HOW TO: 8 Ways to Use Your Executive Biography

As a basic brand and career communications plan for executive job search, I recommend starting with an executive resume, biography and Linkedin profile.

The need for a standout resume is obvious and, by now, most executives know they need a strong LinkedIn profile – even if only for passive job search, even if they don’t leverage all the networking features LinkedIn has to offer.

But sometimes my clients will ask, “Isn’t a resume enough? Why do I need a biography or any other documents?”

A great LinkedIn profile, which is essential in executive job search, is basically a great brand resume improved by using some of the candidate’s career biography.

So, in order to get to the LinkedIn profile, or other online profiles – such as Google Plus and Zoominfo – you have to develop content through career marketing documents – resume, biography, case studies, leadership initiatives, etc. A biography is just one chunk of content to draw from in your career marketing communications.

My clients often also ask me what they can do with their biographies. A bio comes into play in many ways, for job search and beyond. Here are 8 ways:

1. Use the Box.net Files application to add your biography (and resume and other career documents) to your LinkedIn profile. Once your documents are added, you can easily share the files with anyone. UPDATE (March 2014) — LinkedIn no longer supports Box.net. You can upload your biography and other files to your LinkedIn profile, using the “upload a file” buttons located at the top of the “Background”, “Experience” and/or “Education” sections.

2. Pull paragraphs, or brand bites, from your bio to use in email messages when you send your resume to recruiters and hiring decision makers at your target employers.

3. The “About” page on your blog or website, or your company’s website, is actually your bio. Remember that because most recruiters and hiring decision makers are searching online to source and assess top talent, they may see your bio (or About page) before they see your resume. It has to stand on its own as a career brand marketing document.

4. Your bio can become your Google profile, a good way to showcase a different perspective of your brand story online.

5. Your bio, instead of resume, may be the better first document to present to people when introducing yourself. A resume is an obvious job search tool. A bio is a more general career management tool. Because a bio allows you to better tell your brand story, it conveys personality and good-fit qualities better than a resume. It may work better at informational interviews and when you’re making new contacts, other than recruiters and employers’ hiring decision makers.

6. Bios are essential introductions for speaking engagements. When making a presentation or giving a speech, give your bio to the introducer ahead of time.

7. Encapsulate your full bio into a tidy one or two paragraph mini-bio to include when you guest blog, write articles or white papers, or publish anything online or offline.

8. Follow up networking events by sending your bio to people you’ve connected with. It’s less formal than your resume.

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