisions,"解释了职业战略家珍妮·福斯（Jenny Foss）。

目的是清楚地向观众展示您的不同角色，以及您所有的经验如何为您的整体专业发展做出贡献。

4. Highlight your accomplishments.

在e of the best things about writing your professional background is that it's the perfect opportunity to brag about yourself — and I don't mean humble brag.

Think of the most successful projects you've been part of, the strategies you've helped develop and execute, the deals you've closed, the revenue you've generated, and anything else that stands out as a major accomplishment.

“前经理曾经告诉我“吹嘘她et' in a document on my computer. The idea was to create a running list of noteworthy accomplishments, media mentions, awards, and letters of recommendation that I could reference to make it easier to write about myself. It also doesn't hurt to open up this document whenever you're having a tough day to remind yourself what you're capable of,” Carly Stec, HubSpot's Team Manager of Content Conversion, told me.

考虑如何在您以前的角色中衡量成功的方式以及如何塑造您写入它的方式，这也很重要。

If success for you tends to be measured in quantifiable metrics, include strong statistics. It might look something like this:

• "In my first six months, I was able to sign up X amount of customers that generated an average monthly recurring revenue of $X."

• "I helped boost customer retention by X percentage."

• “通过我制定的策略，我的团队能够降低客户获取成本的X百分比。”

If your role is primarily measured through qualitative goals, share a highlight that speaks to skills you excel at. For example:

• “我成功地使用了强大的时间管理技能执行了一个重大项目，并将结果传达给了C-Suite利益相关者。”

• "I was able to complete a project that was projected to take an entire quarter in half the time because of my organizational skills."

• "I was selected to lead a database cleanup project due to my attention to detail and strong team collaboration skills."

5. Be personable.

Timelines and accomplishments are great, but being personable is even better.

Readers should feel like they're getting some sense of who you are from your professional background. This gives readers the opportunity to know more about you beyond a professional scope. If you have any cool niche hobbies that you enjoy outside of work, this would be the time to share.

Here's a list of prompts to help you brainstorm the right "fun facts" to highlight:

• What TV show are you currently binging?
• Do you have any pets?
• What's something most people don't know about you?
• What languages do you speak?
• What are you most proud of yourself for?
• 您所做的是值得一试的东西？
• What do you do to relax?
• What are three of your must-have apps?
• 您最喜欢的同事会怎么说？
• What's the best advice you've ever received and how do you apply it to your life?

保持风度也是解决专业背景下任何非常规时刻的绝佳机会。例如，也许您在职业道路上发生了巨大的转变，或者您在某个时候进行了休假。

These types of stories can make you more relatable to your audience, and you never know who you may end up connecting with over one of your hobbies or more personal moments.

6. Ask for feedback.

Constructive feedbackis key when you're writing about yourself. While many choose to source feedback after completing a draft of their bio, it's just as beneficial to get feedback from your peers at earlier stages of your drafting process.

Oftentimes, our peers can help identify our strengths and where we have opportunities to improve. If you're having trouble developing a clear timeline or pinpointing which highlights you should mention, get together with a peer to brainstorm ideas.

反思您合作的成功作业，并要求同行提供有关您最擅长的事情的诚实反馈，并将这些反馈包括在您的生物中。

If you need help getting started, here's a list of discussion questions to use with your peers to uncover professional strengths you might be overlooking in your own self-assessment:

• 您认为我倾向于在小组工作中扮演什么角色？
• How have I helped you be more successful?
• What do you think my most impressive project has been?
• 你对我的第一印象是什么？
• What do you think my strengths are?

If you're feeling stuck, don't be afraid to leverage ourfree professional bio templates帮助您开始。

Next, let’s go over professional background examples from both tenured and early-career professionals.

专业背景示例

1。Bozoma Saint John

Bozoma Saint Johnopens her biography by covering her most recent role at Netflix, then goes all the way back to the beginning of her career. From there, she provides a detailed overview of her accomplishments, inserting the names of the most notable organizations she has worked with.

Notice how she familiarizes us with her by using her nickname, “Boz,” throughout her professional background. In the same way, you can use your nickname throughout your bio (if you’re writing it in third person).

We’d recommend writing a background like Saint John’s if you’re seeking speaking or presenting opportunities.

2。吉姆·科瓦尔斯基

吉姆·科瓦尔斯基（Jim Kowalski）在描述了他的工作经验和成就之前引导我们穿越他的激情。他指出，将自己对汽车行业的热爱与他的工作中的精神联系起来。他的专业背景的另一个值得注意的特征是他提到了一个他充满活力的品牌（他断言“几乎已经死了”）。他在世界各地的迷人冒险中结束，包括在泰国建造一所房屋。

提及您阻止客户和其他公司失败的方法。如果您有一个值得注意的冒险，请考虑将它们带入您的专业背景。背景简历不必木制；只要您保持理性，这也可能很有趣。另外，它为读者提供了与您联系的机会。

3。Katherine Gundlach

如果您是一名大学生，那么您可能没有很长的专业成就，但是您可以从凯瑟琳·甘德拉奇（Katherine Gundlach）的榜样中记下来，写下自己喜欢做的​​事情，以及为什么喜欢做。

Katherine Gundlach opens her professional background with her current status as a college student, then goes into an anecdote that describes why she became a photographer. In the latter half of the bio, she describes her mission when photographing others. In your own bio, describe the purpose of what you do (or the reason why you want to pursue a certain field).

She also says where she’s from. Mentioning personal information in your professional bio can be a way for readers, hiring managers, and colleagues to relate to you.

4.Erick Rheam

埃里克·瑞姆（Erick Rheam）的专业背景有效地概述了他成为励志演讲者的道路。他还通过指出他在美国定期讲话时，阐述了他的专业知识，概述了自己做自己做的事情的愿景和目的。像该列表中的其他一些示例一样，他包括有关自己的个人信息：他是跑步者。

This professional background is done well because it’s succinct and balances professionalism, expertise, and personality. Consider achieving a similar balance in your own background document by dedicating 1-2 sentences to each aspect of your professional and personal life.

5.Houyuan Luo博士

Houyuan Luo博士’s professional background is a classic example of a bio that’s inspirational, professional, and persuasive.

在医疗行业中，教育非常重要 - 您学习的时间可以确定您的专业水平。Luo博士立即列出了他的学术背景，然后详细介绍了他对自己的领域的热情。他最强调了他的人道主义价值观，巩固了他作为临床培训和演讲机会的出色候选人。

If you work in the healthcare, non-profit, legal, educational, or environmental industries, consider emphasizing your values and ethos in your professional background. Like Dr. Luo, you can leave mention of your current position for the last sentence.

6.Claire Buswell

Claire Buswell immediately establishes herself as a relatable persona by going over her personal history first — then connecting that to her role today. Because she was once in the same position as her clients, Buswell is better prepared to help them professionally. She makes that clear in her professional background and is vulnerable about how hard it was to find a job.

If you’ve created a business that solves a problem that you experienced, consider bringing that into your professional background. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. In fact, being vulnerable can make you more relatable, and your level of success now will be testament to your methods’ effectiveness.

Ready to start writing?

Keep these tips and examples in mind as you're writing about your professional bio. Your final product should be a written statement that boasts your most notable skills and achievements. As you continue to progress in your career, take time to update your bio like you would your resume, and continue to impress your readers.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.