“So, Tell Me a Little About Yourself”

In a recent newsletter, I talked about how to answer an often asked interview question, "what's your greatest weakness?" In today's addition, I help you tackle another question favored by interviewers, "can you tell me a little about yourself.?"

Why is the question asked?

Tell me about yourself is frequently the first question asked in an interview. It breaks the ice between the job candidate and the interviewer and sets the tone for what's to come. The interviewer wants to get a general overview of the person sitting in front of them before digging into specifics. In the front of their mind is, "would I like to work with his person, and can they help me?" As Joel Schwartzberg, author of “Get to the Point! Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter,” clarifies, what the interviewer wants to hear is a "tailored proof point," not your life's story.

Start with something personal.

One of your goals during an interview is to build rapport with the hiring manager. One way to do this is to share something the two of you may have in common. So, before talking about your qualifications, start with something personal like where you grew up or where you went to school. If relevant, you might add how you got into the field that you're in today. Keep this part short. 10-15 seconds at most!

Identify the employer's needs.

The risk with an open-ended question like this is that if you don't plan your answer, you're likely to ramble about almost anything or boringly regurgitate your resume. To start, read the responsibilities and qualifications listed in the job description. What do they tell you about the problem the manager expects the new hire to solve? What adjectives do they use to describe their ideal candidate? Are they looking for someone who is "highly organized," a "team player," or a person with a great "sense of humor?" Then, make a list of achievements you've had that match the top responsibilities listed and a second list of the adjectives co-workers and managers use most frequently to describe you.

Match your capabilities to their needs.

Pick one of your accomplishments that you think best illustrates how you can help the organization. Let's say you're interviewing for the director of project management in a biotech company. Your answer might sound like this, "Throughout my career, I've taken pride in my ability to apply my project management skills in research and development to help bring drug candidates to market. I enjoy working collaboratively with team members to solve problems. In my last position, I helped design the project management procedures that led to the successful filing of an application with the FDA."

Practice makes perfect.

Your answer to "tell me about yourself" should be succinct, not exceeding two minutes! Practicing aloud with a friend or family member will build your confidence to perform on the big day.

Telling your story while acknowledging the organizations' needs demonstrates that you care about them, not only yourself. Empathy goes a long way to winning the heart and mind of a hiring manager!

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