Who Are You?
Robert JanelleAlmost every freelancer needs some kind of written biography, a small piece that’s shorter than a resume but is more engaging to read. It provides potential clients with not only an idea of what you do, but who you are. The last part is probably what makes bio writing so difficult.
I’ve written dozens of profiles of people, places and businesses, but as soon as I sit down to write about myself, I’m faced with the dreaded “white screen syndrome.”
I’m not sure what it is; am I worried that I’ll seem egotistical if I play myself up too much? Will I seem boring if I try to remain too objective? And of course, the possibility of inserting a little too much of my personality.
While pondering this, I did come up with a few ideas to make the process easier.
- Mind Map Yourself
I’m a big fan of mind map when it comes to brainstorming. Grab a blank piece of paper, writer your name in the middle or draw yourself. Then draw lines leading out to words that describe you. Everything goes here, the things you do, random adjectives, accomplishments. Branch with more from those and draw links between them. This should leave you with a pretty inspirational basis for writing a concise piece about who you are and what you do. - Interview Yourself
This one might seem a little crazier, but hear me out. When I’m writing about another person, I sit down and ask questions – often those answers lead to more questions until I’ve got a pretty good picture of the person I’ve been talking to. Then I take those notes and write it up into something easily digestible.So, the same process should work on you. What kind of questions would you expect a potential client to ask? Answer them. Then ponder the follow-up questions and answer those.
Once that process is complete, take the notes and write up an article about the person you just interviewed. Bang: the bio is done!
The biography is probably one of the most basic elements in a portfolio (what kind of website or blog doesn’t have an “about” page?) but can be one of the difficult. To this day, I still haven’t written one I’m 100% happy with. But hopefully with some different perspectives, it can be easier.
rayk
October 14th, 2007
Nice ideas, I think I will try them the next time I re do my about page (haha, it will be the 4th time I change it).
I usually look at other peoples about pages for ideas on how to structure mine, otherwise I have a mental blank.
miwkawi
October 14th, 2007
So true, i’m also not very happy with the about page in my blog an change it very often. I’ll definately try those tips!
collis
October 14th, 2007
I’m never happy with my bios! I have a different one on every eden site
Somehow they always sound like I’m tooting my own horn, but I suppose that’s what it is. argh. Will have to try out these two ideas!
Louisa Nicholson
October 14th, 2007
Very true, I can’t count how many I’ve written and I still can’t get it down right. Good tip though: give that “mind map” sheet of paper to someone else and let them write it. Sometimes what I think is important to myself isn’t to other people - so why not let someone else deem what they think is important to know?
Tosin Matti
October 14th, 2007
Really good article I also have a hard time writing about myself. This article reminded me that I need to work on my bio page again.
Martin Petrov
October 14th, 2007
I don’t find it hard to write something like that anymore. Sure, I thought about it a lot lately, but I got it… It’s easier to draw a short general conclusion about yourself if you really know what are you doing, what are you going for and why are you here at all. This is the answer to the Who Are You? question… Of course you may not have such a bright and clear idea of your whole existence, but I think it comes natural to connect what you’re doing with who you are. It’s important to really love your job and don’t look at it just as something you do to survive and secondly as something you like… It’s like music.
But don’t forget to rewrite as you improve yourself one way or another all the time. Have fun 
Panayiotis Papadopoulos
October 14th, 2007
I think LinkedIn is a good way to make a well structured CV (plus you can simply send the public profile someone)
finnix
October 14th, 2007
I’ve been trying to write a short bio for the past 5 years… still, nothing
Jan
October 14th, 2007
An important topic. Many people think its enaugh to write down their skills or (even worse) their programs (”I’m using: Photoshop, Illustrator… I can: HTML, CSS, PHP…”). In my opinion this says nothing about yourself. Your projects should talk about your skills.
I also saw some pretty entertaining “abouts” which contained things like hobbies and favourite music but almost nothing related to their job.
A good mix between both should be the aim.
Kevin M. Scarbrough
October 14th, 2007
I find it best to really think about who you are and what you do. Spend a few days in your own skin and really observe your daily routine, how you talk with people (clients, friends, family). Watch yourself as if you have an amazing physical perspective about someone else, and it’ll come a bit easier.
I also recommend writing in first person, third person bios tend to come off as more wooden. If you really can’t think of something to say about yourself, get your friends to talk about you and put their quotes on the page.
Emotion
October 14th, 2007
This is a great article, thanks for sharing. Of course we all need like our own biography, but it’s always better when someone else writes about you.
Klaus Wiedemann
October 14th, 2007
I think the article missed one extremely important point: who is the target audience? What kind of service am I trying to sell to this audience?
Most CVs I have seen can be looked at in different lights, depending on what your current focus is.
Myelf, I have a strong background both in computer science and finance, I was working for large banks, for Venture Capitalists Cs and I am helping hightech companies with business consulting next to my software product business. Well, might sound a little bit too much at first glance. BUT: Depending on the consulting business I try to win, I focus more on one over the other aspect, given the required skills.
Usually, the sole purpose of a CV or bio is to demonstate competence, relevant expertise and a track record. And, you need to hit the selling point: what is the customer looking for? Creativity? Project management? IT skills? If you are a web designer, chances are that you can write three completly different CVs about yourself, each stressing a different aspect and neglecting the others.
Whenver I pitch for a project, I try to find out upfront what are the main aspects the potential customer is looking for, and try to elaborate on these.
Tuan Nguyen
October 14th, 2007
I just wrote mine, in a short and sweet method.
Robert Dewell
October 15th, 2007
nice idea - i defiantly need to improve my biog…
anyone got any good interview questions i can ask myself?
alexu
October 15th, 2007
Btw, creating MindMaps online is super easy now days.
My favorite ones are
- Mappio, sample map: http://mappio.com/mindmap/rickny/social-bookmarks
- Mindomo, sample map: http://www.mindomo.com/view?m=57885d9859e13b331edfdfac56e1b859
on Mappio you can just type your name, interview answers and it will generate map/image right away