‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Interview Question
April 14, 2011 
10 Comments
The Wrong Response
There are many ways to respond to this question correctly and just one wrong way: by asking, “What do you want to know?” That tells me you have not prepared properly for the interview and are likely to be equally unprepared on the job. You need to develop a good answer to this question, practice it and be able to deliver it with poise and confidence.
The Right Response
To help you prepare, I spoke to a number of career coaches on how best to respond when faced with this question. Heed the career advise that follows to ace this opener:
The consensus of the coaches with whom I spoke:
- Focus on what most interests the interviewer
- Highlight your most important accomplishments
Focus on What Interests the Interviewer
According to Jane Cranston, a career coach from New York, “The biggest mistake people being interviewed make is thinking the interviewer really wants to know about them as a person.
They start saying things like, ‘Well, I was born in Hoboken, and when I was three we moved …’ Wrong. The interviewer wants to know that you can do the job, that you fit into the team, what you have accomplished in your prior positions and how can you help the organization.”
Nancy Fox, of Fox Coaching Associates, agrees. She notes that “many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters.” She recommends starting with your most recent employment and explaining why you are well qualified for the position. According to Fox, the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. “In other words, you want to be selling what the buyer is buying.”
Think of your response as a movie preview, says Melanie Szlucha, a coach with Red Inc. “The movie preview always relates to the movie you’re about to see. You never see a movie preview for an animated flick when you’re there to see a slasher movie. So the ‘tell me about yourself” answer needs to directly fit the concerns of your prospective employer.”
Previews are also short but show clips of the movie that people would want to see more of later. They provide enough information about the movie so that you could ask intelligent questions about what the movie is about. Hiring managers don’t want to look unprepared by reading your resume in front of you, so Szlucha advises that you “provide them some topics to ask you more questions about.”
Highlight Your Most Important Accomplishments
Greg Maka, managing director at 24/7 Marketing, advises job seekers to “tell a memorable story about your attributes.” For example, if you tell an interviewer that people describe you as tenacious, provide a brief story that shows how you have been tenacious in achieving your goals. “Stories are powerful and are what people remember most,” he said.
One great example is that of Fran Capo, a comedienne who bills herself as “the world’s fastest-talking female.” She offers the following advice: “Whenever I go on auditions or interviews, I have a “set” opening I use. … I tell the interviewer what I do in one sentence and then say, ‘And I also happen to be the Guinness Book of World Records’ fastest-talking female.’ Then I elaborate.” According to Capo, the main thing in anything you do is to be memorable, in a good way. Your goal when you answer the ‘tell me about yourself’ question is to find a way stand out from everyone else.
And, Be Brief
Maureen Anderson, host of “The Career Clinic” radio show, stresses the importance of keeping your answer short: “The employer wants to know a little bit about you to begin with — not your life story. Just offer up two or three things that are interesting — and useful. You should take about a minute to answer this question.”
To make sure it is succinct and covers what you want it to cover, she suggests that you “write your answer out before the interview, practice it, time it and rehearse it until it sounds natural. Then practice it some more. The goal is to tell the employer enough to pique their interest, not so much that they wonder if they’d ever be able to shut you up during a coffee break at the office.”
Rather than dread this question, a well-prepared candidate should welcome this inquiry. Properly answered, this question puts the candidate in the driver’s seat. It gives her an opportunity to sell herself. It allows her to set the tone and direction for the rest of the interview, setting her up to answer the questions she most wants to answer.
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Categories: Career Advice, College Graduates, College Students, Interview Tips, Job Hunting Strategies, Job Market, Re-entering the Workforce
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Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Abraham Lincoln
Good advise to be aware of and help you to be prepared for an interview.
Thank you ResumeBear for explaining the real meaning of that question. At my last interview I got it all wrong….next time will be different. I sincerely appreciate all of your tips and practical advice.
Excellent advice. The employer should only be interested and you should only respond with what you have to offer that will benefit the employer, no matter 3what question you are asked.
Be prepared to answer these type of questions.
Gary Gile recently posted..Why being Passionate in Your Business is Critical- and not Enough
Great post! I think many candidates struggle with this because the question is so broad and could be taken in many different directions. I would agree that the interviewer is not looking for personal info and that candidates should focus on what brought them to this point point in their career, interest in the company and where they’ve had their greatest successes. I also think from an employer’s perspective that this really serves as a “test” question to see how the candidate will respond.
being passionate is different then Love , Love comes in many forms ,,love for MO n DAD ,,, love for Children Love for Life Love for a Partner,,Then theres that one LOVE thata is hidden ,,,amost 2 at the same level,,,,,1 is love where ya want to spend the rest of this life with that person,,2 nd is like ya have know thayt person before here or somewhere in time n you know you will meet again,,,passinate ,,,,welll it is both love an hurt as in the Passion of Christ,, YOU LOVE him for as he gave us this cahnce n you love him so much but you had to see him hurt so bad but understand why he did that ,,,for the price of his choice he gave 2011 yrs an still going life!!! now if that is not passion,,it is not the same as passionate like ya comeing on to someonee,,,passion is a deep devotion to what you believe n not changeing for anyone,ty
Always a great question to use at a job interview. It is a very non-directive, open-ended question that can take a non-suspecting job interview on a journey of exploration. Great advice to answer it!
I like the example of Fran Capo. Make yourself stand out with a short sentence, and then build on it. I would rather listen to someone who had gotten my attention than listen to something I’m not interested in.
You know, I’ve always thought that the elevator speech is a good response to that question.
Ed Han recently posted..Target Employers