Is Your Biography Letting You Down?

 

Writing a professional biography can be difficult for anyone, let alone for someone who has never written one before. It is of utmost importance to make sure that you are writing your biography correctly, and including the right information for the purpose of the biography. Biographies often let professionals down because they include irrelevant information, or they act as if the biography is a personal introduction to everyone. So, what should you avoid when writing your professional bio?

• Writing in first person is a big no-go when writing a professional biography. There’s no point writing something like “I have worked in home staging for 3 years” when “Smith has worked in home staging for 3 years” sounds significantly more professional and automatically sets you above whoever is reading the biography. Using your last name is a more traditional way of writing a biography and displays to the reader that you view yourself as a professional. In saying this, it has become more widely accepted to use your first name rather than your last name as a way of establishing a connection with the reader.
• There is no reason your professional biography should mention anything to do with your personal life. It is important to treat writing a biography like you are meeting someone for the very first time. You wouldn’t want to tell a stranger all your secrets and everything about you so why would you write it in your biography?
• Using fancy language has no place in professional biographies. It is important to assume your reader has no idea about home staging (or your area of expertise). Make your biography as simple as possible including relevant professional information.
• Having stale information will only make for a boring bio. Instead, make your biography interactive! Include links to your professional sites and accounts that are spinning out content constantly! Doing this will ensure that your audience will have up to date information about your professional life and endeavours.
• Headshots are a must when you are a professional. Part of setting yourself as a professional is ensuring that your audience knows exactly who you are! Putting a face to the name is of utmost importance in ensuring your professionalism. When picking your headshot though it must display that you are a professional! Having clean, clear and evergreen headshots are a great idea because they can be used for a few years. If you are in love with a recent design trend and want the trend to be a part of your headshot than it is of utmost importance that you update your headshot on a yearly basis. As headshots can age rather quickly when trends are included it is important to stay on top of the trend and to not go too full on with them!
• Constantly referring to yourself by your first name is not the best way to write a biography. Professionals refer to themselves by their last name so why can’t you? Setting yourself as a professional will make everyone else believe you are a professional! As mentioned previously though, be wary when doing this as it is more commonly accepted to use your first name in your biography. A great way to figure out if you should use first name or last name is by having a search around to see what other professionals in your industry are doing and decide how you view this.

In summary, when writing a professional biography for yourself you must: never use I, avoid talking about your personal life, keep it simple, make it interactive, keep your headshots current and reinforce that you are a professional!