Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 5: Get ideas
• Method 2 of 5: Make an informal description of yourself
• Method 3 of 5: Write a professional biography
• Method 4 of 5: Write a summary for your resume
• Method 5 of 5: Check your description
• Tips

Describing yourself can be a daunting task, especially if you have limited space. Fortunately, there are several tricks that can make writing about yourself easier, whether you need to write an official biography or a more casual cover text. Get ideas in advance and list your most important achievements and personal characteristics. The correct length and format can vary, but a personal description is in principle always short, direct and entertaining. As with any kind of writing project, you should of course not forget to check the text carefully and make sure that you have done your best on the end result.

To step

Method 1 of 5: Get ideas

1. Determine who your description is for. Think about what you need the description about yourself for. Do you need it for your own website, for your work profile, or to apply for a scholarship? Knowing who will read your description will help you determine the best tone to use.

   Address your audience

   
   

   Use a businesslike tone when creating personal descriptions for academic and professional purposes. Examples include your resume, job applications, applications for scholarship or research grants, and biographies that will be published at university conferences or as part of academic publications.

   For an informal description, use a slightly more personal tone. When writing a biography for your own personal website, for social media, or for a non-academic publication, keep a light-hearted, more conversational tone.

   Try to find a tone somewhere in the middle when writing a biography in a business context. If you're writing a description about yourself for LinkedIn or a biography for the list of employees of the company you work for, mention your unique personal skills, but don't let them overshadow your professional achievements.

   
   
2. Check whether your description meets all the requirements. Check carefully which guidelines have been set by your (potential) employer, the organization or for the publication for which you are writing the biography. When in doubt, find out if there is a contact person and ask any questions you may have about the specific requirements for your description.
   • For example, you may have to use a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 300 words for a job application, the biography for a publication or for the list of employees of your company. On the other hand, to apply for a scholarship or the biography for your own website, you will probably need to make a longer biography.
   • In addition to a certain length, your description may also have to follow a certain order, such as first your name and position, then your education, your field of research, and then your achievements.
3. List your achievements. A short biography usually lists your most important achievements and recognitions. Write down the university degrees you have obtained, the awards or other recognitions you have received and anything you have achieved in a professional field, such as important projects you have worked on, publications or certificates you have obtained. Depending on the type of description you are creating, include personal achievements such as running marathons or having visited all of the world's capitals.
   • Examples of professional performance include: "Reduced operating expenses by 20% by reviewing procurement protocols", or "Recognized as the Company's Most Profitable Vendor for Tax Year 2017."
   • Don't simply list personal traits, such as "enthusiastic" or "hard worker". In particular, try to include specific skills, recognitions, and achievements that make you unique.
4. If you are writing a professional biography, create a database of keywords. Include skills specific to your industry or field in your description, such as `` inventory management, '' `` network security, '' or `` research design. '' To get ideas for keywords, look at job descriptions for past jobs or what you are applying for, and read the different sections on your resume.
   • Keywords specific to the industry you work in are especially important for job descriptions on the Internet and for personal descriptions on your resume. Employers and recruiters use search engines and software to scan profiles and resumes for keywords related to specific job openings.
5. If necessary, also list relevant hobbies and interests, if you have any. If you are writing an informal description of yourself for your own website or for social media, or an informal biography for a non-academic publication, make a second list with information about yourself, your hobbies and interests. By incorporating your hobbies and interests, you create an image of yourself that makes it clearer who you are outside of work.
   • In an informal description of yourself, you might say you love miniature schnauzers, brag about your kids, or say you have a passion for growing carnivorous plants.

   Tip: Keep a running list of your accomplishments, interests, and funny facts about yourself. Use a note-taking app on your smartphone or create a Word document so you can easily add new things to your list as soon as you come up with them.

   
   

Method 2 of 5: Make an informal description of yourself

1. Try to keep a conversation tone to make your biography a bit more personal. In terms of formatting, an informal description resembles a professional biography. The difference is in the language. In an informal description, you can emphasize your character with the help of humor, funny facts and colorful words.
   • In a professional biography it is better not to use abbreviations, exclamation points or informal expressions, but in an informal description none of that is a problem. On the other hand, you should make sure you don't make grammar mistakes and it is better not to use colloquialisms that are too informal, such as "bold", "cool" or "cool."
2. Introduce yourself and tell your story. Just as you would in a formal biography, write who you are and provide key information about yourself. Find out if there are any guidelines that indicate whether you should write in the first or third person. If you are allowed to know that yourself, choose the shape that you find most natural. Keep in mind that for a social media profile, the best choice is usually the first person.
   • For example, you can write: "Jacqueline Hamers works as a coach and motivational speaker and has over ten years of experience in this field. She likes to help her clients live their lives in the best possible way. When she's not inspiring others, she's probably cuddling her two cats or going on a mountain hike with her life partner, Zane. "
3. Add a fun fact or unique detail. Include interests, hobbies, or other details in your description that can help readers get to know you better. You can write about your pets or your family, talk about a special talent you have, or mention an experience related to the purpose of your description.
   • If you are describing as the author of an article about cooking that you have written, you could add a detail such as, 'I fell in love with cooking from the moment my grandmother started teaching me her old family recipes prepare. From that moment on I discovered that food is almost always about family, history and tradition. "

   Tip: Most of the details you include in an informal personal description are intended to be personal, rather than educational or professional. Name your degrees, but make sure your biography is not entirely about your education and study results.

4. As a rule, keep a maximum length of 100 to 200 words. You are not writing your thesis or your personal memoirs, so keep your description short. Usually a short paragraph of 3 to 5 sentences or between 100 and 200 words will be enough to put the most important information about yourself on paper.
   • If in doubt about the correct length, see if there are any guidelines you should follow, or look for examples of previous descriptions you could use as a model. For example, if you've published an article for a magazine and you need to describe yourself as an author, use the descriptions that other authors have made of themselves as an example.

Method 3 of 5: Write a professional biography

1. Make your description both a first and a third person version. Usually the third person is the best choice, but it is a good idea to have both a first and a third person version available. If you are writing a professional biography for a specific purpose, double read the guidelines for the preferred formatting.
   • If you are writing a professional biography for an online work profile, such as LinkedIn, it is best to write in the first person. Using "I" allows you to tell your story in a more natural way. Additionally, writing in the third person on social media could make you appear a little insecure.
   • Personal descriptions as part of corporate personnel lists and professional biographies for academic conferences or lectures are usually in the third person. For example, if you are going to give a lecture or lecture at a conference, the person who will introduce you may read your biography aloud, so the third person is the best option.
2. Immediately state your name and position in the first sentence. Immediately tell readers who you are and what you do. Use the following basic structure for this: "[Name] is [position] at [employer, educational institute or organization]."
   • Write, for example: "Jacqueline Mulders is a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Amsterdam."
   • If you don't have an official professional job title or not that much experience, let your education take center stage. For example: "Noah Polderman recently graduated in dance from the Utrecht School of the Arts."
3. Write a sentence that summarizes the work you are doing. Briefly explain what you are doing and why your contribution is important. You could give a bird's eye view of your career, or if you are doing academic research, summarize your area of ​​research. It always helps to describe how long you have been active in your field with phrases such as "more than 5 years working as" or "ten years of experience in".
   • Examples include: 'For nearly a decade she has managed the day-to-day operations of the company's seven regional offices in the Netherlands' and' Her research focuses on the early detection of reproductive cancers through the development of new testing techniques. of blood '.
4. Name your most important achievements, recognitions and certificates. Pick about three of your most notable achievements and describe them in as much detail as possible in two to three sentences. Refer to your list of achievements and choose the recognitions most relevant to the purpose of your description.
   • For example, write: "In 2016, Sophie received the prestigious award given to the Breeder of the Year from the American Association of German Shepherd Breeders. She is also a recognized trainer of police and commercial security dogs. Since 2010, she has run a charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for rescued working dogs. "
   • Imagine that you are writing a profile for the list of employees or the website of the company where you work, and that you are trying to shorten your list of achievements. Mentioning that you led the repositioning of the organization is more relevant than the fact that you became employee of the quarter at another company.
5. Name your education at the end, unless you don't have that much experience yet. If you already have endless work experience and need to use space sparingly, you can omit your training if necessary. And if not, skip a line after the main content of your biography and add something like: "Mark graduated in Graphic Design from The Hague University of Applied Sciences (HHS) and specializes in Photography."
   • Remember, if you don't have much work experience yet, it's best to name your education first.
   • If you don't like the appearance of putting your education on a separate line, don't skip a line after the main text. If you think it doesn't seem so natural to mention your education at the end, consider including the information about your education earlier, as part of the text. Just remember that it is better to focus attention on your professional achievements than on your education.
6. Complete the text with a personal detail unless you are writing a professional biography. In a formal description, such as an academic biography or a description as part of the scholarship application, do not include any personal information. In contrast, in a biography for the website or workforce of the company you work for, mentioning a unique hobby or interest can show you who you are outside of work.
   • For example, you can write: "In his spare time, Albert is an avid hiker and mountaineer. He has already climbed three of the five highest peaks in Europe. "
   • Note that for formal descriptions you can include professional hobbies or interests related to your field or field of research, such as: "In addition to her clinical research in obstetrics, Dr. Lutz is passionate about the customs and practices surrounding the birth of children over the years across different cultures ”.

Method 4 of 5: Write a summary for your resume

1. Omit personal pronouns and use sentence fragments. Use the same active language that you would use for writing your resume. By omitting personal pronouns and using parts of sentences, you ensure uniform language use and keep your summary as short and concise as possible.
   • For example, instead of writing, `` Alex has coordinated at least five installations per month and he has increased the company's production by 20%, '' you may want to choose: `` Coordinated a minimum of five installations per month and increase business production by 20%. '
   • You have limited space on your resume, so limit your summary to two or three sentences, or between 50 and 150 words.
2. Introduce yourself in the opening sentence. Just as you would in other types of descriptions, start by saying who you are and what you do. Use the following format: [Job title] with [duration] experience in [2 or 3 specific skills].
   • For example write: "Specialist in Product Application with over five years of experience in computer-aided designs and solutions for the installation of office systems."

   Tip: If you've previously written a more comprehensive professional biography, copy and paste the first two sentences of that description. Customize those sentences to create the personal description for your resume.

3. In one or two sentences, emphasize your experience and most important skills. After the first introductory sentence, add some context to your experience. Give specific examples of how you have put your skills into practice. Emphasize professional performance that shows potential employers what you have to offer.
   • For example: "Working as a senior development officer for an international non-profit organization. Restructuring of fundraising strategies and responsible for 25% annual increase in donations. "
   • Review the key skills that you have included in your job description and include them in the personal description as part of your resume. Employer and consultants are eager to see how you have put into practice the specific skills required for the job.

Method 5 of 5: Check your description

1. Make sure the text of your description is logical. Read your text and make sure that each sentence leads to the next in a logical way. When reviewing the structure of your biography, make sure that each sentence continues or is an elaboration of an idea from the previous sentence. In the transitions, use connecting words such as "besides," "additionally" or "in a similar way" so that your text doesn't sound like a mishmash of separate sentences.
   • Consider the following example: "Senior development officer with over ten years of experience within an international non-profit organization. Refreshing the strategies for the fundraising campaigns and achieving an annual increase in the amount of donations of 25%. "The first sentence summarizes the experience, while the second sentence follows with a specific achievement.
   • For example, for a smooth transition, write: "I have 10 years of experience as a high school music teacher. In addition, I have been running my own practice for twenty years, in which I give singing and piano lessons. When I'm not working with my students I like to go to community theater, work in the garden or embroider. "
2. Read your short description. Put your biography away for a few hours or overnight, then reread it freshly. Read it aloud to yourself, correct spelling or grammar mistakes, and rewrite parts that are unclear or don't sound smooth.
   • Make sure you have used strong verbs in the active form. For example, rather use "New accounting system developed" than "Responsible for setting up a new accounting system."
   • You should also avoid using words like "very" or "real." If you are creating a formal biography, don't use contractions, slang, or other informal expressions.

   Tip: Reading your text out loud will not only make it easier to pick out mistakes, but it can also help you spot any poorly flowing sentences.

3. Ask other people if they can review your text and provide you with feedback. Have the biography read by your mentor, colleague, friend, or family member with writing skills. Ask if he or she can point out mistakes and give you tips. In particular, ask them what they think of the tone of your biography, and whether there is a good balance between self-promotion and modesty in your text.
   • It is best to ask three people for feedback: a mentor or manager, a classmate or colleague, and someone who is part of the audience for whom your biography is intended. For example, the audience for whom your resume biography is intended could be someone from Human Resources or a company's recruiting department. If you run your own business and have written a description of yourself for your website, your audience will likely be the people who use your product or service.

Tips

• Remember that you want to make a short description, which means that you have to choose simple and direct language. Choose clear, compelling words and avoid using specific jargon unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
• If you have any doubts about the formatting, look for biographies and blurbs to use as examples. For example, read the blurbs of the other authors of the website you are writing for, or take a look at the biographies on your company's website or in previous versions of the employee list.