The “tell me about yourself” interview question marks a crucial tipping point in your interview. You need to ace this question in order to springboard to success in the rest of your interview. There are some easy steps you can take to sail past this question into your dream job.
Almost everyone hates this question. It feels like you’re telling the hiring manager why NOT to hire you. However, by answering this question with enough confidence you can spin your answer into a strength.
It’s a seemingly easy question, but below the surface but it’s ambiguous and has some hidden complexities. Before answering it, you need to know their, not-so-hidden agenda, first.
If you can make it look like you can think on your feet without stumbling over your words or giving disingenuous answers, then you are one step closer to having a successful interview.
Why interviewers ask “tell me about yourself”
This question is the interviewer’s opportunity to get to know your motivation and your key selling points. What makes you different from the rest of the other 10, 20 or even 30 candidates they might be interviewing.
Using this opportunity effectively can set a great first impression, which will help you for the rest of the interview.
It’s likely the interview will already have some appreciation for your skills and experience based on your CV, but it’s important to really hammer home your unique selling points, with some added personality.
However, you need to be concise, punchy and personable in how you do it.
How To Answer The ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Interview Question In 5 Steps
Having ascertained why this question is so important, how can you deliver results in the most streamlined method possible?
How do you summarise, all of your motivations, skills and experiences in a succinct but powerful way?
1. Make Life Easier By Doing The Research
The best part about this interview question is that you can anticipate it, and prepare for it. You might even have done some of the hard work already.
This is because answering this question should be inseparable from the research you have done (or should have done) about the company. More specifically, you should focus on the aspects of the roles that you find most appealing and the qualities and culture of the business you want to join.
It can also help to check out the interviewer on Linkedin too. You can find out if they came from a different or similar background to you. You can then tailor your answer to similarities in your career journey or the skills you can bring that they might not have.
Obviously, you may want to do this in a non-obvious way and potentially steer the conversion in this direction.
2. Focus On Hitting The Targets
As soon as the interviewer unveils the “tell me about yourself” question, you can use your above research to tick off the key criteria on their checklist.
You need to summarise your career to date and pick the key functions you performed in. You should do this with each of your previous experiences and demonstrate that can deliver for their business function or brand.
Embed your motivations for what pushed you to apply for the role, by making a comment about what you most enjoyed about your previous roles that are also present in the role you are interviewing for.
3. Demonstrate That You Are Perfect For Their Team
A major part of the tell me about yourself question is to test if you can contribute to the role in a relevant way. You might have amazing skills and experiences but unless they are recent and can be directed at the challenges of the role, they are not going to help land the job.
If anything they might even confuse your interviewer and lead the interview down a bumpy road. With this in mind, line up your story with something that the interviewer can relate to and show you can easily fit into the particular role.
Your secret weapon to beating other candidates should be your ability to identify a problem the company might have, and how you can help them solve it.
4. Get In The Mindset Of Your Interviewer
If you don’t have the specific skills and experience needed, then show them your aptitude for researching and solving problems in a way they can connect to. You might come from a different industry or sector, but every job has similar difficulties and issues.
Showing that you can empathise with particular issues they might face such as cross-departmental cooperation, or simply just getting things done, can help you build an important connection. One that will ultimately put you ahead of other candidates.
5. Keep Maintain A Professional Persona
Regardless of how friendly the interview might appear, or how much they lull you into a sense of security. Always, always keep it professional. If they ask you personal questions they always relate it back to tick off the key criteria we mentioned before.
Don’t get giddy and give them your life story, or make rash comments. Keep it calm, clean and relevant. This will highlight you can be fun and professional at all times.
Use Your Experiences To Your Advantage
For example, in 2020 I had a turbulent year of quitting my job to travel and being on another continent when Covid-19 hit. My interview preparation helped me to get a job in Australia when pretty much nobody was employing.
Rather than showing I was stressed and needed a job, I sold my skills to them and demonstrated I would be an asset.
This was the same strategy I used when I got back to the UK in September 2020 and interviewing for jobs. I utilised my experiences in Australia to demonstrate my adaptability, calmness under pressure and logically solve problems.
This approach helps you to build character and personality whilst being professional and showcasing how you can be an asset.
“Tell me about yourself” might be phrased in a different way
This is a pretty standard question, that almost always comes up. However, it can appear in disguise,
- Tell me about your work experience?
- What made you apply for this role?
- How do you see your current experience adding value to this role?
- Walk me through your time at your company?
- Can you walk me through your CV?
Essentially, you need to know that the answer you have prepared using the above steps can be applied to all of them. So remember to read the other posts in this series, such as how to prepare for all interview questions with confidence.
Just remember, if anything like this comes up then you need to concisely demonstrate how your experience can add value to their team. You can use these 10 impressive and engaging questions at the end of your interview to succeed in this.
They also want to know that they can relate with you and can get invested in the rest of the interview. If you bore them with irrelevant detail they won’t be engaged with your answers later in the interview.
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