Career Counselor: This episode of Capella University's Extreme Makeover: Interview edition
is focused on the question: “Tell me about yourself”. One consistent feature of a job
interview is probably the opening question. While the phrasing of the first question asked
during an interview may vary, you will likely be asked to tell the interviewer about yourself.
Let's see how our interview candidate, Melody, answers this question before hearing Capella's
tips.
Interviewer: Melody, to start the interview today, could you tell me a little bit about
yourself?
Melody: Yeah, actually, I was born in a small town in Missouri and I have two brothers and
one actually lives in China. In fact, I'm going to go over and see him pretty soon.
And, and then I moved to Iowa when I was in grade school and we lived all over when I
was in Iowa. It's kind of funny now, because I'm connecting with all those people via facebook.
Melody: And then, after I graduated high school, I went to college in Missouri and I went to
several schools there because I ...
Interviewer: Let me move on to the next question.
Melody: Okay.
Career Counselor: A common mistake made by interview candidates is to avoid preparing
for this introduction. The interviewer did not appreciate having to listen to all of
the irrelevant content of Melody’s longwinded answer. The Capella University Career Center
has three tips for improving your response to this question. First, keep your answer
focused and relevant for the job for which you're applying. Second, limit your response
to one or two minutes, and rehearse it ahead of time. And finally, state your profession
and job objective. Then move on to briefly outline the types of organizations you have
worked for in the past, as well as your experience and skills.
Career Counselor: Let's see how Melody's answer improved after she was given these tips.
Interviewer: To start the interview today Melody, please tell me a little bit about
yourself.
Melody: Sure, well I have six years of experience as a Recruiter, most recently at Bullseye
Corporation in Indianapolis. And before working at Bullseye, I recruited students to attend
the College of St. Luke's Nursing program. I was really excited when I saw your posting
for a Student Recruiter, because I missed working in an educational environment and
would really enjoy returning to one. I have a bachelor's degree in Human Resource Development
from American College and I'm currently pursuing my MBA with an emphasis in Human Resource
Management at Capella University.
Career Counselor: As you can see, by focusing her introduction to the specific job, Melody
made a much better impression on the interviewer. The Capella University Career Center hopes
this tip makes a difference in your next interview. Stay tuned for more tips and good luck!