How to Write An Executive Bio: 2019 Edition

THERE’S NOTHING THAT UNITES THE WORKING POPULATION LIKE PEOPLE’S COLLECTIVE DISDAIN FOR WRITING THEIR OWN BIOS. TO MAKE THE PROCESS A LITTLE LESS PAINFUL, WE’RE OUTLINING THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE, OUR RECOMMENDED LENGTH AND A TEMPLATE TO GET YOU STARTED.

We can’t promise it’ll be fun, but we promise it’ll be easier than your last attempt — and will produce a stellar bio.

Include These Three Things

1. What You Do: Whether you’re the COO of a SaaS company, a seasoned entrepreneur helming three tech startups or a retired executive actively sitting on boards, your first sentence should always answer the question: What do you do and who do you do it for?

It sounds obvious, but in an effort to be clever and engaging, many bios lack a clear and concise statement that outlines what they do, leaving readers confused and distracted.

2. What You Believe: What you believe about the work you do is arguably the most interesting part of your bio. Since most bios read like running resumes, it will immediately differentiate you from the crowd. It also provides important insight into why you do the work you do and creates a human connection with your readers.

Robert Teed, VP of Real Estate & Workplace at ServiceNow, is a great example. His bio begins:

As ServiceNow’s Vice President of Real Estate and Workplace, Robert Teed is responsible for ServiceNow’s physical workplaces globally, a critical ingredient to both the employee experience and the company’s ability to grow and scale. In his work, Robert embraces two core ideas: 1) ServiceNow’s workplace is best understood as an employee experience, rather than a place; and 2) the employee experience is created, to a great extent, where the functions of Global Talent, Technology, and Workplace intersect in service of the employee.

3. More Than Just Past Roles: People often rely on their past job experiences to underline their credibility, but there are a whole host of things you’ve done that showcase your expertise and know-how. Have you been featured in publications? Include them. Won industry awards? Share them. Spoken at industry events? Tell us. For many, this is the most awkward part of drafting a bio. But these experiences all contribute to building your street cred, which is why you’re writing the bio to begin with. Include them.

How Many Words Are We Talking?
We recommend keeping your bio to 120–200 words.

Some people like to have a long and a short version, though we’ve found few practical use cases for the longer bios. Saying that, if you feel more comfortable having both, go for it. For the longer bio, try to keep it under 300 words.

Bio Template
To help get you started, here’s a draft bio template we use with clients. Don’t feel obligated to follow it exactly — you may find you need to include a few extra sentences or switch up the order to make the bio flow better. This template is just meant to help you get drafting.

Sentence One
This is where you want to tell people what you do and who you do it for.

Ex. [Your Name] is [Title] of [Company], a [Short Company Description]

Sentence Two
Next up, you want to share what you’re responsible for in your current role. Don’t assume everyone knows what it means to be CFO at a regulatory change consulting agency or the founder of a B-corp. This sentence helps deepen people’s understanding of your work.

Ex: She is responsible for [What You Do].

Sentence Three
As we shared with the Robert Teed example, this third sentence should outline your belief, passion and/or specific approach to your work. This not only helps people understand what you do, but why you do it. (For more on exploring your “why” story, check out Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why).

Ex: Mary believes…

Sentences Four — Eight
Finally, here is where you include past job experience showing your track record and education qualification as often people will connect better with people who may have attended their alma mater or a school they are familiar with.

Ex: Previously, [Name] was [Title] at [Company] and before that [Title] at [Company] where she began developing her passion for [Skill] or was part of the team that developed…

Ex. [Name] received her [Degree] from [School]

Bonus: Sentence Nine
If you’re wondering whether to conclude your bio with a sentence telling people where you live and that you love to hike — it’s entirely up to you. We believe those details can add humanness and accessibility and offer more points of connection with readers. With that said, many people (us included!) prefer to stick to sentences one — eight. The choice is yours.