by Howard J Cattie, Founder and Head Coach of CareerOyster
"Tell me about yourself?"
One of the most common questions in a job interview, yet most commonly fumbled is the question, “Tell me about yourself ?” Yet this is the easiest answer for someone to present in an interview. The question often arises because the manager hasn't really reviewed the resume in a lot of detail. So while they are catching up, they throw a pop quiz by asking you to, “Tell me about yourself”.
This question is an open-ended question and the answer is a free form essay which can easily lead to all kinds of perilous responses. Yet it is also a huge advantage. You have been given a gift - the opportunity of stating 2 or 3 of your strongest points and then controlling where the conversation goes next with a question at the end.
Your answer demonstrates your ability to communicate on your feet when you're thrown a question, your ability to focus, and your ability to clarify your personal interest and agenda. This common job interview question should be answered similar to an “elevator pitch” with an answer that is clear, bulleted and relevant to the opportunity. It should be easy to understand and should not generate more questions than answers. It should be less than 2 minutes.
So the key to handling this question in the interview is to prepare the answer before the interview. The manager really doesn't want to hear about your life history, what you're interested in, a long boring sequence of your jobs, or any ego trips. An absolute disaster is occurs if instead of answering the question, you respond with hesitancy or confusion or ask “what would you like to hear?”
What they really want to hear is a focused summary of relevant bullets that can benefit them and may help them solve a problem. I say, “may“, because we don’t have enough detail at this stage of the interview to use the word “can”.
So how do we structure this answer?
Lets say we want to use 5 sentences max and a steering question. Here’s how we might structure it.
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If you prepared properly for the job interview, you’ve identified relevant keywords for a) products, b) industries, c) technologies, d) tasks and e)titles that can easily be used to create bullets in this summary.
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The first 3-4 sentences can list some of these keywords and expand them with length of experience (years) or with breadth of experience (for tasks or titles).
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Then add some results and these keywords have now become “bulleted” accomplishments. Do not try to cover the entire job description. Focus on the 3 major strengths you feel you bring to the table, based on the keywords.
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Sentences 4 and 5 should be oriented toward benefits to the manager and areas of possible mutual interest (complementing their agenda) which are to be explored in today's meeting. Focus on what you are able to bring to the table. For example, some of the biggest benefits we can bring to a company and to a manager are:
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someone who can solve the immediate problem
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someone that would help the manager achieve their personal agenda
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the ability to start fast based on proven expertise
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an independent worker which requires less management time
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someone who can take on more responsibilities over time
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someone who is a low risk hire or has potential for high results.
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Then we end with the appropriate steering question to move the job interview in our preferred direction, which is usually the TARGET QUESTION.
Tell me about Yourself (example 1)
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TITLE sentence: Sure. Be happy to. I have 15 years’ experience as a Senior Account Manager, Sales Representative and Client Services Manager (one of them is their title).
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My industry knowledge covers life safety and bio-medical technologies with product knowledge of fire alarm systems, security systems and medical test equipment (include their industry or product where possible).
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My expertise is managing sales teams, customer relationship management, business development and sales/service leadership. I am a master of account management and I grow business - period!
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The Companies I have worked for include: Company 1, Company2 and Cpmpany3
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BRIDGE: What I am looking for is an opportunity as an Engagement Manager, Sr. Account Manager or Client Service Manager (one is their title) where I can utilize my skills developing accounts, building teams, serving customers, training and business development.
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CLOSE to the target question and back in control!! Rather than bore you with two hours of my background, could you share with me the top 3 tasks that are most important to be successful in your position, and let me focus my background on them?