If you are in mid- to upper-level management or a C-level executive actively job hunting, no doubt you’ve discovered the landscape a bit more challenging than years ago.
Most of my clients recognize they need two basic tools for today’s job search: 1) an impressive resume and 2) an up-to-date LinkedIn profile that is not a carbon copy of the resume.
My response to the question “Isn’t a resume and a LinkedIn enough?” is YES . . . BUT, because if you are looking for a competitive advantage a biography or “bio” may be just the ticket.
Bio Basics
A bio is a one-page utilitarian tool beneficial for job searching, online and in-person networking and much more. I consider it a “BEST OF” document containing highlights from the LinkedIn profile summary and the resume all bundled into a small one-page package.
Unlike a formal resume, a bio is designed to read like a story with a more conversational tone that allows your brand to shine through.
Meg Guiseppi of Executive Career Brand summed up the differences between a bio and a resume in her article HOW TO: 8 Ways to Use Your Executive Biography when she wrote
A resume is an obvious job search tool. A bio is a more general career management tool.
She is spot on.
Using a Bio to Your Advantage
SOUND BITES
Need some verbiage to help you craft an elevator speech for use during an interview? Looking for smart copy to include in an email when you send your resume? Cut and paste from your bio to ensure uniform branding and save yourself some legwork.
BLOG/WEBSITE FODDER
Include information from your bio in the “About Me” page of your website or blog, and even in your Twitter and Google+ feed if you have them!
This facilitates branding across everything that represents you online –critical in today’s world where recruiters and hiring managers often conduct online sleuthing before reaching out.
FACE-TO-FACE MARKETING COLLATERAL
Use your bio to introduce yourself in a networking situation or in an informational interview. The branding story will be more readily conveyed than with a resume and saves your reader time as one page is always faster to read than the likely two-page resume.
A Bio Sample at Work
Here’s how I extrapolated info from my bio to build the “About Me” page of my company website. https://virginiafrancoresumes.com/about-me/.
Note the tone is conversational and tells a story. While all industries do not accept this level of informality, the goal is to get the reader to feel they are hearing a story in your own voice.