Backstory Offers Less Stuffy Version of LinkedIn

by Kim Niemi

If you’re a lawyer or financier, you probably have no issues with LinkedIn. The career-minded networking site is perfect when you have a serious job history, with lots of serious details to lay out.

But what about those who have chosen a less conventional career path – one whose seemingly random trajectory is actually the reason for their current success? When the bulk of your work history doesn’t seem to fit in a typical resume, how do you compete in an environment aimed at “typical”? 

​The good news is you no longer have to. About.me has just added a new feature called Backstory, and it just might be the answer your prayers.

Like LinkedIn, About.me’s Backstory feature offers the opportunity to list work history details, and other tidbits, but it’s far from being a resume. Here’s how About.me describes itself: “… a platform for representing one’s personal identity online by enabling anyone to easily create and maintain a centralized, curated page for self-expression.”

Which is exactly what drew you to it in the first place, right? But wisely, the folks at About.me recognized that those searching for job opportunities online might need to bridge the gap between their free-wheeling About.me profiles and their stodgy (sorry!) LinkedIn profiles.

So they created Backstory, and it’s awesome.

Here are some key features we love:

• A snapshot view of the most important details – chosen by you
• Sleek link buttons for linking to online works
• Categorized “collections” of people for those who want to know who you know

The beauty of Backstory is that you can put in as much or as little as you like, and you don’t feel like you’re breaking the rules. And unlike LinkedIn, where you feel like you should say what “they” want to hear, About.me is all about showing who YOU are, on your terms. (Check out our Chief Ghost's Backstory here.)

And, of course, we don’t mean any disrespect to LinkedIn – because it’s a great platform. But for those who’ve felt like they were on the outside, a bit adrift in the career-networking ocean, Backstory might be the life-ring you’ve been looking for.

Need help crafting your Backstory? That’s the kind of thing we love to do, so reach out and say “Boo!”



IMAGE CREDIT: ALEX SKOPJE