A colleague messaged me the other week asking me to look at her biography and CV. She was applying for a non-exec role and said it “just feels wrong.” I could see exactly what she meant. It was detailed, accurate, but just didn’t capture what made her the right person for that role.
It’s something we all struggle with. We know our own value, but translating decades of experience into a compelling story is surprisingly difficult, even for those of us who communicate for a living.
It doesn’t help that in school, we were taught to write CVs as detailed, chronological, documents. And so when we’re writing our bio, we often try to edit our CV into paragraph form. We’re left with a document that has no personality or story, and fails to show the reader why they should care.
When I work with people on their biographies and CVs, the same patterns emerge. They’ve listed responsibilities instead of demonstrating impact, and included everything, but diluted what’s distinctive.
What makes for an effective biography and CV?
The biographies and CVs that lead to offers tend to share certain characteristics:
- They answer the reader’s questions immediately. For a leadership or board role: what specific and unique expertise and strategic thinking will they bring? What change are they working towards? For speaking engagements: why is this person’s perspective worth 45 minutes of our time?
- They demonstrate impact, not just experience. “Turned around a failing charity by rebuilding trust with stakeholders and putting in place new governance structures” tells a board something useful. “Extensive management experience” tells them very little.
- They sound like the person who wrote them. This matters more than we think. Your biography is often someone’s first encounter with how you think and communicate. If it sounds generic or overly formal, that’s the impression you’re creating.
- They overcome the humility trap. I see many talented leaders – particularly women – hedge their expertise. They use language like, ‘helped to contribute to’ instead of ‘led’; ‘some experience in’ instead of ‘expert in’. Your bio/CV doesn’t need to be boastful but it should genuinely reflect what you’ve accomplished, your skills and knowledge.
Before writing anything, it helps to ask yourself: what decision is this biography helping someone make? Then lead with your most relevant expertise for that specific audience and topic. It sounds obvious, but we often fail to make those connections because we’re so close to the subject matter.
Practical tips for writing your CV or biography
If you’re reworking your biography, these tips may help:
1. What size should it be? People often ask for a particular word count, but if not, aim for around100-200 for a short bio; 500 words for a more detailed one. Your CV should ideally be two A4 pages (two sides of A4 paper).
2. Think about the reader first. What’s in it for them if they choose to work with you, to invite you onto their board, to put you in front of their audience? Why should they care? Why would people want to hear you speak – what particular slant on the world, hard-won insight, unusual combination of experiences do you offer that will genuinely benefit them?
3. Say why you care. Why does this work matter to you, what change are you trying to create?
4. Write like a human. Avoid jargon – if you wouldn’t say it in conversation, don’t write it in your biography. “Passionate about leveraging synergies” never convinced anyone.
5. Use evidence and examples where you can. What have people said about you as a leader? What feedback have you had from presentations and talks that show how you connect with an audience? What examples could you share that show how you’ve made a difference to an organisation? What was notable about the way you led? What impact did this have? What was it about your leadership style that may have contributed to this?
6. Be specific about your impact and avoid jargon. “Increased youth engagement by 40%” tells the reader more than “improved engagement metrics.”
7. Once you have a draft, read it out loud. Does it sound like you? Could you imagine actually saying these things to someone, in that way? Does it sound human or a bit jargony? If not, think about the words or sentences that you’re tripping over – how can you make them sound more natural? A rule of thumb for clear, authentic communication is to ‘write how you speak’.
8. Be prepared to recreate your bio (and your CV) for different purposes. Tailoring your bio/CV to each role/context is more effective than sending out generic material where you’re expecting the reader to pick out the areas that are relevant to them. In any communication with any reader, they need to know, ‘what’s in it for me?’
Some of us find it impossible to write about ourselves with confidence – we’re too close to our own story, or we genuinely struggle with self-promotion.
I’ve recently started offering biography and CV (and lifestory) writing as a service because I kept seeing brilliant people underselling themselves or spending hours wrestling with something that someone else could capture more clearly. But whether you work with me, with someone else, or tackle it yourself, the investment matters. Your biography is often the first impression someone has of you professionally.
Do you have experience of reviewing biographies for leadership roles, board appointments or speaking events? I’d be interested to hear if you receive bios/CVs that you know could be better communicated. What makes a bio/CV stand out to you?
+++++++++ 💬 I help individuals and organisations to communicate their value and grow their impact. Services include copy/writing and editing, communications and storytelling, fundraising and evaluation. I specialise in working with music and arts organisations working in education, wellbeing and social purpose but also work beyond this, for example in international development. 💬
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