Posted by Shivali Anand
October 26, 2021 | 5-minute read (831 words)
Whether you work in a client-facing job or spend most of your time in your office combing through financial reports, you'll almost certainly be asked to present a corporate bio to a colleague, customer, possible employer or vendor at some point during your career.
Your goal should be to convey your experience in a concise, easy-to-read fashion with a corporate biography. You can publish your bio to your corporate website, add it to your LinkedIn page or CV, place it on for distribution materials or even turn it into a PowerPoint slide for presentations.
Many individuals have a hard time talking about themselves. It can be challenging to capture your experience and accomplishments into a succinct description. You may also be unsure of what to include (and exclude).
Consider these simple steps to help activate your creative side and get started writing your bio.
Start with name, title, action statement
Your name, title and an action statement explaining what you do and how it helps others should appear at the top of your bio. The bio immediately states what you do and defines your target audience.
For example: "Susan Jones is the founder and CEO of JT Enterprises, which offers customized consulting services to florists that want to improve their web presence and SEO. She oversees a team of 15 employees devoted to improving the digital tools offered to florists around the country."
Suppose Susan Jones distributes her bio primarily to potential consumers, in this case floral shops. They can see right away how she can assist them with their digital marketing objectives. Readers also immediately become aware that Susan has a large staff and works with florists across the country.
Respond to readers' questions
The person reading your bio will be curious why you chose this career, how your history shaped that path and what keeps you going. This is an opportunity to show what makes you a good fit for their business.
For example: "After a decade working as the head of digital operations for Flowering.net, Susan developed unique insights into the needs of small flower shops and began designing custom SEO solutions to assist them in connecting with their target audiences.”
Substantiate your accomplishments
Next address some of the fantastic things you've done for others. You want to show people reading your bio that you can back up your claims with evidence.
For example: "Susan has designed bespoke web designs for over 100 florists, including Joe's Flowers in New York and Flower City in Chicago. Within one month of establishing their websites and implementing Susan's customized SEO techniques, each of these florists witnessed a 30% boost in sales." You've demonstrated to the individual reading your bio that you can back up your claims with evidence and that previous clients have successfully utilized your services.
Share knowledge, publications, certifications
Next include your education and special credentials, and mention media or publications where you have been cited or to which you’ve contributed.
For example: Susan has a bachelor's degree in computer technology and is a trained floral designer from the University of Arizona. She is on the American Institute of Floral Designers board and has been cited in The New York Times and The Atlantic. She's taught computer science at Collins Community College as well as at several coding camps."
Add or remove items as needed
Depending on who will be reading the bio and whether it needs to be tailored accordingly, consider adding information about your history, skills and accomplishments or eliminating portions of this structure as needed.
The bio should be a summary of your achievements rather than your complete CV. To hold the reader's interest, a rule of thumb is to keep it between eight and 12 sentences in length.
Put everything together
Using Susan Jones as an example, we've put everything together into a full bio:
Susan Jones
Susan created JT Enterprises six years ago and is the company's current CEO. Florists that want to improve their online presence and SEO can use the firm's customized consultation services. She oversees a team of 15 employees devoted to improving the digital tools offered to florists around the country.
Susan obtained unique insights into the demands of small flower shops after a decade as the head of digital operations for Flowering.net. She began designing custom SEO tools to assist them in connecting with their target consumers. Joe's Flowers in New York and Flower City in Chicago are among the florists she has designed personalized site designs. Within one month of establishing their websites and implementing Susan's custom SEO techniques, each of these florists witnessed a 30% boost in sales.
Susan has a bachelor's degree in computer technology and is a trained floral designer from the University of Arizona. She is on the American Institute of Floral Designers board and has been cited in the New York Times and The Atlantic. She's taught computer science at Collins Community College as well as at several coding camps.
