TRAPS:
Beware; about 80% of all interviews begin with this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters.
Best way to Answer
Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all successful interviews is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words, you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.
So, before you answer this or any question it’s imperative that you try to uncover your interviewer’s greatest needs, wants problems, or goals.
To do so, make you take these two steps:
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- Do all the homework you can before the interview to uncover this person’s wants and needs (not the generalized needs of the industry or company)
- As early as you can in the interview, ask for a more complete description of what the position entails. You might say: “I have a number of accomplishments I’d like to tell you about, but I want to make the best use of our time together and talk directly to your needs. To help me do, that, could you tell me more about the most important priorities for this position? All I know is what I (heard from the recruiter, read in the classified ad, etc.)”
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Then ALWAYS follow up with a second and possibly third question, to draw out his needs even more. Surprisingly, it’s usually this second or third question that unearths what the interviewer is most looking for.
For the interviewers, it is an easy way to start an interview and get you talking. Think of it as your “elevator” pitch or your “story” about you. This is a short summary that tells them about you, why you are a good fit for the job and why they should hire you. So, after carefully reviewing the job description or job advert, ensure you know the qualifications required for the job. Check where you meet or exceed the requirements for the role. Thoroughly research the company. Once you have done this, the next step is to identify, list, and review your own successes and accomplishments relevant to this role.
This question is an introduction, a conversation starter, and tests three things:
- Your ability to express yourself when put in a tight corner (you will be shocked by how many grown-ups sweat when faced with an interview)
- Whether you understand how your skills, experience, and qualifications relate to the job you are being interviewed for.
- What makes you the best candidate for this position?
Your answer should be no longer than 2 minutes and is usually all work-related unless instructed otherwise. It is an interview question that you should always prepare for in advance. Never try and just make something up on the spot, or you may find yourself waffling and talking for too long! Never a good start to any interview.
What NOT to Say
Before you know what to say about yourself, you should probably know what you should not say in the tell us about yourself answer:
- Do not start ‘tell me about yourself’ answers speaking about what you used to do in high school or which subjects you had in school. No, never do this! The interviewer must interview many other candidates, so he/she won’t have all the time in the world to listen to you from the beginning until now.
- Do not start speaking about where you were born and what your parents do, and so on. We know your parents are important to you, as they should be, but do not speak about their professions no matter how influential they have been in your formative years. Be thoroughly professional, start from your educational background and then move on to your professional experience.
- Do not give yourself compliments. In a ‘tell me about yourself’ answer, you can speak about what you have achieved but refrain from saying things like, “I am a great team leader”, or “I am a passionate engineer”, “I have seen it all” and words that glorify yourself. Keep it subtle.
If you are an experienced person and have achieved something in the past, do not start speaking about how you have achieved it. ‘Tell me about yourself’ for experienced candidates can be a little easy as you have your past achievements and experience to speak about, but just mention the achievements, do not keep rambling about how difficult it was and how you did it. Save that for later.
Do not speak for more than 2 minutes. You may want to speak more about yourself but refrain from doing so. Your every ‘tell me about yourself’ interview answer should be crisp, professional and articulate. You should adhere to no particular time duration, but try to keep it short and crisp.
Examples for demonstration:
Example 1 :
To “Tell me about yourself” for someone transitioning from an agency to an in-house role Well, I’m currently an account executive at xyz(company), where I handle our top-performing client. Before that, I worked at an agency where I was on three different major national healthcare brands. And while I really enjoyed the work that I did, I’d love the chance to dig in much deeper with one specific healthcare company, which is why I’m so excited about this opportunity with this anonymous company.
Example 2 :
To “Tell me about yourself” for someone pivoting into a similar role in a new industry, I’ve been in the marketing industry for over five years, primarily working in accounting and project management roles. I most recently worked as a senior PM for a large tech company managing large marketing campaigns and overseeing other project managers. And now I’m looking to expand my experience across different industries, particularly fintech, which is why I’m so interested in joining an agency like yours.
