Whether you’re in a client-facing position or you’re usually in your office sifting through accounting reports, chances are that at some point in your career, you’ll be asked to provide a corporate bio to a colleague, customer, potential employer or vendor.
Creating a corporate bio allows you to summarize your experiences into a succinct, easy-to-read format. Once you write your bio, you can list it on the company website, place it on your LinkedIn or CV, have it designed for distribution, or even make it into a PowerPoint slide for presentations.
The problem with writing a corporate bio is that many people have difficulty talking about themselves. It can be challenging to boil all of your experiences and accomplishments into a few paragraphs, and you may not know what to include and what to leave out.
To help you start creating your bio, consider these easy-to-implement steps that should spark your creative energies.
Start with the Easy Part
At the top of your bio, you’ll list your name, title and an action statement summarizing what you do and how it can help others. For instance, “Susan Jones is the CEO of JT Enterprises, where she provides tailored consulting services to florists who are interested in building a web presence and boosting SEO. She leads a team of 15 staff members who are dedicated to advancing the digital tools available to florists across the country.”
Right from the start, the bio shows what she does and who her target audience is. Assuming that this person sends her bio mainly to potential customers (floral shops), they will be able to see up front how she can help them achieve their digital marketing goals. In addition, readers will immediately know that Susan has a robust team to support her efforts, and that she works with florists throughout the US rather than in just one part of the country.
Answer the Reader’s Questions
The person reading the bio will probably wonder why you are in this line of work, how your background contributes to it, and what inspires you to be in the field. This is a great way to convey to businesses exactly why your skills are a good match for their services or products.
For instance, in the case of Susan Jones above, the second sentence might say, “After a decade working as the head of digital operations for Flowering.net, Susan gained unique insights into the needs of independent flower shops and began creating custom SEO tools to help them connect with their target audiences.”
Provide Examples of Successes
Next, you can share some examples of the great work you’ve done for other people. In the case of our example, it might say, “Susan has created custom web designs for over 100 florists, including Joe’s Flowers in New York and Flower City in Chicago. Both of these florists saw sales increase by 30 percent within just one month of launching their sites and instituting the bespoke SEO tools that Susan put into motion.”
With this part of the bio, you’ve shown the person reading it that you are able to back up your statements with results, and that other customers have found success by using your services.
Share Education, Publications, Certifications
After discussing your background, you should share information about any educational background, media mentions or certifications that you have. For instance, “Susan holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Arizona and is a certified floral designer. She has been quoted in the New York Times and The Atlantic, and she’s on the board of the American Institute of Floral Designers. She has taught computer science at Collins Community College and at multiple coding camps.”
Add, Delete as Necessary
You can add more information about your background, skills, talents and successes, or delete parts of this framework as necessary, depending on who will be reading the bio and what you’re trying to convey. However, remember not to get carried away. The bio is supposed to be a summary of your accomplishments, not your entire CV. A general rule of thumb is to keep it somewhere between eight and 12 sentences to keep the reader’s attention.
Putting it All Together
Using our example of Susan Jones, we’ve put it all together into a complete bio, as follows:
Susan Jones
Susan founded JT Enterprises six years ago and currently serves as the company’s CEO. The firm provides tailored consulting services to florists who are interested in building a web presence and boosting SEO. She leads a team of 15 staff members who are dedicated to advancing the digital tools available to florists across the country.
After a decade working as the head of digital operations for Flowering.net, Susan gained unique insights into the needs of independent flower shops and began creating custom SEO tools to help them connect with their target audiences. She has created custom web designs for over 100 florists, including Joe’s Flowers in New York and Flower City in Chicago. Both of these florists saw sales increase by 30 percent within just one month of launching their sites and instituting the bespoke SEO tools that Susan put into motion.
Susan holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Arizona and is a certified floral designer. She has been quoted in the New York Times and The Atlantic, and she’s on the board of the American Institute of Floral Designers. She has taught computer science at Collins Community College and at multiple coding camps.
