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My name is Idil, and I like writing. Cycling is my hobby, and I live in the US.
Did this get your attention? Did you find me interesting at all? I doubt that! Yet, when asked to write a personal bio, many people produce something as dry and generic as this paragraph. Writing a bio about yourself can feel challenging and often make you cringe; imagine how the readers must feel when reading a bio like that!
Your profile page reflects who you are. When you think about your life, I’m sure you see it quite clearly in your head. However, a third-party reader doesn’t know your story. We have no idea what your personal story is other than what your social media profile says.
Millions of profile examples on social media websites look as empty as the desert. And yours is probably one of them if you’re reading this blog.
So how can you stand out from the sea of sameness of online bios? How can you charm the readers with your words? What details should you leave in the darkness forever, and what skills should you put in there for the readers to see?
The most important question is, what kind of a STORY will you create for your audience, the recruiters?
There are many examples and templates on the internet for how to write a professional bio. The short bio examples are endless. This website, for instance, has great examples in its article that will help you to write a bio. Go ahead and check out their helpful advice on how to write a bio for your social media profile.
Start by thinking about which personal pronouns you will use to write your bio. Writing in the third person is possible, but it’s your profile and bio anyway. Imagine someone introducing themselves to you in person using the third person pronoun:
“Good day! Her name is Idil, and she is a writer…”
Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Maybe a little arrogant too. We recommend against writing in the third person. Maybe one day you’ll get your purpose-filled career, and the company you’re working with will write and brag about you in the third person. That would make more sense.
Since I recommend you write in the first person, don’t include your name in your bio. You probably already have your name on your page as your personal and professional profile name. Be sure to include your full name in your “Name” section if you haven’t already. Your short bio will follow your name in the introduction part.
Your professional bio will also include personal bio information. To write a personal and, at the same time, professional bio, you need to find a perfect balance.
But how…?
Alright, alright: I’ll cut to the chase.
If you have never heard of Wall-e, please watch Pixar’s trailers and then watch the movie. It doesn’t matter if you’re an adult; it’s worth your time. It’s a movie for every audience and one of my personal favorites.
One of the elements that make a story worth following is its relatability. Why should anyone read your story? How can you make your audience stick with reading your bio, even though they probably have more important things to do, like saving the world?
As a Pixar movie, Wall-e has a unique way of telling its story. They have a list of steps they follow when they write their stories. Here is how it goes:
“Once upon a time” (There was a robot called Wall-e working on an abandoned earth.)
“And every day” (He cleaned the trash-filled earth and shaped the trash into boxes.)
“Until one day” (A special robot came looking for signs of life on earth.)
“And because of this” (He fell in love and accidentally went with her.)
“And because of this” (He helped free humans living on a spaceship.)
“Until finally” (Wall-e found love, and life on earth was restored.)
Charming, isn’t it?
Don’t let the third person pronoun trick you. We’re talking about Wall-e here, not ourselves.
This website explains further what you need to know about the Pixar method. It says, “The Pixar method for telling stories is to create a protagonist that the audience empathizes with and cares about by the end of the story.” This sentence is the essence that your personal bio should contain in your writing
If Wall-e talked about himself, I’m sure he wouldn’t sound as I did. Well, he would sound like a robot making robot sounds, and he does say “Wall-e” a lot. But that’s all he says; he’s a robot. As fellow humans writing bios, let us keep our vocabulary broad and our pronouns in the first person.
See what she did there?
With this method, she wrote her personal bio charmingly without crossing her professional boundaries. Writing a bio like this reflects upon you as a person and draws relevant people in to stay and read it – maybe even contact you.
The Pixar formula gives you a template, a sort of structure to which you can tailor your personal bio. Writing it with this method may be hard. But not writing it won’t give you a customized professional bio.
How can we turn this formula into a well-written personal short bio? One of the examples I can show you is the personal LinkedIn bio of our Founder & CEO, Super Julie Braun.
Start writing a bio. Do not fear; you can delete it! Try it and see what writing a bio with this formula feels like to you. Realize what you can create and where your writing stands. What does your sentence structure sound like when you talk about yourself? You won’t know what you have in your hand unless you try.
You also don’t have to get it right the first time. Silence the nagging perfectionist in you and make mistakes. Write multiple short bios if you must. Just take the first step of getting it on a page.
These tips might help you if you don’t know where to start:
Look at other people’s short bio examples on LinkedIn or other social media websites. Whose personal biography do you like the best? If you read those bios, think of which one you would be more likely to contact or offer a job opportunity.
After checking others’ personal and professional bios, try to see how you can implement the Pixar method with them. Experiment and expand your vocabulary by writing a short biography.
Especially check the bios of professional people with whom you share a career path. Looking for inspiration on a doctor’s profile when you aspire to become a lawyer would be a waste of time.
My tips do not end here; I just wanted to give the formula to you first, so you don’t have to scroll down the website page to find the answer. But stick around to know more about the “how” part of this process of writing a bio.
And now, watch me break it down for you.
You might imagine a serious tone when you think of professional bio examples. A dull and tasteless description of one’s achievements. Two or three words of professional accomplishments.
You might think of the professional company you worked with and your professional friend with a professional job title. The professional lunch breaks with boring professional small talks. You might have nightmares of attending tedious professional business dinners with professional dresses and manners. Maybe the word “professional” doesn’t sound so appealing to your ears.
What about a personal bio? What does a personal biography sound like? It can range from your first memories as a baby to the details of how you couldn’t remember the full name of your high school friend you came across at the park one day.
The relevant sweet spot of what links these two aspects of your bio is something only you can know. I can only give you the formula and show you the kitchen. But it’s up to you to cook the delicious apple pie!
Without falling into an existential crisis, ask yourself these questions: who am I and what do I want? What values do I hold dear? Who was I then, and who am I today? What was I doing before my current focus? What is my call to action that made me want to pursue this particular career path? How did everything change for me? What are the accomplishments that impacted me deeply?
It doesn’t have to be professional accomplishments only. It can be quitting smoking or drugs. It can be a mental illness that you found a way to deal with or leaving a toxic relationship. It could be a new hobby that changed your world in a good way. It can be a company that hired you. A life-altering event that you hold dear.
Make your professional bio an example of your own life’s reflection. Focus on making your brand shine bright with your story and your words. Those words are the best way to write the start of your story.
So ask yourself this question: where does my story start?
Did you think over and over again until your brain was fried but couldn’t find what you want to do in life? Listen to this inspiring podcast with our coach Super Julie as a guest. She gives fantastic tips on how to find your career purpose.
Come back when you have listened to it, and I’ll give you more tips in this article.
After thoroughly thinking and possibly contemplating your existence, think of the first sentence of your short bio. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” doesn’t apply here. Your opener is crucial to grab people’s attention.
Look at the Pixar formula when starting to write a bio. It says “once upon a time.” What was happening once upon a time? How were the dragon’s days?
Was the dragon afraid to go out of the tower? Was the tower too small for them? Could the dragon spread their wings and fly as high as they could, or were they chained to a giant rock? Were they in the wrong castle? Were they only waiting and hoping that a charming dark horse would someday come and save them? Maybe the dragon still didn’t disclose their gender as being non-binary.
Such details on your profile page will create your brand and lay the base of your purpose. It will tell your readers where you come from. It will give the readers that want to contact you an idea of who you are.
Write it as one sentence at first: or even a few words. After you write an outline of your short bio, you can continue to fill in the blanks. But first, go step by step and determine what you want to highlight in your short bio. You can always regulate your word count later in the process of your bio.
A very common example of the “angry villagers” could be a nine-to-five job. The struggle is real, and the audience probably knows that feeling too.
Every day, the villagers threw stones at the dragon because the dragon was non-binary.
Every day, the dragon faced the anguish of their loneliness.
Every day, the dragon wished to be free of their chains.
What are your “angry villagers” in your life? What personal examples in your bio can you provide for the audience to relate to you better?
It could be that the job you had wasn’t right for you. Maybe you didn’t share the same values with the company you were working for. Maybe the company didn’t treat you right because of who you are, like the non-binary dragon.
What was your struggle that could be relevant to your readers?
At last!
The moment that the dragon was waiting for arrived. They broke free! They can fly away, thanks to a lightning strike that shattered their chains.
What was your personal lightning strike? What was your WAKE-UP CALL?
You presented the reasons for your purpose in the previous sections. Now, begin building up to the start of your career purpose. Or, in better phrasing, the “spark” of your purposeful career.
What was your “aha” moment? What happened in your life that drastically changed everything?
Did you leave your nine-to-five job? Did you leave the company you were working at? Did the company fire you? Did you change career paths and find your purpose? Did you come out of the closet?
What is it that happened to you and changed your routine? This section is the exciting part of the story, so make sure you add it to your short bio with eloquent words. Use the tips I gave you before, and check this website for more information on writing tips.
So what happened when the dragon’s chains were broken? Did they live happily ever after? No! Their adventure had just begun.
What did you do? What career path did you choose to follow? How did you map out your career path?
Did you open your own business? Did you contact an old business friend to collaborate? Did you start your fashion brand with the money you saved? Did you finally publish the book you were writing and become an author?
Focus on writing about the highlights of what you did when you left the “old you.” This section is where you instill confidence into your brand. Each sentence is up to you to tailor to your achievements and the details of the steps you take.
Insert your vision and your mission in this section.
You might ask, “Why did she repeat this unfinished sentence?” I’ll link it to something relevant, don’t worry. We’re still not in the “happily ever after” section.
How did your brand go? What challenges did it face? Did the book you published get sold at all or was it just a bunch of online posts of its advertisements? Did you have to separate from your business partner and go your own way?
Remember to write down the crucial details before thinking of forming a sentence. It will link you back to a solid outline.
This part is the “How to end your bio” part.
I’ve seen some bio examples that included their contact information. It’s one of the other things I find odd about those examples of short bios.
Most social media websites already include a section for your personal and professional contact info. You don’t need to add it to your bio too.
The end of your bio must include what you are doing today. Your given information at the end must be up-to-date and reflective of your current situation.
Did you build your little cabin and continue with your wood carving project? Have you opened a pilot training business to help small kids learn to fly planes? Have you launched your professional website and started selling your products?
What are your final accomplishments?
Your personal brand must meet the target audience on a social media website. One of the best tips I got from our coach Super Julie is to contact relevant people in my field. Get as many connections as possible and let people know about your story.
The social media website possibility is endless. From Twitter to Linkedin, you can start marketing your brand everywhere and at any time.
Humor is a great way to help you with marketing your brand. You can get people to like you with humor. Just keep in mind that rudeness doesn’t count as humor. I can vouch for that as a Comedy Content Writer.
Even if you don’t get to write a bio just yet, you can start thinking about what you want in life. Use this formula as a tool to write your bio and save it for a rainy day. If you want more help with career coaching, go to our courses page and pick the one that is right for you.
Check out our other blogs for more career tips.
Have a Super Day!
As a child, I had a hard time speaking about my thoughts and feelings. That's when writing came to my rescue. Since then, we've been inseparable.