Hello, I am Marat from EMMOTION and today I am guiding you through probably the most
important job interview question - Tell Me About Yourself.
Years ago, after graduating, I’ve been searching for information and for responses to this
question and I honestly didn’t find many straight to the point replies.
So here is my attempt to help you prepare your reply to this “make it or break it”
question, which will absolutely set the tone for your job interview.
“Tell Me About Yourself” question can also be rephrased as “Please, present yourself,
describe yourself and your background”.
Prepare and structure a small script to come up with a professional answer which showcases
your being a real asset to this position and company.
Think of the strengths you would like the interviewer to remember about you once you
leave.
The easiest way to put together your answer effectively is going step by step through:
Your present profile overview Your past education, experiences and achievements
Your future plans and motivations
Resuming shortly: present, past and future, all relevant to the job description and to
what this interview is about.
Avoid giving out personal information which is unrelated to your professional performance.
Follow your script: Your first sentence should be an introduction
to who you are professionally, then an overview statement that shows off your background and
gives a little sense of your personality too.
Here are some examples:
“I’m an innovative HR professional with 10 years of experience managing HR processes,
strongly specialised in Recruitment and Talent Management for international brands, including
one of the biggest retail players in the world.
One of my favorite functional areas are training and development projects, I managed to create
training programs from the scratch to teach the leadership team how to coach with a growth
mindset.”
Notice that the first line sums up the experience and drops a high-profile employer’s name.
Most hiring managers assume that if you made it through the hiring process at other well-known
companies, you must be very good.
Next, mention your strengths and abilities, proven past success.
Don’t assume that the interviewer has closely read your resume and knows your qualifications.
Briefly highlight a few points from the past that make you stand out:
"I have been in the retail industry during 8 years.
One reason I particularly enjoy HR, and the challenges that go along with it, is the opportunity
to connect with people.
In my last job, I formed solid internal client relationships resulting in a 25 percent decrease
of the turnover just in a few months."
Conclude with your motivations and interests: Why are you here and why do you want this
position?
Concise and positive.
“Although I love my current role, I feel I’m now ready for a more challenging assignment.
I am a certified Senior HR Professional and I have an extensive negotiation experience,
which would be very helpful in this position while working with suppliers.”
Here’s a full example if you haven’t had a professional experience yet:
“I'm currently a student at the University of Barcelona where I am very active in the
student council.
As a representative for my class, I’ve organized a few fundraising events.
I am a motivated worker and a fast learner.
My real strength is my attention to detail.
I pride myself for meeting deadlines.
When I commit to doing something, I make sure it gets done on time.
During volunteering at a local gift store, I realized how much I enjoy customer service
and the retail world in general.
I think this position is a great fit and I’m excited about this opportunity.”
Let’s practice another full example: “I am a technical project manager with more
than six years of experience at top Wall Street companies.
Most recently, I led the development of an award-winning new software.
I’m a person who thrives in a fast-paced environment so right now I’m looking for
an opportunity to apply my technical experience and my creative problem solving skills at
the innovative database management company like this one.”
Clear and concise.
Remember: You will have time later to walk through your resume in detail and fill in
any gaps.
Don’t try to squeeze in too much information or your interviewer will tune out.
A good interview is a dialogue and not a monologue.
Keep it short and give your interviewer the chance to ask questions.
A big error by many candidates is a recitation of their resume from the beginning.
That can easily turn into a long monologue, which will only confuse your interviewer with
information overload.
Be sure to practice over and over again, until it’s perfect and you manage to answer with
confidence.
Be interested and brief.
Think of this as a movie trailer.
You want to catch the interviewer’s attention by highlighting the most appealing aspects
of yourself.
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