Bio examples: short, professional, and by trade
A bio is read by someone deciding whether to trust a person. That is a different job from a company About page, and it is why the usual advice — be authentic, tell your story — produces so many bios that say nothing. The decisions that actually matter are smaller and more concrete: third person or first, how long, and which single detail earns its place.
The eight below are the common shapes. Each one says when it is the right shape to use. If your trade is on the list further down, use that version instead: a therapist’s bio and a roofer’s bio are doing different work, and the profession pages are written for that.
Third person, professional
[Full name] is [a/an] [role] based in [your town], with [number] years working on [the two or three things you actually do]. [First name] works mainly with [who your clients are], and is known for [the specific thing you do better than the alternatives].
The default for a team page, a directory, or a speaker profile.
First person, warm
I am [first name], [a/an] [role] in [your town]. I mostly work on [what you do]. The part I care most about is [the specific standard you hold] — it is the bit people notice later, long after they have forgotten what I charged.
Use it on your own site, where sounding like a person beats sounding like a CV.
One line
[Role] in [your town], [your credential] — [the two things you do most].
For an email signature, a directory entry, or a profile with a character limit.
Credential-led
[Full name] — [licensed/certified/registered] [role]. [What that credential actually covers, in one sentence.] [Number] years in practice, focused on [your main service]. References and licence details on request.
Use it where a licence or registration is what earns the first meeting.
Short bio, under 50 words
[First name] has been [a/an] [role] for [number] years, working mostly on [your main service] for [who your clients are]. [He/She/They] [one true, small, human detail]. Based in [your town].
The length most forms actually want.
Specialist
I am [a/an] [role] who does one thing properly: [your single service]. I could do everything on the list, and for years I did. Now I do this, and I do it better than I did when I was doing all of it.
Use it if you have deliberately narrowed. It reads as confidence, not limitation.
Why I do this
I became [a/an] [role] because [the real reason — keep it short and true]. [Number] years on, the thing that still gets me is [the part of the work you actually like]. I work with [who your clients are], mostly on [your main service].
Only if your reason is genuine and specific. Skip it if it is not.
Founder bio, sitting inside a wider About page
[Full name] founded [business name] in [year] after [number] years working for [someone else]. The reason was simple: [the thing that was normally done badly] was the norm, and it did not need to be. [First name] still does the work — the business has stayed the size it has precisely so that remains true.
It should not repeat the page around it.
Written for your trade instead
The examples above are the shapes. These are the same page written from what each trade’s customers actually check before they get in touch.
Trades
Health & wellness
Professional services
Creative
Home & property
Common questions
Should a bio be first person or third person?
Third person on anything that reads like a listing — a team page, a directory, a conference programme — because that is the register readers expect there and first person looks odd next to colleagues written in third. First person everywhere you control the page, especially a solo practice, because "I" is the whole advantage a one-person business has over a firm. Never mix the two on the same page.
How long should a professional bio be?
Three lengths cover almost everything: one line for signatures and directories, 40 to 60 words for a team page or a form, and 120 to 150 for your own About page. Longer than 150 and you are writing a CV. If you only want to write one, write the 40-word version — the others are cuts and extensions of it.
What actually belongs in a short bio?
Role, place, how long, who you work with, and one thing that distinguishes you. That is it. What gets cut first is adjectives about yourself — "passionate", "dedicated", "results-driven" — because every competitor claims them, so they carry no information. A single concrete detail does more than five adjectives.
Do I need a different bio for each profession?
The shape is shared; the content is not. What a therapist needs to establish in a bio — how they work, what a first session involves — is not what a roofer needs to establish, which is that they are insured and still in business when the warranty is called on. The profession pages on this site are written from those differences rather than swapping a noun.