Writing a self-description can be difficult at times. Fortunately, there are a few tricks that make it easier to write a formal bio or informal profile. Decide in advance what information needs to be written down, then make a list of important accomplishments and personal details. The exact length and format may vary, but personal descriptions should be short, clear, and interesting. As with any writing project, make sure you reread and revise carefully to make sure the writing is good.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Defining an Idea for a Description
Step 1. Get to know the target audience
Think about why you need a short bio. Is it for a personal website, work profile, or scholarship application? By knowing who will be reading the description, you can find the right writing tone.
Target Audience
Use formal language for academic and resume purposes
Examples are job applications, scholarships, grants, and biographies featured in conferences or academic publications.
Add a touch of personality to an informal bio
Use cheerful conversational language if you are writing a bio for a personal website, social media, or non-academic publication.
Find a balance for a work biography
For a LinkedIn summary or bio in the company directory, mention personal details that are unique, but don't overshadow professional accomplishments.
Step 2. Review what should be in the description
Check the biodata guide provided by the company (potential), publisher, or other organization. When in doubt, find out if there is a contact person to call, and ask for specific requirements.
- For example, a self-description on a job application, author bio, or company directory requires 100 to 300 words. A bio for a funding proposal or a bio for a professional site may be longer.
- In addition to length, the description must also follow a certain order, such as name and title, educational history, research focus, and achievements.
Step 3. Make a list of achievements
A short bio generally lists the most important achievements and awards. List your academic degrees, awards, and professional achievements, such as major projects, publications, or certifications. Depending on your goals, you may also want to list personal accomplishments, such as running a marathon or visiting government buildings in all provinces.
- Examples of professional achievements are, “Improved purchasing protocols to reduce company expenses by 20%” or “Recognized as the highest-selling employee for fiscal year 2017”.
- Avoid listing personal characteristics, such as “enthusiastic” or “hard worker”. Focus on the specific skills, awards, and accomplishments that make you unique.
Step 4. Create a keyword set if you are writing a professional bio
Enter skills specific to your industry or discipline in your bio, such as “inventory management”, “network security” or “research design”. If you're looking for keywords, check the job description for the position you've held or applied for, as well as the entries on your resume or CV.
Industry-specific keywords are essential for online job profiles and job resumes. Employers and recruiters use search engines and software to scan profiles and resumes for keywords related to job openings
Step 5. Write down relevant hobbies and interests, if necessary
If you're writing personal data for a personal website, social media page, or non-academic publication, create another list that includes details about your personal, hobbies, and interests. Listing your interests and hobbies will give you a comprehensive picture of yourself outside the scope of work.
In your personal information, you may want to mention that you love dogs, are proud of your children, or are interested in growing carnivorous plants
Tip:
Make an open list of your accomplishments, interests, and fun facts about yourself. Use a notes app on your phone or a Word document so you can add to your list when you get a new idea.
Method 2 of 5: Creating Informal Bios
Step 1. Use a conversational tone to add a personal touch
In terms of format, informal bios are similar to professional bios. The main difference is language. In informal descriptions, highlight your personality with humor, quirkiness, and cheerful language.
Unlike formal writing, you can use abbreviations, exclamation points, and other informal elements. However, grammar must be correct and avoid using slang, such as “no” and “yeah”
Step 2. Introduce yourself and your story
As in a formal bio, write down who you are and provide important personal information. Find out if there is a guide to writing in the first or third person. You are free to choose the one that looks more natural. Remember that it's usually better to write in the first person on social media profiles.
You might write, “Nada Dinata is a coach and motivational speaker with more than 10 years of experience. He enjoys helping clients to live life in the best possible way. When not motivating others, she usually plays with her 2 cats or cycles with her husband, Dani.”
Step 3. Provide unique details
Include interests, hobbies, or other details that help readers get to know you. Please write about your pet or family, express a special talent, or mention an experience related to the purpose of the bio.
For example, for a bio for the author of an article about cooking, try including details such as, “I started to like cooking when my grandmother taught me how to make family-owned recipes. From there, I realized that food is not just food, but within it there is family, history and tradition.”
Tip:
Most of the details entered in an informal bio should be personal, not educational or professional. State your credentials, but don't make education and training the main focus of your bio.
Step 4. Limit to 100 to 200 words, as a general rule
The bio should be brief as this is not a personal essay or memoir. Usually, a short paragraph of 3 to 5 sentences or about 100 to 200 words is sufficient to bring up important details.
If you're not sure how long it should be, find out if there are any guides or examples to use as templates. For example, if you publish a magazine article and need to write a bio, use other authors' bios as an example
Method 3 of 5: Writing a Professional Bio
Step 1. Create first-person and third-person version descriptions
Usually, the best option is to use a third-person perspective, but it's best to provide both options. If you are writing a professional bio for a specific purpose, check what formats are suggested in the guide.
- If you're writing a professional bio for an online work profile, such as LinkedIn, the best option is a first-person perspective. Using "I" allows you to tell your story more naturally. In addition, writing in the third person on social media profiles can sometimes seem dishonest.
- In general, bios in company directories and professional bios for academic conferences should be in third-person perspective. If you are speaking at a conference or seminar, for example, the moderator will probably read your bio aloud so third person writing is best.
Step 2. Enter the name and title in the first sentence
State who you are and what your occupation is at the beginning of the bio. Use the basic template, “[Name] is [title] in [company, institution, or organization].”
- For example, “Jihan Mulyadi is a philosophy lecturer at Mercu Buana University.”
- If you don't have a professional title or a lot of experience, put education first. For example, “Nana Paramitha obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the Yogyakarta Institute of the Arts.”
Step 3. Write a sentence summarizing your work
Briefly explain what you do and why your contribution is important. You can tell a career, or if you are an academic, summarize the research focus. It is helpful to explain how long you have been active in the field with phrases such as “more than 5 years as” or “ten years of experience”.
For example, “For almost ten years, he managed the daily operations of the company's 7 regional branches” and “His research focuses on early detection of uterine cancer through the development of new techniques in blood testing.”
Step 4. List the most important achievements, awards, and certifications
Choose about 3 of the most interesting achievements, and describe them in 2 to 3 sentences. Go through your list of goals again, and select the top item that is most relevant to the goal.
- For example, “In 2016, Sophia received the prestigious award as Best Breeder from the Kintamani Bali Dog Club. In addition, he is an experienced dog trainer. Since 2010, Sophia has also run a foundation that specifically aims to find homes for abandoned dogs.”
- Let's say you're writing a profile for a company directory or site, and want to shorten the list of accomplishments. Listing that you oversaw an organizational image reshuffle would be more relevant than writing a win as the quarter's best employee at another company.
Step 5. Put education at the end, unless you don't have much experience
If you have a lot of professional experience and have run out of places to write about it, education may not be included. If you are not experienced, leave a space after the main content of your bio and add educational information, such as, “Mariana holds a D3 Photography degree from the Indonesian Communication Academy.
- So, if you lack professional experience, education should be put first.
- If you don't like education being put on separate lines, don't put a space after the main content. If ending the description with an education doesn't feel natural, consider putting it at the beginning. However, remember that professional achievement should take precedence over education.
Step 6. End with personal details, unless your bio is formal
Do not include personal information in formal descriptions, such as academic bios or scholarship proposals. On the other hand, for a bio on a company website or directory, mentioning a unique hobby or interest can introduce who you are outside of work.
- You could write, "In his spare time, Adrian enjoys climbing and rock climbing, he has conquered 3 of the 5 highest peaks in Indonesia."
- Note that for a formal description, you can include a professional interest or hobby related to your discipline or industry. For example, “In addition to clinical research in obstetrics, dr. Adi also studied the birth process in relation to customs and traditions.”
Method 4 of 5: Compiling a Self Summary for Resume
Step 1. Avoid personal pronouns and use sentences without a subject
Use active language throughout resume content. In addition to maintaining language consistency, the absence of personal pronouns and the use of sentences without a subject will result in a concise and concise resume.
- For example, instead of writing, “Bagas coordinates at least 5 installations per month, and he increases company productivity by 20%”, you should write, “Coordinates at least 5 installations per month, and increases company productivity by 20%.”
- Space on a resume is limited so you should also limit your summary to 2 to 3 sentences, or about 50 to 150 words.
Step 2. Introduce yourself in the opening sentence
As with other types of description, start by stating who you are and what you do. Use the template: [Professional position] with [time period] experience in [2 to 3 specific skills].
For example, write, “Product application specialist with over 5 years of experience in office system installation and design.”
Tip:
If you've ever written a longer professional bio, copy and paste the first 2 sentences. Revise the sentence to create a resume summary.
Step 3. Highlight key experiences and skills in 1 to 2 sentences
After the introductory sentence, add context to the experience. Provide a specific example of how you applied the skill. Draw the audience's attention to professional accomplishments that demonstrate the contribution you can make.
- For example, “Serve as senior development officer for an international nonprofit. Improved fundraising strategy and achieved a 25% increase in donations year over year.”
- Review key skills in job descriptions, and include them in resumes. Employers and recruiters want to see how you hone the specific skills that the job requires.
Method 5 of 5: Revising the Description
Step 1. Make sure your sentences flow logically
Read the text, and make sure each sentence leads to the next. Arrange the biodata so that the sentences continue or clarify the ideas in the previous sentence. If you want a transition, use words like “besides”, “as well”, or “therefore” so that the sentence doesn't get cut off.
- Consider the following example: “Senior development staff with more than 10 years of experience in international nonprofits. Improved fundraising strategy and achieved a 25% increase in donations year over year.” The first sentence summarizes the experience, while the second sentence follows with specific achievements.
- To make the transition smooth, write, “I have 10 years of experience as a music teacher at the elementary level. In addition, I opened a private course that teaches vocal and piano lessons for 20 years. When I'm not practicing with students, I enjoy community theatre, gardening, and embroidery.”
Step 2. Read again
Save the biodata that has been written for a few hours or overnight, then read it again with a new perspective. Read aloud, correct typos or errors, and address areas that need clarification or compaction.
- Make sure you use strong verbs and active sentences. For example, “Develop a new ordering system” instead of “Assigned responsibility for creating a new ordering system.”
- You should also avoid words like “very” or “really”. In formal descriptions, avoid abbreviations, slang, and other informal language.
Tip:
In addition to making it easier for you to spot errors, reading text aloud can also smooth out sentences that sound awkward.
Step 3. Ask others to check and provide feedback
Give your bio to a mentor, coworker, friend, or relative who is good at writing. Ask them to point out errors and provide input. In particular, ask about the tone of the language, and whether your description has a balance between self-promotion and humility.
Ideally, seek input from three people: a mentor or supervisor, coworkers, and people within the target audience. For resume bios, your target audience is human resource managers or recruiters. If you have a business and write a website bio, your target audience is the people who use your product or service
Tips
- Remember, the description should be short, which means your language should be simple and clear. Choose catchy, accurate words, and avoid special jargon unless absolutely necessary.
- If you're in doubt about the format, look for bios and summaries of others for examples. For example, study the bios of other authors for the same site, or check the bios on the company's website or previous versions of the directory.
