3 Ways to Answer the Question, “Tell Me About Yourself “

“Tell me about yourself”

It’s the one question every job candidate can expect during a job interview. You’d think candidates would slam-dunk the answer.

Based on my own experience as a hiring manager and as a job seeker, I think candidates fail miserably.

Instead of grabbing the attention of the hiring manager with our unique story, we settle in comfortably and drone on with a chronological list of our employment history, education and accomplishments.

The same information we just handed to them in the form of our resume.

It’s like a blind date gone horribly wrong. We’ve got one chance to impress our dream guy/gal with a fun tale that will leave them asking for second date, and we waste time telling them details of how long it took us to pick out an outfit.

Definitely not the story a prospective date wants to hear.

Hiring managers don’t want to hear boring stories either. They can read the details from your resume. This is your chance to tell them who you are in a way that has them saying, “Wow – what a smart go-getter. And fun! I want to have this person on my team.”

I remember back in college, each time we’d meet someone new there was a standard list of questions to ask each other. It was almost a ritual and included:

• Where are you from?
• What’s your major?
• Do you live in a dorm or apartment? Where?

My friends and I would get bored with this tried and true interview, which is so similar to the “Tell me About Yourself” question we now experience when interviewing for a job. We wanted so badly to ask a series of new questions. During one of our happy hours we developed these gems:

• Are those your shoes?
• Does your mother know you’re here?
• Does your hair always look like that?

While fear of hurting someone’s feelings prevented us from using these questions, our intent was simply to get some interesting feedback instead of the same old information that everyone provided.

You have a chance to break away from old habits! Take yourself to happy hour, or find a quiet spot to think about your unique story. If you hit a road block, ask a trusted friend or two to help out.

To get you started, here are three ways to answer the question, “Tell me about yourself”:

• Sell yourself with only 3 words, and tell why those 3 words are important for you
• Share 3 pivotal career moments that will contribute to your success at this job
• Explain why your colleagues would recommend you for this job

I think you get the idea. Find a unique angle that tells who you are and why you would be a great asset to the hiring manager.

Smile, be confident and shine as you grab the hiring manager’s attention.

Just refrain from asking if his mom knows where he is.