Tell Me About Yourself: Your Self-Describing Skills

"Tell Me About Yourself" is the most popular way for hiring managers to start most one-on-one job interviews; get this part right and the rest of the interview will just naturally fall into place.

But, so many people just don't get it right and because of that they almost certainly lose out, when they could be sitting on a wonderful job offer. Read "Tell Me About Yourself" Part 1 & Part 2 on this page.

Most interviewers like to have an informal chat about the weather and travel and so on, then they will start off the formal part of the interview with something like this:

How to answer the "tell me about yourself" question...

The words may vary of course but in a job interview the "Tell me about yourself" question is a request to start talking and get the interview under way, the way you answer 'tell me about...' is crucial. It is at this point that PANIC sets in.

Do you know:

• What do they want to hear?
• Where do I start?
• How long have you got?

Your answer to this really is quite simple when you think about it this way: The reason you are sitting in this room with this interviewer is to convince them that you are the person they need to hire. Therefore what they want to hear from you are reasons and facts to convince them that you ARE the right person to hire. You can help this along by paying some heed to your body language which may reinforce the image you want to present.

You need to give a positive and relevant response that will set the right tone for the interview that follows. The interviewer is forming their impression of you during this time so you need to understand what is required for the answer to this question, so that your interview stays on track.

Although you hope they have read your job application letter and CV, you might wonder why they are asking this 'tell me about yourself' question in the interview. It is because they want to see how well you can present your thoughts confidently and structure your answer in a way that shows you understand their needs for the job.

Your Answer to "Tell Me about Yourself" at Job Interviews Part 1

Because it only takes one slip-up when the competition for new jobs is so fierce, you owe it to yourself to learn the interview winning techniques that are proven to work, just as they have for many people before you.

This is a job interview! They do NOT want to hear irrelevant stuff about where you go to watch football or your pets' names or how your grandchild just lost her first tooth. (I've heard all of these.) You must get this job interview answer right!

What they DO want to hear is a brief introduction to show how your career brought you to THIS point of being here in THIS room with them. This means you need to show where and how you got started, the decisions and changes you made along the way and that the role you are about to be interviewed for is the right progression for your career. But not only is it right for you but with your interest, enthusiasm and skills it will be right for the prospective employer as well. And do all this in about 3 minutes!

You have three minutes to hold their attention and tell them how you took up your first job after college or university and gained specific skills as your career progressed. Add to this your promotions or appointments to new job roles and how you sought out opportunities to develop in your chosen career. Spend most of your three minutes on your most recent job and how the expertise you have matches the underlying needs of the new job.

One of the best interview techniques is to then state most carefully that when you saw this new job being advertised, you became very excited as to the closeness of the match and the career development opportunity you envisioned. And that is why you are so pleased to be at this interview.

And that is how you construct your answer to the "tell me about yourself" command at job interviews.

Incidentally, you may also be asked 'please tell us about...' in a telephone interview, so don't wait, get your best answer sorted out now.

Your Answer to "Tell Me about Yourself" at Job Interviews Part 2

When you give your answer to the 'Please Tell Me About Yourself' question at job interviews, you have a tremendous opportunity to influence the whole of the interview. Forget your 15 minutes of fame, these three minutes are far more fundamental to your success.

This is how important it is to get this part right.

You will already have researched the organization and know the function and responsibility of the job. You will already have prepared your career overview in a way that emphasises and matches your key strengths and job related skills to the key requirements of the job. Not only that but you have prepared yourself mentally for the interview and you are confident that you are the right person.

So you are ready; but what if your interviewer has failed to prepare as well as you have? If you detect any signs that he hasn't prepared, or starts talking too much or fails to ask you, then I suggest you find a way of interjecting "Could I tell you a little about myself?" which will probably be grasped with some relief.

This is how important the "Tell me about yourself" phrase is: it is your best opportunity to set the agenda for the whole interview and she who sets the agenda influences the outcome.

When the interviewer has not prepared fully, he will rely on the most recent information to hand from which to form the follow-on questions. The most recent information is what he has just heard and will therefore ask questions that derive from your answer to "Tell me about yourself".

You see how important it is now; don't just accept what some say is merely an interlude to allow you to settle in the interview room and hear your own voice before the real proceedings get under way. Your answer to what is probably the most common interview 'question' can be crucial to the outcome and determine whether you are successful at being offered the job.

So my plea to you is this: If you do nothing else to prepare for your interview, please be sure to prepare your answer to "Tell me about yourself". At job interviews it is possibly the most important answer to prepare.

More Interview Help For You...

When you need to get ready for an interview, you want to know what to expect; what interview questions will you be asked and what are the best answers to give.

This 42-page top interview answers information booklet, which I wrote personally to help you, contains everything you must know so you can out-perform your competition and win the 'Interview Game'. To do that I just need you to understand what is involved in the interview process so that you get the result you want.

With my expert advice and proven analysis plus individual prompts, you get to learn how to tell your story in the best possible light, as well as how to find out exactly what the interviewer really needs to find out and what his hidden needs are. You also learn how to tell them what they need to hear, so you get hired!! All for just £9.99 Click the book cover for download details.

Winning An Interview

Of course, half the battle is getting to the interview in the first place and you need the right CV and cover letter so that your application is seen as being worthwhile. You can get my professional help with CV writing by going to my CV writing services page and selecting the level of help you need.

You are here: Tell Me About Yourself. I also recommend that you read the page about Self Introduction to get a more detailed view of what to say about yourself.

Go back for tips to prepare your answers to more Interview Questions or for a complete overview of what to expect and what to do before, during and after your interview please go to Interview Help.

Then go on to read the Best Interview Answers which shows you exactly how you can deal with questions like this. Of course 'tell me about yourself' is not really a question, but it's so often used to get you talking at the start of an interview. You can't afford to get this wrong as the whole interview may then turn out to be a waste of time if you haven't prepared for it.

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