Wednesday, January 4, 2012

How to Write a Military Bio

By Barbra Sundquist


You're up for a promotion and you need to write or update your military bio. If you're dragging your feet on this task, you're not alone. Most people find it agonizing to write their own bio. Read on for some tips on how to write a great military bio.

A bio is a brief summary of your training and accomplishments, as well as career goals. Normally it's required when attempting to get a promotion or move into a different branch of the military.

What goes in your professional bio? Even though you do have a certain amount of leeway when writing your bio, there are still some basic guidelines that you should follow:

Be brief. A bio should be roughly no more than 300 words when written and no longer than 60 seconds in length when read aloud.

Although you do have a certain amount of leeway when writing a bio, there are still some basic conventions. Write in third person but use first person when reading it aloud. Third person would be like this: "Jane Smith trained with", while first person would be like this: "I trained with.

Start with personal information such as your name, rank, branch, and place of birth. Then cover military and civilian experience (civilian training or experience in a different but relevant area can be a major selling point).

Open with personal information such as your name, rank, branch, and place of birth. Then cover military and civilian experience (yes, civilian training or experience is relevant. In fact, it can distinguish you compared to another candidate).

Focus on the positives. Don't feel that you have to include everything. Your bio is like a little advertisement for you, so focus on your most impressive achievements.

It's worth noting that you can include additional information when writing a military bio, as long as it's relevant to your goal. Topics that can help you score extra points are things like your family history, awards and accomplishments that you've received in the past, as well as the details of how you rose in the ranks.

To sum up, a military bio is necessary for advancement in the military. It's short and to the point, covering your training, duties and responsibilities, goals, and major accomplishments.




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