Q: Resume Innovators did an excellent job of capturing my personal brand in the resume you created for me. I have been reading a lot about professional biographies recently. If you have a great resume, do you need a bio too? ~ Victor L., Chicago, IL
A: In a nutshell Victor–yes! You need to have a professional biography in addition to your resume because each document is used for completely different purposes. When you formally apply to a job, you send your resume. It showcases your personal brand, highlights multiple achievements for each job, and places you in front of hiring managers for a specific job opening. Resumes also integrate a keyword optimization strategy. When you apply for jobs, keywords in your resume play a major role in how many candidate pools you get entered in and subsequently how many job interviews and jobs you land. Professional biographies are a one-page synopsis of what you offer and focus on a couple notable achievements from your career as a whole. Professional biographies are not keyword-driven like resumes are. They enable you to present your credentials in a meaningful way. Professional biographies are a critical piece of your portfolio because they allow your audience to quickly digest a brief narrative of your career in one page. They can also be used for consulting opportunities, ad-hoc engagements, or during networking opportunities like charitable events, social gatherings, industry conferences, tradeshows, affiliation and group meetings, and LinkedIn connections. Your resume and your professional bio will complement each other while allowing you the opportunity to get the most traction in a competitive job market.