Professional Bio Template | PDF | RTF | Word

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Professional bios are essential for communicating who you are as a professional in a concise, conversational manner. Crafting your bio carefully can help get you noticed.

As general guidelines, it’s important to keep in mind that the bio should not merely be a list of facts about you or go through your entire work history. Instead, it is a marketing tool that lets you convey your unique expertise, and thus it should highlight your strongest professional qualifications in a persuasive way.

Tips

1. Use third person throughout the bio.
2. Include major accomplishments, awards, significant clients, etc.
3. Keep it to about 125 to 150 words in length.
4. Adjust the content for relevance depending on the context in which you use it.
5. Use a professional but friendly tone.
6. Update it two to three times per year.

For the first part of your bio, you must communicate why others would want to work with you. Thus, this part should state your current position and then your credentials, including informal credentials. Next, highlight your accomplishments and expertise. This should include work you have published, awards you have received, and presentations you have given. Remember to consider your audience and convey the most relevant accomplishments for that audience.

You can finish the bio with a statement about your professional principles or overarching professional concerns, and perhaps add a clever statement at the end to show a bit of personality.

Sample

Here is a professional biography template to help guide you. It is based on a university professor’s bio.

Name: Jacqueline Burrey, Ph.D.

Jacqueline Burrey received her doctorate in business writing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

In addition to having taught academic writing courses since 1995, Burrey has taught courses in technical writing and publishing and has led writing workshops in both academic and professional settings.

As a faculty member at the University of Washington, she teaches writing courses for [name of school/department/program]. In 2001, she designed and launched [course/program] to help students communicate more effectively in non-academic contexts. She developed a follow-up course, [name of course], which launched in 2009.

Working primarily with students, she also has developed and led professional writing workshops for faculty and staff and serves as a consultant for businesses and individuals.

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