welcome to seven days to mastering the art of the interview module three this
is the toughest question in the interview so let's get started so this
is the toughest question in the interview and there's really no doubt
about it I mean tell me about yourself is one of the most difficult but yet
easiest questions to answer and when they ask you to you know tell me about
yourself your answer can really just make or
break you as a candidate usually job seekers will respond with their
30-second commercial and then they'll elaborate on the background but well
almost every career book and career counselor will tell you that you know
that's the appropriate response that's what you should do I don't always agree
I mean there's definitely no one right way to answer this question and in this
module we're going to explore an alternate method it may work well for
you or it might make you feel uncomfortable if the latter then you
know you might not want to use it but I just want to make you aware of it and
let you decide for yourself you see many people fail in their job search because
they're too often focused on what they want in a job including the industry the
type of position the location the income the benefits the work environment their
their 30-second commercial is centered around this premise the commercial
describes the job seekers career history and what they're looking for and this
often is in direct contrast to what the employers are looking to hear from you
now there are two dominant reasons why job seekers are successful in the job
search the first one is because they're focusing on the needs of the
organization and the second is they're focusing on the deeds of the people
within the organization and in this video we're going to examine how to
focus on the need of the people within the organization
and this will assist in rethinking your response to that all-important question
tell me about yourself I also cover this question in even more
depth in the completing of you answer guide but from a more traditional
viewpoint and if you want that there should be a link on this page where you
can pick it up in order to learn how to respond to the needs of the interviewer
let's first learn more about ourselves you see we can apply that knowledge
about ourselves to knowing how to understand and respond to the needs of
others now most social psychologists recognize four basic personality styles
and you have analytical amiable expressive and driver and usually each
of us exhibits personality characteristics unique to one of these
Styles now here are the characteristics that are most commonly associated with
each of these Styles first you have analytical now the positive traits of
analytical are being precise methodical your organized your rational your
detail-oriented now analytical also has negative traits
which is you can be critical formal uncertain judgmental or picky let's move
on amiable positive traits you're most likely to be cooperative and dependable
and warm a good listener negotiator now the negative traits for amiable could be
undisciplined dependent submissive so let's look at expressive positive traits
this type of person can be enthusiastic or persuasive outgoing a good
communicator so let's look at expressive negative traits that cut type a person
can be ego-centered emotional exploitative opinionated now let's take
a look at driver the driver positive traits are persistent independent
decision-maker strong-willed sounds like a good CEO
negative traits for a driver can be aggressive strict tense relentless and
rigid now that you know these four traits it's time to figure out where you
fit in you see gaining an in-depth understanding of your personality style
has enormous value in your career as well as your personal life
however our focus today is just in learning how to use this knowledge to
make you more successful in your job search and once you've learned about
your own style and you've studied the other styles I encourage you to have a
little bit of fun and trying to determine the style of authors when you
meet someone for the first time try to identify his or her style within the
first two minutes you can often identify styles by observing a person's demeanor
a conversation their body language their appearance even their possessions so to
demonstrate what I mean let's take a look at some examples from the business
world while there are always exceptions generally speaking the styles will fit
the example so the first style is analytical now this could be a a
financial manager a programmer and engineer and accountant you see they
like systems and procedures they're slow to make decisions because they're going
to analyze everything to death but their decisions are usually very sound they
prefer working independently and they're usually not very good in team
environments but they're also very dependable you see they'll they'll buy
cars with good resale value and great gas mileage they're conservative
dressers at the party they want to know why so much money was spent on Michelob
ear when they could have just purchased a cheaper brand like bush they'll come
to the party with their laptops now let's look at the amiable style these
type of people are likely to be human resources managers that very focused
people they're dependable loyal easygoing very
compassionate they will give you the shirt off their back and the last nickel
in their pockets the good listeners and their they value team players who don't
rock the boat they're usually conformists followers
rarely leaders and they avoid conflict they're not good decision makers and
they drive four-door sedans or minivans and they take their kids to sporting
events and they usually clean up after the party is over next we have
expressive style this could be like a sales manager very outgoing and
enthusiastic with a high energy level their great idea generators but usually
they don't have the ability to see the idea through to completion they can be
very opinionated and egotistical no offense here their money motivated they
can be good communicators they prefer to direct and control rather than ask and
listen they drive red convertibles with great stereos and they really don't care
about gas mileage they come up with the idea for a company party but they never
help clean up they're on their way to another party
after that so let's move on to driver now the driver is likely a corporate CEO
they're intelligent intense focused and relentless they thrive on the thrill of
the challenge and the internal motivation to succeed money is only a
measure of success it's not the driving factor they are results in performance
oriented they also have compassion for the truly disadvantaged but absolutely
no patience or tolerance for lazy or lazy people or whiners they drive
prestigious cars not because the car attracts attention but because it was a
wise investment they want to know why we had a party and what were the benefits
of the party and did we invite the banker okay now you're really getting
some insight into your style and the of others it's time for the interviews
it's time to throw out your 30-second commercial and think on your feet
I've got a little exercise here for you if you're ready so you're going to be
interviewing with the human resources manager the finance manager the sales
manager and the CEO and the first question that each of them is going to
ask you is tell me about yourself and how should you respond now remember
remember the second reason for succeeding in a job search focus on the
needs of the people in the organization and here are just a few examples of how
you can respond to that question tell me about yourself and here's how you would
do it if you were responding to a Finance Manager I have been successful
in my career by making well-thought-out decisions based on careful analysis of
all factors I approach problems with logic and sound reasoning I would enjoy
working with you in developing the appropriate systems and procedures to
make our two departments function efficiently together ok let's take a
look at a response that you would give to a human resources manager my career
has been characterized by my ability to work well with diverse teams I seek out
opportunities to involve others in the decision-making process this
collaboration and communication is what has enabled me to achieve success in my
department people are the most valuable resource of any organization ok let's
take a look at a response to a sales manager throughout my career I have
always adhered to the principle that everyone in the organization must be
sales focused my department is always trained in customer service providing
outstanding support to the sales team and do our customers without sales the
rest of us would not have a job I look forward to helping you drive sales in
any way possible ok let's move on to a response to a
CEO I have achieved success in my career because I have been focused on the
bottom line I have always sought out innovative
solutions to challenging problems to maximize profitability regardless of the
task or challenge I always established benchmarks of performance and standards
of excellence I have never sought to maintain the
status quo any organization that does not change and grow will die
I would enjoy working with you to help define new market opportunities in order
to achieve the organization's goals now in each instance we responded to the
needs of the individual it's almost guaranteed that when you respond
appropriately to the diverse needs of the managers that you will become the
standard by which all of the other candidates will be measured I challenge
you to learn about your personality and leadership style learn about the styles
of others and learn how to think on your feet when responding to questions
whether you are seeking a job or you're gainfully employed by understanding the
needs of others you will become a more valuable person employee manager or
leader ok that wraps up today's lesson look for my email tomorrow containing
the next lesson titled handling the handshake now if you're not watching
this video at job interview tools com you're probably not subscribed to
receive the full program head on over to Java devtools comm slash 7 days and
register so you can be sure that you're getting the full program plus you'll get
even more resources that i only share an email it's all free so you have nothing
to worry about if you don't want to wait until you receive the next lesson in
your email then you can jump to module 4 right now just share this lesson on
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jump to the next lesson and I would love to hear your comments what is happening
in your interviews have you I'd an alternate way to answering the
question tell me about yourself have you tried any of these strategies did they
work for you I'd love to hear your story please share it with us I'm Don Georgevich
stay on your game I'm here to help you so you can enjoy a prosperous career
and legal lifestyle you love I'll see you in the next video
hi Don my name is Trea and the live in Tucson and I just want to let you know
that I I got a job we got actually a dream job so excited about it I
purchased your programs and follows it step by step did everything you said to
do I really studied the questions and I researched the company like I was
supposed to and I went in there to this very stressful large panel interview
feeling extremely confident totally sure of myself and it showed I was up to the
job as a 31 other applicants who interviewed and I was told that I had
the best interview of everybody and I honest-to-goodness don't think that I
would have had a chance if I hadn't purchased your program because some of
the questions that they threw me through at me were very difficult but they were
covered in your program I pretty sure except for maybe one all the questions
were covered in some form or fashion in your program my interview lasted about
an hour and 15 minutes so there was a lot of questions and I I was I nailed it
I completely nailed that interview and I got the job and I started Monday and I
couldn't be happier it's definitely going to be a long long term career for
me and I wanted you think you can have all my heart for everything for putting
together such a comprehensive program that is just so helpful and and I just I
can't thank you enough John thank you very much Mike
you