Category Archives: Biographies & Resumes

Biographies & Resumes

Executive Biography Example: Shaune, Real Estate Associate

A native Floridian who was born and raised in Sarasota, Associate Director Shaune is an award-winning sales executive and community leader with a lengthy track record of real estate success.

A 15-year resident of Charlotte County, Shaune has an intimate knowledge of the area that informs her ability to perfectly match properties with clients, all while providing the utmost in discretion and confidentiality.

Full of optimism and perseverance, she has a special ability to discern what people want and need – which has given her a unique edge in conducting real estate transactions since receiving her license in 2002.

Shaune is constantly energized by the daily challenges her position provides and loves that every day is different. With a diplomatic edge,she handles difficult situations with grace and ease.

As an avid boater and fishing champion Shaune enjoys spending leisure time on the water. She adores her family, and treasures the company of her husband, son, daughter, step daughter and grandchildren – as well as her beloved dogs.

Biographies & Resumes

Biography Example: Lisa, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

Lisa Marie McDonald is an unapologetic entrepreneur, philanthropist extraordinaire, and lifelong animal advocate.

Business owner, world traveler, speaker, animal sanctuary founder and thought leader, her trove of accomplishments is as big as her heart.

As a jet-setting corporate consultant, Lisa was at the top of her field, helping some of the world’s biggest companies to boost their bottom line.

A MENSA member, she specialized in enterprise content management for corporate legal departments and law firms throughout the world.

But Lisa wanted more.

She wanted to turn her passion for love, kindness, and compassion into a business venture that would make the world a better place.

So, she and partner Joe Dinan started Sanctuary Brewing Company (SBC) in Hendersonville, NC, a one- of-a-kind, award-winning vegan microbrewery dedicated to good times, good deeds, and amazing beer.

Through SBC, McDonald is showing the world that philanthropy and profit can go hand-in-hand.

Lisa has lived all over the world, from Singapore to Australia to NYC; visited more than 20 national parks; and is an avid hiker, true crime watcher, scuba diver, and Ryan Adams fan.

Lisa’s love for animals, humans, and the planet is palpable.

She created a Kindness Wall at the brewery, where those in need can take seasonal clothing, umbrellas, and essentials bags filled with basic necessities.

She also offers free Sunday meals, and hosts Give Forward community days where people can get free haircuts, job placement assistance, and health checks.

In addition, in the three years since its opening SBC has raised more than $10,000 for environmental, social justice, and animal advocacy charities.

Under the umbrella of her Kindness Empire nonprofit, Sweet Bear Rescue Farm is Lisa’s latest venture, and she serves as caretaker to nearly 20 non-human residents including Charlotte the gregarious chicken, Paul and George the affectionate turkeys, and Ollie the cantankerous pig.

Singlehandedly, she’s helped dozens of individuals transition to a plant-based lifestyle, as well as transformed the entire community of Hendersonville, NC, into a vegan mecca (recently recognized as such by AAA Carolinas and Mountain Xpress) through monthly supper clubs, vegan grocery shopping trips, and documentary screenings.

Her unique story and the incredible change she’s helped to facilitate in her community and nationwide has drawn the attention of major influencers and publications from race car driver Leilani Munter to Paste magazine to actor Ricky Gervais.

Lisa is magnetic, fun-loving, hilarious — and as kind as they come.

Through her Kindness Empire, Lisa is bringing her sense of purpose and philanthropy to the rest of the world.

Biographies & Resumes

Biography Example: Amanda, Venue Manager

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Amanda’s love for music has been an integral part of her life since her first Raffi concert, when she took the stage to sing along to Baby Beluga.

With a knack for pulling off the logistics behind live performances, she’s built a professional career around insuring concerts and shows go off without a hitch. From Bon Jovi to Beyonce to Mariah Carey, she’s handled the biggest names and the largest crowds. From managing a two-stage bar in downtown Chicago to directing operations for a 15,000-seat theater, she knows her way around venues of all sizes, shapes and layouts.

Known affectionately as “Cucumber,” her cool-headedness under pressure is legendary. She can find a solution for an oversold show, get someone to fix a critical leak and calm an anxious artist, all before the lights go down.

She’s a master of her craft – a juggler, a leader, a negotiator. When a problem (any problem) arises, she’s the woman you want behind the curtain. Call her the Wizard of Oz of the live music industry.

 

Biographies & Resumes

Professional Biography Example: James, Artist

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Since his first crayon creation on the kitchen wall at the tender age of two, James has been a master of crafting works of art in unexpected places.

Raised in a creative family that was quick to encourage his offbeat inspirations, James grew up with a paintbrush in one hand a palette in the other. After a notable stint at art school, he’s gone on to paint everything from the side of a Bugatti to the outside wall of a Brooklyn dive bar to the ceiling of a church in Bogota. Commissioned by billionaires and nonprofits alike, his portfolio reads like an otherworldly rainbow.

James can transform the strangest of surfaces into jaw-dropping artwork. His creations are conversation pieces, eye-openers and mediums for intellectual discourse. Covering themes that range from pop culture to interpersonal relationships to musical theory, his creative concepts know no bounds. He is a master of the unusual and aesthetically astonishing.

 

Biographies & Resumes

Your bio is boring. Here’s why you should spice it up.

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Compelling content is everything these days. What better example than the epic success of Buzzfeed? Now the unofficial cool kids of the internet, they’re a crew that knows how to get people’s attention.

And let’s be real: holding people’s attention is harder than ever. This is a busy planet, plagued with ADD and a misguided obsession with multitasking.

One study suggests the average person’s attention span has dropped to eight seconds. EIGHT SECONDS. Goldfish can stay focused for nine.

So when entertainment and engagement are everything, why are biographies — our virtual first impressions — still so dull?

As content has gotten more innovative and more interesting, professional biographies (as a general rule) haven’t. Most are dry as a bone; a rote recital of a person’s accomplishments and job titles.

But these summaries are a crucial aspect of the professional world; a personal elevator pitch, and if yours is boring, you’ll lose your audience in an instant.

Bios should have intrigue and interest and flair. After reading it, a stranger should feel like they’ve gotten to know you; not pored through a list of your professional achievements but been offered a tantalizing teaser of WHO YOU ARE.

This doesn’t mean you need to downgrade to a 140 character social media-esque summary. It also doesn’t mean you need to craft a bio full of GIFs and Game of Thrones references. This isn’t about desperate attempts at attention.

This is about creativity and personality and spark. It is about the power of detail, wit and lightheartedness. It is about letting the real you shine through.

Here’s a fictional example (a woman you may have heard of):

Example One
Snow White is a results-oriented professional with extensive experience in the field of domestic management. With a background in the janitorial arts, she has a track record of success, achieving impressive results in the culinary, tailoring and animal husbandry fields. Previously she assisted in the operations of a small mining business and performed caretaking duties in a group home. She lives in the forest with seven dwarves and a pet bird.

Example Two
A lover of all living things with a knack for organization, Snow White is a charismatic leader and jill of many trades. She can charm a huntsman into submission, whip up a gourmet dinner for eight and clean an entire house from top to bottom, all in an afternoon. Her legendary exploits have included stints as keeper of creatures for an enchanted forest, manager of operations for a diamond mine and ruler of an entire kingdom. Known for her rosy outlook on life and passionate beliefs in justice and equality, she’s earned the nickname “fairest of them all.” Also an adventurous foodie, Snow will try anything once. Except apples. No apples.

Which chick would you rather know? Or work with?

When it comes to your bio, think about the things that matter. What are you passionate about? What are you most proud of? What are your personality characteristics? What occupies your Instagram feed? What makes you laugh? What do you stand for? The answers to those questions speak to who you are, and who you are (both personally and professionally) matters. No longer is professional you a separate entity from personal you. These days, they’re a dynamic duo.

Besides, it’s likely anyone can find out a lot about you via the almighty Google. Makes sense to put the best bits up front.

You’re interesting and capable and unique. Shouldn’t your bio be, too?

Click here to read this post on LinkedIn, and click here to check out more of my bio writing skills or hire me for biography writing projects extraordinaire.

Biographies & Resumes

Executive Biography Example: Jennifer, Entrepreneur

Check out an executive biography example below:

Call her a dot com diva, an internet guru or just plain Jenn – this travel industry phenom is one fierce female. Backed by two decades of industry know-how, thousands of site launches and dozens of ground-breaking digital campaigns, A gold Girl Scout Alum, Jennifer’s career is a shining example of foresight, innovation and fun.

For 20 years and counting, Jennifer has been bringing the tourism biz out of its digital infancy. Dubbed the “Harvard of Internet and Travel”, the “Dot Com Diva” and the “Gold Standard for Internet Marketing,” organizations and destinations continue to clamor for a shot at her shockingly accurate web prognostications. The social media explosion? She called it. The death of newspapers? She knew. The impact of booking engines? She saw it coming.

A true pioneer, this mom of three girls (one more on the way!) has few equals in her field of choice. She’s scored more than 100 travel marketing awards, held keynote speaker status for 80+ national and regional conferences – and boasts a small army of social followers, hanging on her every word. She’s been called on to wax poetic about travel & tourism by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, USA Today, Marketing y Medios, AdWeek, The Desert Sun, Spas & Resorts, and dozens of other publications.

A treatise to her unsurpassed speaking abilities, Jennifer once pitched a client in flip flops and sweats (lost bag). In her eval, they quipped, “”If Jennifer Barbee ran for Governor, we’d move to Texas”. Her electric presence inspires action, innovation and risk-taking – qualities that quite often dictate the success of a destination’s web efforts. A former ballerina – she knows how to work a stage.

Scoring her first patent in 2012 and celebrating her namesake agency’s five-year anniversary, Jennifer continues to break new ground – and build works of art in uncharted territories.