Tell Me About Yourself: What to Say in an Interview

“Tell me about yourself.”

When an interviewer asks you about yourself, he or she doesn’t necessarily want to know where you were born, what your hobbies are or a laundry list of your job skills.  In reality this is an extremely important question.  What this question really means is, ‘Tell me something that will matter to me as I consider you for this job.’ Interviewers ask it for a number of reasons:

• To get a sense of what you feel is most important about yourself;
• To see how well you’ve prepared for the interview; or
• To find out why you think you’re the best candidate for the job.

There is a lot riding on your response to this question, so make sure you knock it out of the park.  Here are a few quick tips for answering the “tell me about yourself” interview question the right way:

• Be brief.  Keep the answer short – under a minute. Touch on education, background and past work accomplishments and how they relate to the job your interviewing for
• Practice, practice, practice.  Write your answer out, then rehearse it until it’s second nature.
• Cite examples.  When you develop your answer, include one or two examples that best demonstrate why you’re well-qualified for the available position.

Take advantage of your time in the driver’s seat by selling yourself, creating a great first impression and setting a positive tone for the rest of the interview. If you’d like some ‘mock’ interview practice, give us a call and we’ll set up an interview coaching appointment. We’re here to help.

This blog was written by Joan Pajari, Senior Marketing Specialist at ABR Employment Services and Kinsa Group.