How to write a short professional bio (with examples)

You know exactly how to curate your personal social media accounts: posting about the succulents you got at the farmer’s market, last night’s five-star street tacos and outings with friends and family. 

Your social media bio probably sums up your personality with a quippy one-liner and a well-placed emoji or two. Maybe your personal bio even mentions your profession. But when it comes time to write a work-focused bio, it’s easy to feel stuck. 

Whether you’re an up-and-coming performing artist, the face of your company’s sales department or the city’s newest Mexican food truck proprietor, your career aspirations will likely benefit from learning how to show the world your professional side. 

Our crash course on how to write a bio for work will help clear your writer’s block and show you why social media is essential to your professional pursuits – especially for entrepreneurs. Save the Britney Spears lyrics for your personal account: it’s time to learn how to showcase your professionalism in a social media bio. 

Leveraging social media in the business world

Social media isn’t just about having fun. Work requires you to be social too. LinkedIn may be the go-to professional social network, but platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are also valuable for networking, marketing and recruiting. 

Whether you’re looking for a new job or launching your first company, do a holistic assessment of your professional presence on social media. If you don’t think your personal account is professional enough for a future employer to see, set this account to private and create a new one that’s more focused on your work. If you’re a performing artist, include audio or video clips. If you’re a graphic designer, think of your social media profiles as portfolios. 

Potential employers from all over the world can find your public social media profile. If you’re actively searching for a job, recruiters or HR departments may take a peek at all your accounts – not just LinkedIn. So set yourself up for success with a professional profile picture and articulate bio to prove you’re someone they’ll want to work with. 

Key elements of a professional bio

Before we demonstrate how to write a professional description, let’s explore what your bio should include. Understanding the most critical elements will enable you to make the most of this space – even if you’re working within tight character limits. Here’s what a solid professional bio should include:

• Areas of expertise: You’re in marketing, but what sets your work apart? Tell us about your specialized skills as a content marketer, for example, and get as specific as possible. Include your job title, years of experience, degrees, majors, and concentrations.
• Where you work: If you’re not actively looking for a job, include the name of your current work in your bio. Flex a little to let followers know you work for a renowned or innovative company. If you’re an entrepreneur, including the name of your business is a must.
• Links: Bios don’t give you much real estate to work with, but you can maximize the space by including a link to your personal website, podcast, or portfolio. If you have multiple sites to send visitors to, consolidate them into a Linktree URL.
• What drives you: Let the reader know why you’re in this line of work. If you’ve just started your food truck, tell the audience in just a few words why you did so. You can also add descriptors about how you work, which will help readers know what sets your skills apart.

Get inspired with professional bio examples

Now comes the hard part: writing a bio that fits within each social media platform’s unique character limit. 

Below are three examples for platforms such as LinkedIn, where writing about yourself in the third person is the norm. We’ll also show you how you might modify what you write for your LinkedIn profile to fit within the character counts imposed on Instagram and Twitter bios. You’ll notice the perspective shift to first person for sites such as Instagram. 

If you’re drawing a blank, try using one of our examples as a professional bio template, switching out key details to make it your own. 

The creative 

LinkedIn: Gabriela Smith is an award-winning novelist whose works have been translated into several languages, with novel excerpts appearing in prestigious international literary magazines. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and three artist residencies, Gabriela received her Bachelor of Arts from Yale in 2012 and has since been transforming her family history into experimental texts. 

Instagram: Novelist, storyteller, Guggenheim Fellow. Yale 2012.  

The non-profit employee 

LinkedIn: John Lee works hard to bring better educational and extracurricular opportunities to children in his community. He received his Doctorate in Education from Northeastern. John’s specialized knowledge in nutrition in educational spaces led him to co-found a wellness organization in his hometown of New York City. 

Instagram: Educator, dreamer, non-profit founder. Northeastern ‘06. Community is everything. 

The CEO 

LinkedIn: Alex Foster received an MBA from Harvard in 2008 and founded a tech startup dedicated to helping cities implement cleaner mass transportation solutions. He spends his free time writing blogs and op-eds about future-forward energy solutions. Read his latest piece at the following link. [Linktree URL]

Instagram: Humanitarian CEO and blogger working for a better future. Harvard MBA 2008. Check out my projects here [Linktree URL]. 

Tips for creating a professional profile on social media

You’ve read our bio examples and penned one of your own. All that’s left is posting it to your account. But before you take it public, give your profile a quick review to ensure it’s ready for recruiters, potential clients and investors – you never get a second chance at a first impression. Here are a few last-minute tips for polishing your professional social media presence:  

• Make sure all your posts align with the values of the companies you’d like to work for or the organizations you’re involved with. 
• Don’t archive posts that showcase your personality. Just make sure they’re safe for work. 
• Include a work-related hashtag in your bio that could help an employer find you in a search. 
• Make sure your account is public. 
• If you have a separate business account, include contact information so potential clients or employers can reach out.