Use a Career Bio to Set Yourself Ahead of Your Competition

Posted by admin on March 29, 2010 under Executive Coaching Services | Be the First to Comment

Your personal brand is the impression you leave upon people.  As an executive coaching consultant, it is one of my jobs to help you identify what sets you apart from other applicants and what can give you an advantage when you’re being considered for a promotion or new position. The best way to begin your personal branding is to craft a solid career biography.

Your career bio and executive resume work in tandem as the foundation for all of your personal brand marketing communications, both online and offline. Written in narrative form, career bios are all about displaying the candidate’s softer skills as they relate to their specific work experience and skill set in a compelling way that resumes don’t allow.

Remember that your career bio offers value in job search and beyond:

• The “About” page on your blog or website is actually a bio. Remember, most recruiters and hiring managers search online to source and assess top talent. They may see your bio (or “About” page) before they see your resume. It has to stand on its own as a personal marketing document.
• Parts of your bio, along with your resume, should be incorporated into your LinkedIn profile to help generate interest and chemistry.
• Bios are essential introductions for speaking engagements. Make sure to give your bio ahead of time to the person who will be introducing you.
• Encapsulate your full bio into a tidy mini-bio to include when you guest blog, write articles or white papers, or publish anything online or offline. This should only be one or two paragraphs.
• Follow up networking events by sending your bio to people you’ve connected with, which is less formal than your resume.

 To get started, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What are three or four defining moments in your career? Think of events or projects that shaped your career path, had the most impact on making you who you are today, and led you to add value to your companies.

2. Which of your personal attributes have been most beneficial to you in your career?

3. What challenges have made you a stronger more valuable employee?

4. What are the two or three most important lessons you learned that others could benefit from?

5. Who have you mentored and how did your guidance impact that person, your team, your department, and your company?

 Next week, we’ll discuss how to actually write your career bio once you’ve gathered this information.