You want to showcase your professional identity, and you need to see some of the best short professional bio examples to help you get started. We share a collection of short bio examples along with writing tips for boosting your visibility.
The Best Short Professional Bio Examples
Let’s review some examples to help give you an idea of what you could write for your own professional bio.
Professional Bio Examples on Business Websites
Our first professional bio example comes from Niche Pursuits founder, Spencer Haws. His bio shows how you can remain professional while still sharing your professional and personal backgrounds that led you to where you are today.
In the below example, freelance copywriter Dave Harland shows us how you can incorporate your personality and display your communication skills in your professional bio. He takes a more personal approach, sharing stories from his childhood to explain how he got to where he is today. Your professional bio online doesn’t have to be boring!
Adding a review into your professional bio shows proof of your professional skills, and this next example illustrates that perfectly. Mel Wicks is one of the certified content marketers on an agency website, and she provides proof of her work right in her bio. Her creative idea of including a review in her bio helps boost her credibility.
Short Bio Examples on LinkedIn
This short bio example comes from Lia Haberman‘s LinkedIn profile.
Published in her About section, this professional bio example shows how you can format it for readability. Her professional bio shares her accomplishments without feeling like she’s bragging. You gain a better understanding of her professional experience, accomplishments, and other projects she’s working on now.
The below example from ghostwriter Jennifer Locke shows us how to write specifically for potential clients. Her professional bio is succinct, simply formatted, and directly tells clients what she can offer them. If you’re looking to attract new clients, this is a great bio example to reference.
If you’re looking to write a short professional bio for your LinkedIn headline, this next example will help give you inspiration.
Writer Paul McDougal shows how you can share your expertise in a very short amount of space. His professional bio quickly tells his target audience that he can perform for them in areas where they can’t themselves.
After learning the importance of having a professional LinkedIn profile, these professional bio examples can help you improve your presence on the platform.
Third-Person Professional Bio Examples
This third-person bio example shows us how you create a more professional appearance through your bio’s writing style.
Nikita W. is the founder and CEO of her creative agency. Her professional bio is written in third-person and gives a more formal and prestigious impression.
This next example is from agency CEO Andy Atkins. He shows us how to write a very short bio that quickly communicates everything your target audience needs to know.
Notice how both examples written in the third person are for CEOs. This further underlines the more prestigious appearance that third-person writing provides. Understanding first person vs third person point of view will help you write the best bio for yourself.
How to Write Your Own Short Professional Bio
We dive into a few tips for writing your own professional bio below.
Evaluate Where You’re Going to Post Your Professional Bio
Before you start writing, remember where your professional bio is going to be published.
Here are a few places where your professional bios could be published:
- The headline and About section of your LinkedIn profile
- The About page of your portfolio website
- At the top of your resume
- On a company website
- The About page of your personal website.
The writing style for each of these platforms is going to be different. You might even write different short professional bios for each one. For example, your Twitter bio is going to read a lot differently than your bio on your personal website.
Knowing where your professional bios are going to be published will help you write the best one for each platform.
Determine the Goal of Your Professional Bio
Ask yourself why you’re writing your own bio.
Knowing the goal of your professional bio will help you write a bio that’s optimized for your target audience.
A few potential goals you could be trying to achieve with your professional bio include:
- Summarizing your professional journey, including your educational background and relevant achievements.
- Growing your LinkedIn presence.
- Sharing the services you provide your clients.
- Showing off your proven track record of success to impress a potential employer.
Check out these LinkedIn carousel examples to see how influencers, freelancers, and other solopreneurs present themselves to their intended audience on LinkedIn in their professional bios.
Decide Between First-Person and Third-Person
Before you begin writing, decide between the first or third-person writing styles.
Firstly, remember where you’re publishing your personal bio. You already determined this in the previous step. Is it a more formal or informal platform?
If you’re writing your bio for LinkedIn or another social media platform, a more informal approach would probably be acceptable. A LinkedIn bio or Twitter bio would be best suited for first-person writing.
If you’re writing a formal short bio that will be published on a company website, third-person writing would probably work best. When looking at the professional website for a large corporation, you’ll commonly see executive bios written in the third person.
Examples of First and Third-Person Writing for A Professional Bio
First-person writing includes “I” and “me” statements. Third-person writing involves referring to yourself by name.
Here’s an example of first-person writing:
- “I am a social media marketer who specializes in video content creation.”
This is what third-person writing looks like:
- “Katie is a social media marketer who specializes in video content creation.”
Deciding between first or third-person will impact the tone of your professional bio. Consider whether you want to appear more professional or approachable.
Start With Your Name and Current Position
Start by introducing yourself and establishing where you currently are in your professional life.
State your name and job title in the first sentence of your bio.
If you’re not currently employed, you can list your most recent position or a brief description of your experience. If you’re a recent graduate, you can list the degree you graduated with.
Here are a few examples of what the first sentence of a good bio could look like:
- “My name is Katie, and I’m a copywriter for an award-winning marketing agency.”
- “I recently graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in computer science.”
- “My name is Katie, and I’m a marketing specialist with more than eight years of experience in the B2C space.”
Additionally, if you need help to write a short professional bio, an AI writing tool like Jasper can be helpful. It will provide you with a professional bio template that prompts you to fill in your details and produces a well-written bio for you. Read our full Jasper AI review to learn how it can help you in your job search.
Describe Your Previous Experience
After introducing yourself in the opening sentence, describe your professional background and other relevant details about your professional identity.
Your short professional bio should tell the story of your professional experience.
When describing your previous experience in professional bios, here are a few pieces of information you could include:
- Any relevant job title you previously held
- Key points from the previous job description that match your skills
- Relevant keywords that relate to your experience
- How these experiences have prepared you for where you are today
Knowing the best skills to put on LinkedIn will help you write a bio that showcases all of your experience.
Here is a bio example or two of how to include this information when writing short professional bios:
- “During my time as a graphic designer for an award-winning marketing agency, I exercised my strong teamwork skills when I collaborated with other agency members to create the best possible designs for our clients.”
- “I developed my strong interpersonal skills during my time as an executive assistant for the CEO, where I organized documents, fielded phone calls, coordinated complicated travel plans, and more.”
Tell the story of how you gained experience, the skills you’ve acquired, and your proven track record of performance. This will show future employers what you can do for them.
When you write a professional bio, show proof of your professional skills by sharing your significant accomplishments with your audience. This can include awards you’ve received, certificates you’ve earned, and other forms of recognition. Additionally, remember that professional accomplishments are not limited to formal awards.
For example, if you’re a freelance writer, share what you’ve achieved with your writing. Are your articles ranking on the first page of Google? If yes, that’s a professional accomplishment that deserves to be shared.
As a social media marketer, have any of your posts gone viral? If so, share the story of your creative writing of the post, along with performance data.
Here are a few professional bio templates you can reference:
- “In my role as a social media specialist, I’m actively involved in writing a variety of engaging posts. One particular post received more than 200,000 likes and a subsequent increase in followers of more than 10,000.”
- “As a content marketer, I write engaging articles with an emphasis on SEO. My marketing strategies result in articles consistently ranking on the first page of Google for specific keyword phrases.”
- “As a website designer for a marketing agency, I designed a client website that received an award for excellence in design.”
Sharing the way your key skills have benefited your previous company will show what you can do for future employers.
Showcase Your Personality
Ultimately, your short professional bio should reflect your authentic personality.
Recruiters read so many resumes every day, and adding a personal touch can help make your writing stand out.
When you write a professional bio, use your authentic voice.
If you have a more humorous personality, show that in your writing. If you’re more soft-spoken, your writing should reflect that. Make sure your writing sounds like you. You don’t want to present one way in your short bio when you really have a different personality.
Only include the details that add to your personal brand. You don’t want to add details to fluff up your writing and make it a long professional bio. As always, use your best judgment.
Share Your Hobbies
One way to show personality and write a good bio is by sharing personal details like your hobbies.
This is where you could share any notable hobbies you enjoy in your spare time. Details like this can add to your professional brand, not take away from it. When done correctly, it could also potentially make you more memorable.
Additionally, even though it might not seem like it, sharing your personal interests can actually showcase relevant skills you have to potential employers.
Here are a couple of examples of how to add personal details, like what you like to do in your spare time, to your professional bio:
- “In my free time, I thoroughly enjoy being in nature as I zoom through the trees on my mountain bike. This physically demanding pastime has further helped me develop my perseverance and problem-solving skills while I prioritize my physical health. This adventurous time away from my work helps me return to it more focused and energized for the task at hand.”
- “When I’m not writing creative copy for my clients, I switch the pen out for a paintbrush. I love painting with watercolors in my spare time because it allows me to be vulnerable as I develop a new skill. I enjoy expressing my creative energy in a different medium.”
The above examples show how you can describe your own employee development and add personal flair while talking about the things you like to do in your free time. You can escape marketing mediocrity for your personal brand by adding a personal touch to your short bio.
Writing Your Best Short Professional Bio
Whether you’re updating your professional bio on LinkedIn or writing a summary for your resume, we hope these short professional bio examples have helped you feel more confident in writing your own!