How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question

Open-ended questions give candidates a chance to showcase their skills, personality and accomplishments.

"Tell me about yourself" is a common interview question posed by employers in virtually all fields. Although the question seems simple and straightforward, many job candidates are daunted by it, wondering whether they should share their life story or just stick to a few generic facts about their work history. This perplexing question has a reason behind it, however. Career coach Lee E. Miller says that he has asked candidates this question for one simple reason: "to see how the candidates handled themselves in unstructured situations."

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Take the question seriously. Although "Tell me about yourself" may sound like an irrelevant "filler" question, it is actually more than that; it is an opportunity to show off your speaking skills and ability to make a good first impression, explains Miller. To make the most of this opportunity to impress your interviewer, make eye contact and speak in a loud, clear and confident tone of voice.

2. Be succinct. The Carnegie Mellon University Career Center suggests limiting your answer to this question to around one minute. To ensure that you can answer the question adequately in this time, Carnegie Mellon career advisers suggest that you prepare a brief professional autobiography before your interview and practice reciting it.

3. Share a story that highlights who you are as an employee. Greg Maka, managing director of 24/7 Marketing, suggests answering the "tell me about yourself" question with a story. Choosing a coherent story that emphasizes your reliability, professionalism and other positive characteristics can be more memorable than a laundry list of your accomplishments.

4. Talk about your goals. In addition to discussing your past accomplishments, share some thoughts about where you see your career going. If possible, show how the position to which you are applying ties in with these goals.

5. Discuss your personality and work habits. For example, if you are an extrovert who enjoys leading teams, mention this in your answer. Likewise, if you are highly organized and are good at working out the details of projects, focus on this trait in your discussion. In short, identify your most marketable characteristics and highlight them.

6. Stay away from overly personal topics. Although it is acceptable to mention personal interests, do so only when they highlight your professional strengths and qualifications. For example, talking about the type of books that you like to read might give your interviewer insights into your professional interests. Talking about your spouse, children, religion and political activities, on the other hand, will not contribute to your professional appearance and may bias your interviewer.

References

• The Ladders: How to Answer the Tell me About Yourself Interview Question
• Carnegie Mellon University Career Center: The Best Answers to Tough Interview Questions
• University of Hartford Career Services: Standard Interview Questions