You have been invited into the interview room. You have just sat down and mentally arranged your thought processes for the question to begin. The interviewer smiles from across the table; leans towards you, and asks, “Tell me about yourself.”
Your interviewer has just asked you a well-intentioned ice breaker and, in his/her view, a question to put you at ease. But people are likely to get confused and even experience a minor panic crisis at the receiving end.
Such candidates read too much in this innocuous question. They would think about what the interviewer wanted me to say specifically. Is it some sort of trap, so I need to be very cautious in answering? I have to summarize my long career in a short para.
Another reason candidates might be overwhelmed is because of a lack of confidence in the value of their knowledge or what they have done in life. They shy away from trumpeting their knowledge and experience.
Here in this blog, we discuss how to answer this innocuous query – Tell Me About Yourself. Remember how you answer this query, will set the tone for the rest of the questions from the interviewer. The interviewer is trying to know something about you, your knowledge, experience, and your soft skills. This question is an opportunity for you. You have full liberty in how to respond.
A three-step structured response:
- Your current role, the scope of the role, and achievements/accomplishments, i.e. about your present.
- Narrate how you got to your present. You may also give your previous experiences which are relevant to the interview at hand.
- Launch into your reasons for this interview bringing the special interests that you look to achieve in this company.
The order of the above could be changed suiting to the occasion. But you should be able to give a good reason why you are there in that job interview.
It helps if you keep your answer to Tell Me About Yourself very professional. Avoid giving out any personal details. Your bio and your answer should be company and job-specific as far as possible. Know what your company is. Try to keep your answer short maybe around 30 to 40 seconds.
Tell Me About Yourself question is likely to be repeated at other levels of interactions in your job. For example, your boss may ask the same question. Is he asking about your experience or previous employment? Likely he wants to know if you are technically qualified for his job. If it is HR then they are interested in your experience and qualifications in HR. So your answer needs to be tailored to the specific situation.
Do you have a hobby that connects with the job at hand? In such a case, that hobby must be intertwined into your answer.
There is no need to talk about all your strengths. It will suffice to mention one or two most suitable in this answer.
One advice. Do not mention if you have had any bad experiences with your previous company. Not at this moment of telling about yourself. There would be a place and time if at all, to inform of such a bad experience.
Templates of sample answers to “tell me about yourself”:
Fresher out of Intermediate, Graduates, Postgraduates, etc.:
My name is XXXX age 22 (or whatever age). I graduated from AAA University in Computer Science and have obtained an 8 GPA. I have learned and studied my subjects and also did specialized courses on languages (specify). I made it to the Dean’s list of students.
I have of course no real-life work experience but I did a six-month (specify) on a project for the YYY software company.
My courses have prepared me for working in a real environment which I would undertake with utmost sincerity and honesty.
Experienced Professionals:
Yes Sir. I graduated from AAA University in Computer Science and have obtained an 8 GPA. I have learned and studied my subjects and also did specialized courses on languages (specify). I made it to the Dean’s list of students (or any other accomplishment in your student days).
I got my first job as an Assistant (modify as per your case) in company AA. My job there was to provide support for small software pieces and carry out jobs as assigned by my team leader.
I have thereafter worked in company BB in software development and maintenance in tourism industry bookings and reservations for airlines and hotels etc. I could do my job satisfactorily meeting the set deadlines.
I enjoy reading about AI, robotics, and technical articles. Your company is in these fields – and I think I should fit in well here.
You know the adage – people can guess about the contents from the look of the envelope. First impressions make a difference. Practice your answer but you do not have to memorize it. It must come out as a spontaneous response to the interviewer’s question.
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