Smart executives, senior managers, consultants, and other smart professionals have personal branding tools in their pockets that help them elevate their brands and unlock new opportunities. This is called an executive bio, executive biography, professional bio, or marketing bio, and can also be developed.
Examples of when executive profiles can be used
Imagine this. Your new LinkedIn connection just finished a discussion about yourself and your current position. They ask if you have any specialties. Your professional titles are all about business and operations, but you managed a lot of HR activities early in your career. Combine this with your passion for IT and the multiple workshops you’ve taken over the years and you’ll get:
As you know, my main expertise is in business and operations, but as part of my last two roles, I also became an expert in HRIS (Human Resources Information System) implementation and management.
is that so?asks the contact. Last week, my VP told me that the board of directors had voted to move the entire organization to the new HRIS. The project is not yet official, but we need to find someone who can lead the initiative and manage post-migration operations.
this is a really small world you think. Your new acquaintance described the perfect and logical next move in your career. It’s the role you’ve dreamed of and you deserve it. You want to call this person right away and scream in your head that this person is perfect…but you know better than that.
Networking is reciprocal and you can’t ask for a favor five minutes after the first conversation. Also, sending your resume too early can make it seem like you’re begging for a job. At the same time, we want to make sure that you consider the opportunity. This is one of many situations where an influential, ready-to-go executive biography can make a world of difference.
I will explain what an executive profile is, with examples
A kind of enhanced business card, the executive bio is a one-page document that gives you a glimpse of your personal brand and most powerful assets. It’s a compelling story, crafted from a holistic view of your entire career and of yourself professionally, with a unifying theme and compelling underpinnings.
In a way, this is a simple answer to the question, “How would you describe yourself and your career?”
An executive or professional bio provides a chronology, presents key credentials and qualifications, and sets out powerful highlights that let the reader know that you are the person to talk to.
Done right, your executive profile shows that your resume doesn’t hold you back, that you understand and articulate your worth, and that your resume is the only way you can pursue opportunities. Shows that you are free from the idea of being a book or LinkedIn.
Why do you need an executive bio?
At Bold Career, we like to talk about your personal marketing biography when we talk about this important tool in your career management arsenal. This is because it is useful for professionals of almost all levels and functions.
Whether you’re a developer with deep knowledge of a lesser-known programming language widely used in your new company, or a former CFO looking for a consulting job within a fast-growing company, Those with strong backgrounds and marketing bios have tangible advantages over those without them.
When to use marketing bios
Its most powerful use is in situations similar to those described above. You can fill in the gaps left between your resume, LinkedIn profile, and cover letter, and provide your key contacts and their contacts with important information. This could open up some doors you didn’t know existed when sending your resume. He gave the impression that he was begging for work. But officer bios are much more versatile than this. you can:
Attach it to your email when you introduce yourself – this increases credibility and helps build credibility
Put it on your personal website or portfolio
Include in Proposal
Use it to market yourself for speaking and consulting opportunities
or in various other situations use
Unlike your LinkedIn profile, your marketing bio can target different types of opportunities if you have a portfolio of activities.
How do you write a professional resume?
As a Ladder’s study found, if recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds looking at a resume to decide whether to call a candidate for an interview, they’re more likely to find executive background details. I can’t wait to spend more time scrutinizing it. . Before you start writing, your professional value proposition (PVP) should be very clear. If you’re serious about your resume and her LinkedIn profile, you should already be.
What is the thread that connects each step of your path, from your first passion, to your first professional role, to where you are now, and where you are going from here? What are the common themes in LinkedIn profiles, recruiter briefs? How do you connect the dots in your professional career?
Write for your target audience
If you know what you can bring and where you want your career to go, you know who will be interested in your skills and expertise. As with any personal branding document or marketing effort, you need to start from the perspective of your target audience, understand their needs, and then articulate your values and how you will solve the most important pain points. there is. Maybe you are a dynamic manager and a change agent. Although your technical skills are limited, you are known for building bridges between groups and revitalizing motivation and growth when things are at a standstill. For employers, you may be the answer to declining sales and employee morale. If you want to receive an email or phone call, it’s important to know your position properly.
Make your values clear in your professional background
PvP is established. wonderful. Now let me explain to the reader why I claim to be able to offer such strong value. STAR achievement stories (situations, tasks, actions, outcomes) are one of the keys to writing a resume that leads to an interview. For executive bios, you should think of them as star stories. Limit context and detail to the bare minimum and let the results shine. You position yourself as the expert your readers need to talk to, and the results of your work are why they want to talk. Also, don’t forget the following important points:
name and personal information
Professional titles; just like you would on LinkedIn, get creative and choose words that grab attention.
a short technical summary
Performance stories with impact
Critical Qualifications and Expertise
Most relevant education and training
LinkedIn URLs, Twitter handles, online portfolios, personal blogs, and other relevant content
Maintain your brand with self-introduction
There’s a reason we call this “personal branding”. Your presence across the job market, social media and documents should be clearly defined and consistently branded.
An executive bio may or may not contain the first information a reader learns about you. Either way, you want your personal value proposition—the hook—to be easily distinguishable from that of others. And leave no room for doubt or confusion.
Express your passion and personality with our executive bio
Resumes and cover letters must follow certain rules of thumb and formal standards.
LinkedIn profiles are visible to anyone, including current employers and co-workers, so a certain level of reservation is required.
Conversely, executive bios offer a high degree of creative freedom and should be taken advantage of. It has to leave a lasting impression, but nothing that is not authentic cannot leave that impression.
Remember that you need an equally compelling first conversation about this brand and character you put on paper—yourself. So don’t try to pretend who you are or anything other than who you really are.
Take your time to write and rewrite your summary and achievements. Try reading it out loud. Do you feel like you are speaking with your own voice? What is off?
What about the visual side? When in doubt, consult an expert or friend who will provide input to help you achieve an end result that you are truly proud of.
Be bold, be bold, be bold in your personal marketing career
You decided to take matters into your own hands and actively and purposefully pursue the next opportunity. Now you need to ride that momentum and translate your decisiveness into a brand-based, differentiated executive bio that sets you apart from everyone else.
Remember that you don’t have to be the right person for every job, just as not every job is for you. Luck is he a combination of two things: preparation and opportunity. With all the tools you need in your Career Management Toolbox, you can take full control and maximize your preparation. Opportunities are not always predictable because you never know when they will come. But when it happens, you should be prepared for it…and if it doesn’t happen soon enough, go out and make it happen yourself!
If you would like to create an executive bio, please contact us for more information.
