“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” and this section is your opportunity to form that first impression. This short introduction tells your audience a little bit about you, and it sets the tone for the rest of your portfolio. This chapter will help you to adapt your statement to your audience and purpose. In addition, there will be brainstorming activities to help you craft an about-me statement that is right for you.

What is an About Me Page?

According to Dr. Angela Williams, former Career Center Executive Director and Teaching Assistant Professor, “The about me page is an opportunity for you to describe more about you and highlight the connections between your skills, experiences, and knowledge. Consider including your major, interests, or future plans. What future challenges do you plan to work on? What motivates you? What background details about yourself do you want your professors, employers, or other possible visitors to know? Make sure your biographical information is relevant and professional. The about me page could also feature your personal brand or message and can include a professional photo and even fun videos and photos or whatever you think represents you and other relevant hobbies, skills and experiences.”

 

Think of These Things First

As you begin to write your about me statement, you need to ask yourself, “Why am I writing this” and “Who do I want to read it?” Defining your audience and purpose will help you craft your about statement in a way that best tells your story.

What is the Purpose of Your Portfolio?

The About Me is where your story begins. Much like the opening scene of a movie where you meet the character for the first time, your About Me Page allows the reader to begin to see who you are.  You are not telling everything about you, rather you are telling them the things that help you get closer to your goals. Your About Me should include things about your purpose and write about your potential audience. 

Emmira Harris is a Junior Civil Engineering major and writes this on her About Me Page:

I am currently an Undergraduate Research Assistant for Dr. Sarah Hernandez, a transportation civil engineering professor in the College of Engineering. Education and STEM are two of my passions, so through the years I’ve had to figure out how to incorporate these passions in the development of my future. I have goals that align with both, and I plan to fulfill them through my life’s journey.

Hunter Anderson, a Senior Music Major writes about the intersection between his passion and his major:

I’m Hunter, a driven and compassionate musician who has been studying, teaching, and performing the guitar for most of my life. Currently, I’m a senior at the University of Arkansas with a major in Guitar Performance. Post-graduation, I strive to teach and inspire others through lessons, performances, compositions, and to continuously ignite my passion for music.

Exercise: Brainstorm Your Purpose

 Spend two minutes writing on each of these prompts to help you brainstorm  your purpose.

1. Where do you see yourself in one to three years?
2. How does the work that you want to do fit into the world you want to live in?
3. What is a story about you that shows your character?
4. What kinds of creative endeavors or projects interest you?  
5. How have you grown as a person in the last few years?

Who is the Audience for Your Portfolio?

You are making your portfolio for a particular audience–a professor, a program director, a graduate school committee, or a future employer.  To get into the mind of your audience, write out the answers to these questions and keep these answers in front of you whenever you work on your portfolio.

• • What are your professional goals?
  • Who can help you reach those goals?
  • What things are important to that person/people?
  • What skills, experience, and knowledge are they looking for in a candidate?
  • What motivates them?
  • What phrases or terms would appeal to them?

What Buzzwords Should You Include or Exclude?

Once you determine your purpose and your audience, you need to decide if that is a narrow or wide audience. If you are writing to a graduate school in a particular field, that is a very narrow audience and you will want to use insider language. They will be looking for certain words that demonstrate your knowledge.  If this is the case, make a list of insider words that they expect to see. If you are making your portfolio for a variety of different employers, you will want to minimize specialty language and explain any necessary insider terms that you decide to use.

What is the Level of Your Audience’s Understanding?

While we are talking about audience and purpose, it is important to think about the knowledge level of your portfolio audience.  For example, in my early career, I interviewed with a board of directors made up of physicians and social workers. They wanted to hire me to be a fundraiser, volunteer coordinator,  and a media director for a not-for-profit. As a newly minted master’s graduate, I might be tempted to reference the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Judgemental Heuristics and how I built my projects using those as foundations. It is unlikely that my interviewers would understand. They would, however, understand that I studied persuasive theory and how it applied to the way people make decisions. They would understand that I worked on projects where I used persuasive theory to get concrete results. They would especially understand a story about a project that I worked on and the results that I got.

When we work closely with things for a long time, we don’t even realize that we speak in “code.”  Alan Alda realized that the more people know, the harder it is for them to talk to others; he called this the “curse of knowledge.” In his book, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on my Face?  he wrote, “Once we know something, it’s hard to unknow it, to remember what it’s like to be a beginner. It keeps us from considering the listener. Using shorthand that is incomprehensible to the other person, or referring to a process they’re unfamiliar with, we lock them out, and we don’t even realize it because we can’t believe we are the only person who knows this stuff.”

Thinking About Who You Are

When crafting your about me statement, it can be helpful to take a deep dive into who you are and what you value. After all, how can you tell someone who you are if you don’t know yourself?

I want you to think about your identity. Who are you? If I were to ask your parents who you are and then ask your best friend, I might get different answers. One might see you as outgoing and confident and the other might see you as unsure about yourself. Different people know different versions of you. In short, you have different identities. Most of us never really take the time to think about the many different ways we live out those different identities. When faced with building a portfolio, most students find they have never really thought about all the different identities they bring to the world and how to align those. For your portfolio, you are building your professional identity and you are highlighting your strengths, and talking about your experiences in a way that will be meaningful to employers or graduate programs.

To get started, you need to brainstorm your strengths. There is a chapter dedicated to helping you with this. Engaging in assessments, employing brainstorming frameworks, or seeking input from trusted friends and family can all prove instrumental. Once you have a list of your strengths, you can use those to start crafting your about me statement. Take a look at these examples and notice how each person highlights their strengths.

I am a chronic puzzle-seeker and a lifelong learner. I unpack complicated problems by approaching each with the flexible process and attention it deserves. This means that I work with others to ask questions, find approaches and execute solutions…August Winfield Miller

I learned, at a very early age, the importance of a strong work ethic, diligence, organization, and ambition. Growing up on my family’s farm involved physical labor, a willingness to work, and an ability to keep a positive attitude in adverse working conditions.  Patience Marsh

Throughout my life I have prided myself upon my ability to adapt. Moving around a lot as a child forced me to take charge of my situation and surroundings. I excel at improvisation as well as complex problem solving as a result of my childhood experience.  Amanda Seidner

The trick is to talk about professional skills and examples while still showing your personality. Look at these two statements to see how they are professional and still highlight the person’s personality.

From a very young age, I was always the type of person who loved helping people and got satisfaction out of making a difference in someone’s else’s life. Abby Christie Personal Statement. 

I’m a Photographer and Designer based in Edinburgh.
The photography approach to the work I create is very much simplistic but also cinematically inspired. I love what I do, and I adore the creative process; it is an addiction and can give never ending possibilities.

 Highlight Career Competencies

As you are highlighting, your strengths, you should consider the types of things that employers are looking for and add those if they apply.  The National Association of Colleges and Employers suggest that there are eight things that employers are looking for in college graduates that indicate career readiness. These are called career competencies. Showing evidence of these competencies throughout your portfolio can increase the chances that an employer will consider you. These are the types of skills that employers report that they are looking for in candidates.

• • • Career and Self Development
    • Communication
    • Critical Thinking
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Professionalism
    • Teamwork
    • Technology

There is an chapter dedicated to help you write about your career competencies.

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• “Ultimately, I am inspired by what cannot be seen directly – it must be felt, realized, or understood. To me, that is where the beauty of science comes in, and as a lifelong science communicator, I hope to articulate that beauty to the best of my ability.”  Sydney Maples
• “Instilling respect for the music of the past, building good techniques, and fostering communication skills is what I believe should be the heart of an aspiring guitarist. Hunter Anderson
• “The teaching assignment at Tarleton State and Penn State University gave me opportunities to evaluate my ability as a teacher, and I believe that I have the qualities and desire needed to become a respected researcher and instructor. I would like to play a significant role in contributing in the areas of international adult and extension education by identifying important researchable problems and raising both local and global issues through active involvement.”  Roshan Nayak

The About Me as a Video

The About Me can also be done as a video. In a study of high school principals, 93% of principals said they would use the video in hiring practices.  They felt like they gained insight into the person from their video and you could tell from the way they spoke that the person in the video had a passion for teaching.  One principal said, “I think that the video really enhances the ePortfolio . . . I think that it is wonderful. It is a whole different way to connect with a person without that person being here.” This study was on teachers and the connection is an easy one to make. Depending on your audience and purpose, the video may be the right option for you.

Check out this video by Kendall McCallum for an example of an about-me video.

It is important to know your audience because not all businesses want photos or videos.
With increasing pressure on businesses to provide equitable hiring practices,
some companies will not consider you as a candidate if you include photos or videos. 

Let Doubt Drive You to Work Harder