Selene McConachy

Background

About Selene McConachy

Writing an About section is HARD. You have to find the perfect balance of interesting but informative, and somehow imply that you’re a witty person but still a working professional. Do I talk about being born in Singapore and the impression it left on me? I mean we all know diversity is big points, but if it’s not organic it seems like fishing… Do I instead explain how being a mixed first-generation immigrant taught me to build connections wherever I landed? Or perhaps how it instilled a passion for travel and an awareness of the fragility and importance of the planet we have? I know strengths are a good subject to cover, but it’s so hard to brag. Effective communicator, extroverted, comfortable in front of a crowd - I may have all of these skills, but there’s no way to tell anecdotes about each of them when you only have so many characters left. Some About sections go straight into the nitty gritty of professional experience, and that’s great! But how do I say that I’ve been promoted to a position of leadership in every job I’ve ever held without sounding like a power-hungry show-off? No, definitely leave that out. Maybe it’s worth mentioning I’m a jack of all trades and a master of some? But how do I express my endless passion for learning in whichever direction I’m pointed? Employers want to know my motivation, my purpose in life, what drives me, and I know the answer: to do good. But that’s much too simple, even if it is true. And knowing that I want to do good - for the planet, for my community, for myself, doesn’t really express how hard I work until that goal is achieved. So how can I write an About section that answers all the important questions while giving someone a good idea of my personality? Or should I keep asking questions until I realize I already have?