How to Write a Bio for a Job You Made Up

Your bio is probably a pretty dry list of facts and dates. In this article, I’ll show you how to surpass the average biography by writing about your experience with specific SCENES that illustrate your past.

Sharing your history with short stories is more memorable and more fun. The more people that can remember what you’re about, the more likely those people will be to send you the right connections. This isn’t a vanity exercise. You will learn how to use the art of writing to get the right connections to come to you.

#1 BRAINSTORM 10+ SCENES FOR YOUR BIO

These are the moments that made you the human that you are today. Look for big wins, big losses, turning points, and surprises to write down.

A moment from your childhood that inspired your life’s purpose.
A professional experience that influenced you greatly.
An award or a certificate or some sort of education that shows why you're on your path today?
Was there a turning point, a low point, or a death, that pointed you to your life’s purpose?
What was the moment you discovered your superpower.
Peak experiences using your super power.
The moment when a teacher or mentor inspired who you are today.

#2 HOW TO PICK YOUR BEST SCENES

You are the editor of your life’s movie and not every scene will make it into the final cut. Pick about five scenes to write out a sentence or three about. These are going to become those small paragraphs in your bio. These are the moments in your life that add up to where you are now.

Here are some guidelines for how to narrow down which scenes you want to include in your biography.

Choose scenes that are evocative–they produce an emotional response in your reader. So anything that's mainstream or obvious or administrative, feel free to drop that and look for the moments that are going to evoke emotion in your reader.
Look for moments that preview your future by showing where you picked up the skills and contacts to do what you’re doing now. A history of jobs that looks random will make sense if you illustrate the moments that add up to who you became.
Pick moments with outside context. Outside context is something that someone who isn’t in your industry would understand. When strangers read your biography, they're trying to place you within their understanding of the universe. You need to give them some context clues of where you belong in the universe. Are you someone who does a really specialty thing with a small amount of people? Or are you somebody who's known nationally?
Examples of context in a scene:

Mentioned in press or number of press impressions
Celebrity who attended your event or was a client
Won an award
Well-known local client who recommends you
How long you’ve practiced for / how long ago you started
How many clients you’ve served or attended your events
Social media followers or newsletter subscribers (if over 10K)

#3 GO WRITING GO!

Write one to three sentences about each scene. Put your favorites scenes into your biography in reverse chronological order (if your more recent scenes are the most interesting). Then ask a couple of colleagues to review your draft. Make sure to ask people outside your field if they can understand your scenes.