“So, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?” the interviewer asks.
For such a simple question, this one is tricky and could be deadly. Where do you even start? Your work experience? Your education? Do you try to show a little personality and tell her about your hobbies? While you find yourself the happiest when you are watching birds from your backyard and perfecting your sparrow and cockatoo calls, you decide that the hiring manager trying to fill the project coordinator position probably doesn’t need to know about that right now. Good call.
The first thing to realize about the statement “tell me about yourself” is that it rarely means “tell me about yourself.” It’s almost a trick question or a trap that you might just fall into. Don’t be tempted to really tell her about yourself!
This is not the time or place to share your life story.
This is not the time to share your personal struggles.
Even though the interviewer might seem friendly and is smiling, she is not a therapist who really wants to know personal details about your life.
When you hear the interviewer ask you to tell her about yourself, translate it to this:
“What do you bring of value to the company and why would I want to hire you?”
The best way to nail this question is to prepare for it beforehand. Since you’ve applied to the job and done some pre-interview research into the position and company, you have an idea of what skills and qualities they are looking for in a candidate. Cater your answer to highlight the skills and experience that you have that speak to the qualities they are looking for.
Be careful not to simply repeat what has already been said in your cover letter and resume. If you’ve received an interview, they probably already read them! Take this as an opportunity to expand on some of your experiences that you think will be of most interest to the hiring manager. If you have a story about a work occurrence that you think highlights a skill that they want, include that in your answer. If you’ve recently taken a class that may be relevant to the position, talk about what you’ve learned from that and how you can apply it to the job. A great format is to start by talking about your recent work experience, and then moving into the story or specific experience you want to highlight.
Preparing an answer will also help you from rambling on for too long. Think of it as an “elevator pitch”—the speech you’d give if you met the CEO of your dream company in an elevator and wanted to convince them to hire you before the elevator doors open. Keep it fairly short, around a minute, so that it is concise but still packed with information that will make them want to hire you on the spot.
Your answer to this interview question can be what makes or breaks your chance at the company. This is your opportunity to really sell yourself. Take the chance and give the best possible answer by researching and preparing the answer beforehand.
Leap to Confidence students were fortunate to listen to a panel of Human Resource professionals from San Diego companies discuss tips and strategies for re-entering the workforce and presenting their best selves. This article is inspired by that panel. Thanks to Amy Benoit of Federal Heath Sign Company, Janelle Frickey of City of San Marcos, Amy Hernandez and Charisse Charters of ResMed, Penny Sandifer of Pacific Marine Credit Union and Edith Villaseñor of Pridestaff.
