Week 1- L1 Req- Professional BIO

Who Are You Professionally?

This is a simple Req: Write a short (200 words), professional biography.

It should include four elements (in whatever order you find appropriate):

1.  Establish your credentials: To prepare for writing your bio make a list of your formal and informal credentials Links to an external site.. These credentials serve as a function of building trust: why should someone trust and work with you?  This trust should be based on any formal or informal degrees, certificates, job titles, life experiences, etc.
2. Showcase your expertise:  your chance to show off.  Different from providing credentials, here is where you want to demonstrate that you are a leader in "x" because others have recognized you as such.  For now, this may be that you are an elected member/leader of a student organization, or have a quotation from an instructor which showcases your expertise/hard-work, or maybe you have received an award related to your professional life, or published a paper, or presented at a conference.  All of these are opportunities to showcase how you have applied your expertise and/or been recognized by others.
3. Highlight your niche:  What really "gets you going" about working in/with/around "x"?  Allow the above things to stand for themselves (you have, or are earning the credentials, you have been recognized by others for your work, etc.) and now move into what really gets you excited about your field/profession.  Make it unique, everyone is going to say that "...because 'x' is really important for 'y'", duh!  Try to find a blend of things about the profession that make you want to get out of bed in the morning.
4. Tell us a bit about yourself. In one sentence tell us what is the essence of your personal life.  Do you love to bike, cook, read?  What is the most essential bit of personal information about yourself that others need to know- whether it relates to your professional life or not, try to allow the reader to think, "Oh, cool, I do that too, we have something basic on common."

An example of a professional bio is my bio, which I included on the front page of this course site.