Steps to Writing a Work Website Biography

Irene A. Blake reports:

"The biography you write for a company or personal work-related website acts as a form of advertising that can help colleagues, a current or potential employer or clients to quickly determine if you’re the right person for a job. As a result, it must describe you, your background, work ethic and personality in a clear and succinct fashion. Although you may have many professional or personal details to include in a work website bio, writing it shouldn’t take more than an hour. You simply need to prepare the details beforehand and then insert them into a basic work-bio format...Review bios on your company’s website to get an idea of what the company expects. If you’re writing a bio for a personal, but work-related, website, review bios on websites you frequently visit that relate to your career field or position...Make a short list of your greatest professional achievements and awards...Write down some of your qualifications, skills and education including degrees and certifications. If you received professional or career-related academic honors, note those as well...Create a short list of additional professional and personal information that you feel relates to your career and personality, such as professional memberships, volunteer work, current projects and hobbies...Decide on a length for your biography. A short biography is typically four sentences, approximately 150 to 200 words or less, in length. A long biography depends on the website requirements and is usually two to three short paragraphs in length...Write the first sentence outlining who you are, the name of the company or organization you currently work for, or your business name, and your area or areas of expertise...Make the next sentence about your past within the same career field if applicable...Use the lists you prepared to outline, in a new paragraph, your achievements, education, certifications, professional memberships, current work-related projects and volunteer work. If you’re writing a long bio, add hobbies or a fun fact at the end...Ask several people -- colleagues, supervisors, family members and friends -- to review your bio and provide feedback. After you receive the feedback, edit your biography as needed...Imagine you’re describing someone else to a colleague or client in a face-to-face conversation when writing your biography. Write your biography using third person 'he' or 'she' pronouns. If you want contact information -- phone number, email address or both -- to appear in your biography, place the information at the end...Always use your full name in the first sentence unless informal speech is acceptable for your work situation. Always use the same version of your name after the first sentence for consistency. For example, if you use your last name, continue using it throughout the bio instead of switching between your last name, first name or full name."