The personal biography is becoming as common as a resume and cover letter in today's job search. The aim of a personal biography is to complement a resume and brand yourself. While a resume highlights the experience a job seeker has, the personal biography describes their values and who they are. In today's job market packed full of competitors, the biography can give an applicant a leg up by
. distinguishing them from the mob.Not only of use in the job-hunting process, the personal biography serves as a tool of introduction to colleagues, constituents, readers and students"in general anyone who is served by or consumes the subject's work. The process of writing a personal biography requires the writer to consider their audience, ensure the biography is brief and highlight important achievements in a creative, personal style.First, the writer should decide on the target audience for their biography. A training professional might supply their trainees with a personal biography as a method of introduction. A blog writer may wish to provide an " About Me" page to sum up their philosophy. In either case, the audience should be considered and content geared toward the readers.Second, keep the personal biography short and to the point. No matter how much space is available, the target audience will be encouraged to read by the prospect of brevity.In terms of content, the writer should include information that spans their life, but devote more space to personally relevant and current events. Subjects to touch upon include recent accomplishments, favorite activities, family and any other unique qualities that are of central importance in the writer's life.The personal biography should be written in a positive tone with creativity. Part of the utility of the personal biography is self-branding, so it should be written to reflect the personality of the writer.To make the process easier, several personal biography templates can be found online. At http://www.squidoo.com/howtowritebio, Squidoo provides some ideas and structure for a personal biography and a fill-in-the-blank template to use to get started. Another template from meaningfulmethods.com is located at http://meaningfulmethods.wikispaces.com/file/view/Professional+Biography+Template.pdf. More reference links: http://meaningfulmethods.wikispaces.com/file/view/Professional+Biography+Template.pdf http://www.squidoo.com/howtowritebio
