How To Describe Professional Background

A cracking way to share more nigh 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 equally an writer bio on a blog.

Writing about your professional background for the commencement fourth dimension may feel challenging or awkward, only information technology doesn't have to exist.

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

What is a professional background?

A professional background is a summary of your professional experiences — coupled with any relevant personal information, including interests or passions — that yous'll use throughout your career as you network with industry peers, use for new roles, or seek thought leadership opportunities.

Your professional background includes previous jobs you lot've had, successful projects you've worked on, meaning accomplishments similar promotions or awards, professional person networking organizations you lot vest to, and anything else yous'd share with someone who wants to know more nigh y'all professionally.

Not only is sharing more near your groundwork a neat fashion to tell more about yourself to others, it's also an opportunity to wholly reflect on your professional person journey and the goals yous've accomplished — plus, what you hope to reach in the futurity.

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

How to Write About Yourself

1. Don't kickoff from scratch.
2. Know your audience.
3. Show professional progression.
4. Highlight your accomplishments.
5. Exist personable.
6. Inquire for feedback.

ane. Don't first from scratch.

If you're having trouble figuring out where to outset, endeavor using a professional bio template to guide you. Templates, like the ones featured below, make information technology easier for you to focus on your personal data and accomplishments, without having to worry as much about the structure.

Featured Resource: Professional Bio Templates and Examples

Download the Templates

2. Know your audience.

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

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

HubSpot Founder Dharmesh Shah uses dissimilar bios for different platforms. On Twitter, for case, Dharmesh's bio is short and sugariness, which is perfect for Twitter's grapheme limit.

Alternatively, on INBOUND's website, Dharmesh's bio is written in 3rd-person for attendees. This bio makes Dharmesh's current part clear while providing some fundamental background data.

Finally, in his OnStartups bio, Dharmesh's voice is personable since he'due south speaking directly to the reader. This gives readers more insight into Dharmesh's background directly from his perspective.

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

3. Show professional person progression.

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

It's of import to annotation that your timeline doesn't have to be linear.

"Wait for a theme that runs throughout several of the jobs you've held, and nowadays your choices in a way that shows mutual threads running through each of your career decisions," explains career strategist Jenny Foss.

The goal is to conspicuously show your audition the different roles you've had, and how all of your experiences have contributed to your overall professional evolution.

4. Highlight your accomplishments.

1 of the best things near writing your professional groundwork is that it's the perfect opportunity to brag near yourself — and I don't mean humble brag.

Think of the most successful projects you've been part of, the strategies yous'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.

"A quondam manager once told me to keep a 'brag sheet' in a certificate 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 nigh myself. It besides doesn't hurt to open upwards this document whenever you're having a tough mean solar day to remind yourself what you're capable of," Carly Stec, HubSpot'south Team Manager of Content Conversion, told me.

It's also of import to consider how success was measured in your previous roles — and how that might shape the way y'all write about it.

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

• "In my starting time half-dozen months, I was able to sign upwards X amount of customers that generated an average monthly recurring revenue of $X."

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

• "With the strategy I adult, my team was able to lower customer acquisition costs by X pct."

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

• "I successfully executed a major project using strong time management skills and communicated the results to C-suite stakeholders."

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

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

5. Exist personable.

Timelines and accomplishments are slap-up, but being personable is even better.

Readers should feel like they're getting some sense of who you are from your professional groundwork. This gives readers the opportunity to know more than about you across a professional person scope. If you take any cool niche hobbies that you bask exterior of piece of work, this would be the time to share.

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

• What TV show are you lot currently binging?
• Do you have any pets?
• What's something near people don't know nearly you?
• What languages practice you speak?
• What are you most proud of yourself for?
• What's something you've done that's bucket-list worthy?
• What do you exercise to relax?
• What are three of your must-have apps?
• What would your favorite colleague say most you?
• What's the best communication yous've ever received and how practise you employ it to your life?

Existence personable is as well a great opportunity to address any anarchistic moments in your professional groundwork. For example, maybe you've made a drastic shift in your career path, or you took a sabbatical at some point.

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

six. Ask for feedback.

Effective feedback is key when you're writing about yourself. While many choose to source feedback subsequently completing a typhoon of their bio, it'south just as beneficial to get feedback from your peers at before stages of your drafting process.

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

Reflect on successful assignments that you've collaborated on and enquire your peer to provide honest feedback about what you did all-time — and include that feedback in your bio.

If yous need aid getting started, here's a list of discussion questions to employ with your peers to uncover professional strengths you might be overlooking in your own cocky-cess:

• What role do you retrieve I tend to play in grouping work?
• How take I helped you be more successful?
• What do you call back my almost impressive project has been?
• What was your first impression of me?
• What do you think my strengths are?

If you're feeling stuck, don't be afraid to leverage our gratis professional bio templates to assist you get started.

Next, allow's go over professional background examples from both tenured and early on-career professionals.

Professional Groundwork Examples

1. Bozoma Saint John

Bozoma Saint John opens her biography by covering her well-nigh contempo role at Netflix, then goes all the way back to the beginning of her career. From at that place, 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 past using her nickname, "Boz," throughout her professional groundwork. In the same way, y'all tin can use your nickname throughout your bio (if you're writing it in third person).

Nosotros'd recommend writing a background like Saint John'southward if you're seeking speaking or presenting opportunities.

ii. Jim Kowalski

Jim Kowalski walks us through his passions earlier describing his work feel and accomplishments. He makes it a point to connect his dearest of the automotive industry to his ethos in his work. Another notable characteristic of his professional background is that he mentions a brand he invigorated (it was "nigh dead," he asserts). He closes with his fascinating adventures around the world, including building a home in Thailand.

Mention ways that yous've prevented clients and other companies from failing. If you lot've had noteworthy adventures, consider bringing them into your professional person background too. A groundwork bio doesn't have to be wooden; it can exist fun, as well, as long as you remain within reason. Plus, it gives the reader a take a chance to connect with yous.

3. Katherine Gundlach

If y'all're a college student, yous might not have a long list of professional accomplishments, but you tin take annotation from Katherine Gundlach'south example and write virtually what yous love to do — and why you love to exercise information technology.

Katherine Gundlach opens her professional person background with her current condition as a higher student, and so goes into an chestnut that describes why she became a lensman. 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 y'all want to pursue a sure field).

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

four. Erick Rheam

Erick Rheam'south professional background effectively outlines his path to becoming a motivational speaker. He too cements his expertise by stating that he speaks regularly beyond the U.S. Afterward, he outlines his vision and purpose for doing what he does. Like some of the other examples on this listing, he includes personal data about himself: that he'south a runner.

This professional person background is done well because it's succinct and balances professionalism, expertise, and personality. Consider achieving a like balance in your own background certificate by dedicating ane-2 sentences to each attribute of your professional and personal life.

v. Dr. Houyuan Luo

Dr. Houyuan Luo's professional groundwork is a classic instance of a bio that's inspirational, professional, and persuasive.

In the medical manufacture, teaching is immensely important — how long you studied can determine your level of expertise. Dr. Luo immediately lists his academic background, and then details how passionate he is for his field. He emphasizes his humanitarian values near, cementing him as an first-class candidate for clinical training and speaking opportunities.

If yous work in the healthcare, not-turn a profit, legal, educational, or ecology industries, consider emphasizing your values and ethos in your professional background. Like Dr. Luo, y'all can leave mention of your electric current position for the last judgement.

6. Claire Buswell

Claire Buswell immediately establishes herself as a relatable persona past going over her personal history first — then connecting that to her office today. Because she was in one case in the same position every bit her clients, Buswell is better prepared to assistance them professionally. She makes that articulate in her professional person background and is vulnerable about how hard it was to find a task.

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

Ready to outset writing?

Keep these tips and examples in mind as you're writing about your professional bio. Your terminal production should exist a written statement that boasts your well-nigh notable skills and achievements. Equally you continue to progress in your career, take time to update your bio like you would your resume, and keep to impress your readers.

Editor's notation: This postal service was originally published in Nov 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Originally published Jul 28, 2021 2:00:00 PM, updated July 28 2021

How To Describe Professional Background,

Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/write-professional-bio

Posted by: dustinhatiltas.blogspot.com

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