For the professional world, social media has become a great way to communicate personality and establish credibility. Nevertheless, there will be times when we can’t update our online presence or may want a general ‘about me’ piece for newcomers. An up-to-date, concise and professional profile remains an integral part of your online presence.
It’s never easy to write about oneself. To write a professional profile, one must ask: How much information do I include? To what level of detail? How can I make it engaging, informative and personable?
This is the first in a series of posts dedicated to helping you write a professional profile. As with ‘Pivotal Writing Tips’, I’ll couch these thoughts within a short “before/after” analysis of some brief examples.
Don’t worry, I’ll be alternating between profiles and general writing tips in the future.
My goal is for you to produce a professional profile you can be proud of.
Let me know how I can help.
Compare this profile “before” and “after” I worked on it. Each number following a segment of writing refers to comments below.
(before) Brian C. Setzler, MBA, CPA, is the founder of TriLibrium, Oregon’s first and only triple-bottom line public accounting firm. Brian has been a CPA in Oregon for nearly 20 years and holds an MBA in Sustainable Business. (1) TriLibrium provides the tax, accounting and business advisory services you would expect from a traditional CPA firm while adding the knowledge and expertise to implement leading edge sustainable business practices, techniques, metrics, and strategies. (2) Learn more about Brian at The Green CPA. (3) 503-367-5631. brian@trilibrium.com
(after) Brian Setzler balances (4) more than just ‘the books’(5) at TriLibrium, Oregon’s first triple-bottom line public accounting firm. As a green CPA, Brian leverages 20 years of experience and an MBA in Sustainable Business to work for you and your company. Brian offers tested and trusted expertise to cultivate sustainable business practices for your planet, people and profit.(6) Find ideas on greening your business now (7) at Brian’s blog, The Green CPA. 503-367-5631. brian@trilibrium.com
- The first sentence must act like a headline to draw the reader in. Giving your name, position and company is valid, but it offers little incentive for the reader to continue.
- This attempt to differentiate Brian from his competitors is buried near the end of the profile. Like the headline, the benefit must me made clear to the reader early on.
- ‘Learn more about Brian…’ is a nice way to offer personality, but the immediate benefit is not obvious. (Don’t get me wrong, Brian is a model citizen.) Brian’s profile must make a compelling offer to intrigue the reader into learning more.
- Notice the absence of the verb ‘to be’. Instead, Brian ‘balances’, ‘leverages’, and ‘offers’; every word actively strengthens the idea that Brian is proficient and professional.
- “…balances more than just ‘the books’” establishes accounting imagery while hinting at the added value of a triple-bottom-line business.
- Emphasize Brian’s credibility as an expert and his Unique Selling Proposition while implicitly reinforcing the benefit of a triple-bottom-line business.
- Whereas ‘learning more about Brian’ may not pique interest, ‘finding ideas on greening your business now’ entices the reader with an immediately useful offer. It’s also a subtle call to action to get readers to take another step towards contacting Brian.
Do these tips spark any ideas of your own? What techniques have you used when writing your professional profile?
