So, your boss wants to post your new mini-biography on the company website. If you don't have a biography written, it can challenging to draft a summary of who you are and what you offer clients. You don't want your biography to sound like your mom or dad is bragging about you, but you do want it to be succinct and informative.

Choose Your Voice and Focus

Decide whether you will describe yourself in the first person or the third person. You might have to match the style of the website or publication for which you're writing. Choose either "I grew up in California" or "Ms. Hope Smith is a native of California." Next, pick a focus for the narrative. The career biography could cover all of your professional life or focus on the most relevant parts of it. If you've held many jobs or started many businesses, a long paragraph or two could describe that history, but it would read like a list. Choosing a focus, such as one time period or one career you've had, limits what you share. Some writers begin with a mention of their current position and then fill in the history.

Choose Your Style

By necessity, some bios must impress the reader. If you just established a startup and are seeking angel investors, you want the achievements and most impressive jobs you've held included in the sample bio. If you are just describing yourself and posting your bio on a profile for a website or magazine to which you contribute, mentioning multiple achievements might not be as important. Think about how much it is necessary to portray yourself as outstanding. You also have to decide to mention where you have been published or recognized in the media.

Flesh Out the Bones

Here is an example of a short bio that covers a person's academic and professional background. If you are a decade or more past college graduation, you might not need to mention your academic background. "A native of southern California, Ms. Hope Smith graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 1988. After flying aircraft for 15 years in the Air Force, she joined the aerospace industry. Now, Ms. Smith works in research for Boeing and speaks nationally on the future of the aerospace industry."

Editing

Editing is important. Read the biography draft and see if it fits the audience for which you're writing, perhaps readers of a publication or website. Show the biography to a colleague or family member; she might think of something important you left out. Finally, change confusing words, especially words specific to your profession. Simple language makes a biography more accessible to multiple audiences, making it easier to tweak for future purposes.