[Instructors: Discuss the below explanation of the Career Bio with your class. Then have them perform an analysis of an actual career bio created for LinkedIn. You can download the exercise and a key at the end of this post.]
A career bio differs from a résumé, but many say having both are key to today’s successful job search. Whereas a résumé can be both digital- and paper-based, the career bio is strictly digital and only recently came into being since since social media began its rise.
The bio, unlike the résumé, is not about your job and educational experiences. Instead, it aims to represent the real you by sculpting you as an individual brand that will help you manage your career over your lifetime. It shows your intentions and goals rather than merely stating facts and can be an excellent way to highlight your writing skills.
Experts contend that many employers skip reading a candidate’s résumé and instead view the individual’s LinkedIn Summary, the professional networking site’s version of a career bio. Consequently, the LinkedIn Summary needs to create a profile that will resonate with a potential employer.
William Arunda is a contributor to Forbes.com who writes about personal branding. He offers these pointers to create an effective LinkedIn Summary.
- Define your audience and purpose. Before sitting down to write, consider your potential reader and what you want her to learn about you. For example, say you are a recent graduate looking for an entry-level job in accounting. Your audience will likely be someone from human resources looking for the right combination of hard and soft skills as well as the ability to fit in and collaborate well. Your LinkedIn summary would need show that you have career goals in the accounting industry and that such a career meshes with your values and accomplishments thus far.
- Brainstorm to develop your content. Before you write the summary, jot down the following, allowing one sentence for each:
- Important accomplishments. Define how you added value to an event or an organization. (I raised over $2000 to support breast cancer research.)
- Values and passions. Give voice to the things that make you excited (I’m a die-hard techie who loves coding more than playing video games.)
- “Superpowers.” What do you do better than anyone else? (I can organize the most chaotic situations with ease.)
- Facts, figures, statistics. Include quantifiable points (I speak three languages or I participated as a triathlete twice.
- What makes you stand out from your peers? (I complete my best work before 8:00 am.)
- Name awards and accolades you’ve received and testimonials from others. (Awarded Rotary Club Scholarship.)
- Writing/Editing. Decide if you want to write in first (I) or third person. Then get to work.
- Start with a hook that grabs the reader immediately. Try a question (How did the daughter of two English professors decide to become an accountant?) or a series of qualities you possess (Detail-oriented. Great communicator. A math whiz who can also write.)
- Fill in the details, using the material you’ve put together while brainstorming.
- End with a call to action. Tell the reader what you want him to do, and keep the whole bio under 2000 characters. (I’m ready to help a green business become even greener…and more productive.)
- If appropriate, add images/video/documents that illustrate what you’ve written.
Your task. Read William Arunda’s bio and mark it up to show the color-coded elements below. Then with your class, discuss why his bio is effective. A key is downloadable at the end of this post.
- Accomplishments
- Values/passions
- Superpowers
- Facts, figures/ statistics
- Differentiation
- Validation
______________________________________________________________________________________
William Arunda’s LinkedIn Summary
I had no intention of being an entrepreneur.
I was working in corporate branding for IBM/Lotus and I loved my job – cool products, amazing colleagues! And branding was “my thing.”
Then everything changed.
In July 1997, I read Tom Peters’ now-iconic Fast Company article The Brand Called You. Here were my two great passions – branding and people – joined in an exhilarating alchemy called personal branding!
Soon after reading the article, I was given the opportunity to lead the Lotus branding efforts in London/Paris – and I couldn’t pass that up. So I pursued an exciting European adventure until I could no longer ignore the pull of personal branding. I’d found my calling.
When I started Reach Personal Branding in 2001, I joined an “industry” of four firms vying for a small pool of business. A few years later (with savings spent and significant debt), Reach was the one personal branding company.
I’m known for my extreme optimism and I KNEW personal branding HAD to become relevant. I stuck it out.
Persistence paid off.
An economic downturn – with globalization, outsourcing and the birth of social media – took personal branding from relevant to essential. And Reach was there!
Today, Reach is the leader in personal branding with certified Strategists in 45 countries and pioneering products used by a million+ people. As CEO, I’m thrilled that Entrepreneur called me “the personal branding guru,” crediting Reach with turning personal branding into a global industry.
Now I routinely traverse the globe, happily delivering keynotes and workshops to organizations that want to engage, motivate, and retain their best talent. In fact, I’ve delivered more personal branding presentations to more people in more places than anyone on earth.
Key
I had no intention of being an entrepreneur.
I was working in corporate branding for IBM/Lotus and I loved my job – cool products, amazing colleagues! And branding was “my thing.”
Then everything changed.
In July 1997, I read Tom Peters’ now-iconic Fast Company article The Brand Called You. Here were my two great passions – branding and people – joined in an exhilarating alchemy called personal branding!
Soon after reading the article, I was given the opportunity to lead the Lotus branding efforts in London/Paris – and I couldn’t pass that up. So I pursued an exciting European adventure until I could no longer ignore the pull of personal branding. I’d found my calling.
When I started Reach Personal Branding in 2001, I joined an “industry” of four firms vying for a small pool of business. A few years later (with savings spent and significant debt), Reach was the one personal branding company.
I’m known for my extreme optimism and I KNEW personal branding HAD to become relevant. I stuck it out.
Persistence paid off.
An economic downturn – with globalization, outsourcing and the birth of social media – took personal branding from relevant to essential. And Reach was there!
Today, Reach is the leader in personal branding with certified Strategists in 45 countries and pioneering products used by a million+ people. As CEO, I’m thrilled that Entrepreneur called me “the personal branding guru,” crediting Reach with turning personal branding into a global industry.
Now I routinely traverse the globe, happily delivering keynotes and workshops to organizations that want to engage, motivate, and retain their best talent. In fact, I’ve delivered more personal branding presentations to more people in more places than anyone on earth.
————————————————————————————————————
