People often ask me if bios have become more important than resumes, or even if the resume is truly a thing of the past now that potential employers have a myriad of online and digital ways to find out who you are and what you do.

My answer is no, the resume is not 'dead'. In fact, it still has a vital role to play in building a balanced and detailed picture of you for potential employers and clients.

My suggestion is to use a bio with your resume. Let the bio tell your personal story and the resume tell your knowledge and skill story. (Both should be well-written and professional, of course.)

Keep the bio to a half page or less and the resume to 2 pages at the most -- with reasonable margins and readable type.

Do that and be prepared to stand out in a crowd!

Watch out for small words that can actually reduce the impact of your bio. For instance, I recently reviewed a bio in which the writer described himself as "very experienced". I took out the "very". It's redundant in this example, as is highly in "highly educated" or reputable in "reputable law firm". (I assume you're reputable, don't put doubt in my mind by feeling you have to reassure me.) 

The use of these words is often an attempt to stress a point, but they're almost always unnecessary.