How to Answer The “Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question
The dreaded “Tell Me About Yourself Question” can be a daunting way to start an interview. Most people do not enjoy talking about themselves and freeze when they are asked to describe themselves. How personal do I get? What should I include? What do they want to know? No sweat! I am here to help.
I encourage my clients to go by the following guidelines:
Provide a brief (2-4 sentence) elevator pitch of your previous education and experience.
This step should outline the most relevant job history for this particular role without repeating everything on your resume and highlight your most relevant roles and any leadership responsibilities.
List your top 2-3 relevant skills with examples.
In preparation for the job interview, you should study the job description in detail to pick out 3-4 skills that they are looking for within the job description that you feel like are your strengths. These skills can either be hard skills (programming language, software platforms, data analysis, etc.) or soft skills (people leadership, communication, relationship building, etc.). During this process, you should think through your strongest 3 skills that are most relevant to both the role and your skills and come up with examples that demonstrate these competencies. For example, if you pick communication, you could share an example of breaking down complex technical data for non-technical partners in a meaningful way.
Tie your experiences, passions, and interests to the mission and values of the organization.
Research the company in advance and find out what they value and prioritize as an organization. Why does that particular mission resonate with you? What skills, hobbies, or passions do you have that you feel would fit in well the organization? How will those skills help them reach their organizational goals?
These 3 quick exercises can really help you refine your response, give concrete examples of your relevant skills, and tie your skills and hobbies to the mission of the organization (not to mention to feel more confident in a stressful situation)!
Need more help coming up with ideas? Dragonfly Resume Writing Offers Mock Interviews to help you feel prepared for your search and articulate your skills and experience in a meaningful way!
