How To Write A Profile – For Teens

A profile is an introduction of yourself that highlights your relevant qualifications and skills. There are several benefits of starting to put down your profile at teenagehood:

1. Over the years, we have noted that when teens spend time writing their profile, they get to appreciate their strengths by articulating their strengths and purpose.
2. A profile concisely features your skills and professional experience also in a way that gets people’s attention.
3. Another benefit of having a profile early is that you can highlight specific skills and expertise that’s required for different partnerships and opportunities.

Having an appropriate profile sends the right message to your recipients. This is how to:

1. The first step is for you to identify your purpose and target readers. This is important because it shapes the ‘how to’ write the profile. This includes your tone, language, and levels of formality. A profile can be funny, personal, formal or professional depending on the target readers but it should always communicate briefly who you are and what you do in relation to your purpose, gifts and talents. 

2. Invest heavily once to reap a hundred times. Write a lengthy profile of yourself detailing every aspect of your life. If you do it well, you will be able to customize that information for the different platforms demanding your profile. Though it takes time to do it well, it will serve you well over many years in your teenagehood and young adult life. 

3. Do your research – don’t re-invent the wheel just re-align it to fit in your plans. Thousands, if not millions of people have written profiles in the past, you can save time by going through what others have done to shape yours. Ensure you search for profiles from people in the same line with your purpose, gifts and talents. 

4. Be precise and to the point. In as much as your life has so many interesting facts, most information will be irrelevant to certain target groups. An artist should mention their artistic achievements and awards from the past. Mentioning their weight or physical fitness may not be relevant unless it’s connected in some ways. Every single information must be purposefully selected and committed to building your credibility. Make sure to mention any awards and recognitions you have received in the past towards elevating your credibility. 

5. Write in the third person to make your profile sound more objective – like it’s been written by someone else other than yourself. Instead of writing, “I am a chef experienced in different cuisines” you should write, “Jennifer Mapesa is a chef experienced in Indian, African and Italian cuisine”. The latter is much more formal and professional. 

6. Always begin with your full names because it is likely that the recipients do not know who you are. Use two names as you prefer them but avoid nicknames because they tend to water down the seriousness of your bio. 

7. How much is too much? Ensure you give enough information that will humanize you. You have to give a little more personal information (in moderation) to help the recipients to connect to you. It becomes too much if the information is not relevant to the readers. 

8. Always include contact information. In the world of convenience that we live in, people do not want to stretch as much and so provide the information they need right where they need it. 

9. Check the work again and again. Once you are done with the profile, ensure to read it again to check for any typing errors or grammatical errors. Having a poorly done profile will do more harm to your credibility than not having a profile in the first place. 

10. Ask for help from your family and loved ones. It’s always good to have someone check your work to make sure the messaging is clear and to the point. Those close to you should be able to give you actionable feedback.

RESOURCE:

1. Review your answers to assignment on page 40 of the Conceive Achieve for Teens – Tracker Journal.
2. Review your answers to assignment on page 64, 72, 87 and 88 of the Conceive Achieve for Teens – Tracker Journal. The passions you listed should help you build your profile.
3. Discuss with your guardian, the answers to page 93 and 94 of the Conceive Achieve for Teens – Tracker Journal.

Here’s a sample teen’s profile: