How To Introduce Yourself In Writing

During your career, you may need to write a document explaining your skills, abilities and qualifications. This document may be a cover letter, personal statement during the job interview process or self-appraisal for advancement opportunities. Learning how to write about yourself accurately can increase your chances of receiving a job interview or promotion.

In this article, we will describe the situations in which you may need to write about yourself, explain how to write confidently about yourself and provide an example for guidance.

When you may be required to write about yourself

There are several situations where you may advocate for yourself through a written document, which may include the following:

Internship inquiry letters
Graduate school applications
Self-appraisals
Cover letters and resumes
Grant proposals
Career advancement opportunities
Biographies

It's important to consider your strengths and skills to help you write about yourself confidently in different situations. If you're writing an "About Me" or similar autobiography, it is standard to write in either first or third person. For documents like cover letters and personal statements, the first-person language is advisable.

Cover Letter Format

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Cover Letter Format
1. Date and contact information
2. Salutation or greeting
3. Opening paragraph
4. Middle paragraph(s)
5. Closing paragraph
6. Letter ending and signature

Related: 7 Powerful Ways to Start a Cover Letter (With Examples)

How to write about yourself confidently

You can follow these steps to write about yourself:

Introduce yourself.
Include the most relevant professional experience.
Mention significant personal achievements or awards.
Introduce personal details.
Use a casual and friendly tone.

1. Develop a strong introduction

A concise, informative self-introduction can immediately interest the reader and make them more likely to continue reading the rest of your document. Write a short statement that accurately describes your skills and qualifications. Try to include skills that are relevant to the topic or situation. For example, an objective statement for an SEO marketing resume could be, "I'm a creative communicator dedicated to producing engaging content for online platforms."

You may choose to write a self-introduction statement instead of a complete sentence, such as "Creative communicator dedicated to producing engaging content for online platforms." Regardless of what you write or if you choose to include this statement, this task can be an exercise in marketing yourself and developing confidence.

Related: Academic CV Guide

2. Include the most relevant professional experience

The body of your personal document should contain professional experience related to the role or topic. If you're writing a cover letter, review the job description and company website to select the most relevant experience. Including tailored details can help a hiring manager remain interested in your cover letter as they read it. It also shows how your qualifications are right for the open position. For an "About Me" document, include experience that you feel best describes your work history.

For example, "Maria is a well-rounded graphic designer with 10 years of experience working as a logo designer and brand identity designer for large corporations, mainly in the healthcare sector. She has been a senior designer for Flag Healthcare since 2018. Most recently, she was responsible for solely designing the logo for the Flag Healthcare New Mexico division. Her main focus is creating content that not only inspires others but also functions as a powerful marketing tool to increase sales."

3. Mention significant professional or personal achievements or awards

Select achievements that best fit the purpose of your document. Using professional achievements—like promotions or awards—shows how you excel in the workplace, while personal accomplishments—such as completing a marathon or community involvement—reflect your dedication and drive. Writing about personal or professional achievements shows you are confident in your skills and qualifications.

For example, "Maria Valentina studied graphic design at Columbia University and the International Center of Graphic Arts. In 2018, she won the prestigious American Graphic Design Award, and in 2017, the Design that Educates Award."

Related: Listing Accomplishments on Your Resume (With Examples)

4. Introduce personal details

Your details should reflect your genuine interests. Share something unique about yourself to provide more context related to who you are as a person and team member. You can describe any hobbies or interests, such as reading, hiking or scuba diving.

For example, "Maria believes that creativity in the workplace is the key to success⁠—a concept she lives out through her interests in board games, exercise, playing the piano and painting."

5. Use a casual and friendly tone

Using your natural voice will often help you maintain a balance of being professional and conversational. A casual and friendly tone will make the content easy to read and increases the likelihood that the audience will read the entire document.

Personal document example

Here's an example of an "About Me" section for a professional website, blog or portfolio:

Brian Smith, Sales Manager

Dedicated to creating commercial and genuine partnerships to help businesses grow.

With 10 years of experience, Brian specializes in earning the trust of others. As a sales manager, he's mainly worked for small- to medium-sized companies in the technology sector. Throughout his career, he has maintained a strong record in recruitment, training and motivating staff to achieve sales and business objectives. At Tanzen Computers, he was responsible for developing and maintaining over 100 end-user accounts throughout 15 territories, resulting in $10 million in additional annual sales. His main focus is to offer superior solutions for competitors' clients.

Brian has a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Indiana University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2015, among over 5,000 candidates, Brian won the Digital Sales Award, which is only presented to the top 1% of salespeople in the nation. In 2018, he won the B2B Sales Award from Sales Hacker.

In all of Brian's past positions, he has consistently increased search engine results placements, website traffic, memberships, newsletter signups, client boarding and retention, sales, metrics relating to lead generation and more. He has successfully discovered new niche markets and strategic partnerships for companies of all sizes, refined product strategies, increased brand reach, reworked brands and developed and implemented marketing plans.

Brian enjoys meeting new people and learning about their lives and backgrounds. He easily finds common interests with strangers and tends to make most people feel comfortable. He finds this skill especially advantageous when kicking off projects with new clients.