For two years, Bernie, a beagle, languished on Petfinder, where shelters and rescue groups post online ads for pets. Because he wasn’t getting much interest, at the two-year mark the director of Hedgesville Hounds, a dog rescue group I volunteer with, asked whether I would consider rewriting his doggy bio. The bio had already been […]
Sample Business Bio Makeover: The After Version
When you write your online bio, you face a lot of decisions. The biggest decision relates to how you position yourself. That gets shaped by what you choose to say, how you choose to say it, and when you say it. The before version of Maria Horstmann’s business bio puzzled me. The first paragraph seemed […]
Sample Business Bio Makeover: The Before Version
You may think your business bio should be all about you. But, actually, your clients’ needs should be front and center when you write about yourself. A brief bio should not only make clear what results your clients will get, it should quickly get to the point. Remember, people who are shopping for a service […]
A Rant About Passivism
As William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White note in their book, The Elements of Style, the active voice is “more direct and vigorous” than the passive. “Use the active voice,” they command. They do not say, “The active voice should be used by you.” Do you hear how weak that sounds when you don’t know […]
How to Write a Winning Resumé
No one really teaches us how to write a resumé. Yet how we write them can make all the difference. Whether you’re gainfully employed at your dream job or still looking may depend on how you write your resumé. What’s on that piece of paper can either help you pop out of the pile or […]