Writing About Yourself
Our Top 5 Must Dos
Originally posted on the Strikingly Blog.
Knowing how to write about yourself is a vital but underestimated skill. It doesn’t matter if you’re composing a cover letter, a Twitter bio, or an online dating profile- the objective is the same. If you want to nab that interview, get that first date, or build an online following, you have to show people that you’re worth their time. It is tough to strike that balance between selling your accomplishments and coming off as self-involved. However, there are five things you can do to stand out and capture your audience’s attention.
1. Be Specific When Writing About Yourself
Your accomplishments are the bones of your narrative. In a resume, generic words like “assistant” and “work” are signals to recruiters that you don’t know exactly what the value of your work was, or worse, that you didn’t do much of anything. Don’t undersell yourself. Think in terms of projects — things you created, changed, or completed — rather than day-to-day duties.
Distill your experience into single-line items, arranged for maximum impact. Use verbs: what did you design, develop, implement? Use numbers to make clear the scope of your responsibilities. If you oversaw people or accounts or clients, say how many. Use action words, use specific metrics, and use specific, concrete language.
2. Build a Clear Narrative
Get rid of the clutter. You need to tell your story in a succinct and clear manner. People shouldn’t have to dig deep to be able to piece together who you are. Create a narrative that links your experiences together. How do your past experiences connect to what you’re pursuing right now? What were your key milestones? What’s your unique “selling” point? After you’ve finished building your narrative, do a run through and check that your story makes sense. One example of a well-executed narrative can be seen on Strikingly user and design student Andre Tacuyan’s portfolio website here.
3. Let Your Passions Shine Through
Your hobbies and interests fill in the gaps not covered by professional experience. They can make a more lasting impression, and help you stand out. That said, listing hobbies on a resume is tricky, and opinion is strongly divided on whether you should do it or not.
On the other hand, a personal site is the perfect place to include them. A web presence can streamline your narrative by showing your professional accomplishments while giving you a place to incorporate pictures and videos of your non-work-related endeavors. Make sure that the activities you include highlight the interests that you’re most passionate about. They should demonstrate initiative, creativity, and open-mindedness.
4. Build an Online Presence
After you build your narrative, it’s time to promote it. There are many ways to increase your online visibility and a plethora of online platforms to do so, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Slideshare. However, we recommend blogging as a way to iterate your professional and personal narrative.
Keeping a blog is a great way to demonstrate your writing ability, your creativity, and your critical thinking skills- not to mention, it’s a great way to practice writing about yourself and your opinions. The key is consistency. Nobody expects you to post several times a day — after all, you do need to go live that life that you’re writing about. Start with one or two posts a week. It’s about the quality of your posts, not the quantity.
5. Make Yourself Stand Out
Create a knockout web presence that incorporates everything from your LinkedIn profile to your social media accounts and personal blog. Don’t scatter yourself all over the net. Build a one-stop website devoted to telling your story and selling your skills. A sleek, visually elegant website can be easily built, even without coding knowledge.
Build your own website on Strikingly or learn more about personal branding here.
