Tell me about yourself is all too common an interview question.
Some may say talking about yourself is easy as we know everything, but in context of job interview it makes things different.Open ended questions have their own difficulties in answering properly.
First think why interviewers ask this question? It lets interviewer get into the actual interviewing and set a direction.Ice breaker and transition stage to put it in right perspective.
A good answer will be a great help for interviewee.
A simple and effective framework for your truthful and candid answer: present, past and future.
Present: Speak about about what your current role is, the scope of it, and perhaps a big r documented accomplishment of current nature.
Past: Tell the interviewer how you got there and also mention previous experience that’s relevant to the job and company you are presently applying for.
Future: Why you’re interested in this vacancy and why you can be a great fit for it.
One needs to plan his/her interview strategy-study role and company and tailor your words as per role and experience and vision to be a right fit.
A confident answer encompassing achievements relevant to the new job, your vision and suitability needs to be conveyed in sincere and calm manner.Off course never get into any hyperbole or unsubstantiated statements.
From India, Pune
3131Some may say talking about yourself is easy as we know everything, but in context of job interview it makes things different.Open ended questions have their own difficulties in answering properly.
First think why interviewers ask this question? It lets interviewer get into the actual interviewing and set a direction.Ice breaker and transition stage to put it in right perspective.
A good answer will be a great help for interviewee.
A simple and effective framework for your truthful and candid answer: present, past and future.
Present: Speak about about what your current role is, the scope of it, and perhaps a big r documented accomplishment of current nature.
Past: Tell the interviewer how you got there and also mention previous experience that’s relevant to the job and company you are presently applying for.
Future: Why you’re interested in this vacancy and why you can be a great fit for it.
One needs to plan his/her interview strategy-study role and company and tailor your words as per role and experience and vision to be a right fit.
A confident answer encompassing achievements relevant to the new job, your vision and suitability needs to be conveyed in sincere and calm manner.Off course never get into any hyperbole or unsubstantiated statements.
From India, Pune
Thank you so much everybody for bringing new perspectives to this question and contributing towards improvising my answer. It means a lot.
Also could you all tell me what is the correct chronological order to this answer? Because I have found answers both the ways.
Also I wonder if its going to be too lengthy on personal matter, if I talk about both my parents ,siblings, husband and kids. Kindly advise
Can I start from Personal life, then moving on to educational background ,then give an idea about my first job, then give a gist about my gap and what I did during that time, Then about my current job, and why did I choose HR and why I am looking for another job?
I hope summary of all this would make a perfect answer .
Looking for all your contributions towards this answer.
Warm Regards,
Priya
From India, Bengaluru
Also could you all tell me what is the correct chronological order to this answer? Because I have found answers both the ways.
Also I wonder if its going to be too lengthy on personal matter, if I talk about both my parents ,siblings, husband and kids. Kindly advise
Can I start from Personal life, then moving on to educational background ,then give an idea about my first job, then give a gist about my gap and what I did during that time, Then about my current job, and why did I choose HR and why I am looking for another job?
I hope summary of all this would make a perfect answer .
Looking for all your contributions towards this answer.
Warm Regards,
Priya
From India, Bengaluru
""Can I start from Personal life, then moving on to educational background ,then give an idea about my first job, then give a gist about my gap and what I did during that time, Then about my current job, and why did I choose HR and why I am looking for another job?"
Personal life part in my opinion should be very brief and relevant to your growth as an individual.
Educational background,jobs done-roles,acheivements,scope etc can be spoken with adequate details-adding how you achieved targets,motivated coworkers etc.
Your each sentence should be towards showing how you fit in the new role in a collected and structured manner.
Best of luck.
From India, Pune
Personal life part in my opinion should be very brief and relevant to your growth as an individual.
Educational background,jobs done-roles,acheivements,scope etc can be spoken with adequate details-adding how you achieved targets,motivated coworkers etc.
Your each sentence should be towards showing how you fit in the new role in a collected and structured manner.
Best of luck.
From India, Pune
As many have said this is a very common interview question, and one of the most useless in my opinion. It is one I have never asked in any interview I have done as I prefer to focus on a person's skills and abilities to find the person I need for the job.
I will give the answer I have always given people when I did job search training, and it runs contrary to most of the advice given above.
Stay right away from personal stuff, it is not relevant to the job, and has the added danger of giving away too much information that can be used against you in the hiring process. However there may be things you can talk about that relate to the job. For example, my main interest in life is family history research, and I have used that in job interviews to demonstrate my research skills, my ability to think outside the box to solve problems, to be creative in finding possible sources of information etc. I never mention my other main interest in life which is travel. Employers would automatically think I want regular time off to travel!
I always tell people to stick strictly to the job you are being interviewed for. Talk about your experience and how it relates to the job and what you can bring to the company. Keep the focus on you, your abilities and how that relates to what the company needs. Yes, you are going to be repeating yourself more than once here, but it is YOUR job to convince the employer that you are Mr/Mrs/Ms Right.
These sorts of questions are designed to trip people up. ALWAYS BE WARY.
From Australia, Melbourne
I will give the answer I have always given people when I did job search training, and it runs contrary to most of the advice given above.
Stay right away from personal stuff, it is not relevant to the job, and has the added danger of giving away too much information that can be used against you in the hiring process. However there may be things you can talk about that relate to the job. For example, my main interest in life is family history research, and I have used that in job interviews to demonstrate my research skills, my ability to think outside the box to solve problems, to be creative in finding possible sources of information etc. I never mention my other main interest in life which is travel. Employers would automatically think I want regular time off to travel!
I always tell people to stick strictly to the job you are being interviewed for. Talk about your experience and how it relates to the job and what you can bring to the company. Keep the focus on you, your abilities and how that relates to what the company needs. Yes, you are going to be repeating yourself more than once here, but it is YOUR job to convince the employer that you are Mr/Mrs/Ms Right.
These sorts of questions are designed to trip people up. ALWAYS BE WARY.
From Australia, Melbourne
Dear Priya,
" Tell me about yourself" is a key open ended question in an interview as skilled HRs or Industrial- Organizational Development Psychologists, like myself would deem as important, however whose true value has not been understood by many.
Let me share some insights as why this question is important and how to answer.
When an interviewer asks this question, they are not asking you to repeat what is already written on your resume. They want to understand your personality, your likes - dislikes and how you perceive yourself.
A lot of candidates share about their hobbies, interests in sports which give insights about their nature and personality , not to forget also reveals their communication ability.
Simple examples: Adventure sports lovers reveal activity seeking nature, risk taking ability etc.
Indoor sports like carrom, chess etc reveal patience, analytical skills etc.
Brief intro about the family reveals backgrounds and things that we are exposed and acquainted to, even if that may or may not be reflected in our field of study or career. Exposure, wide avenues of knowledge whether formal or informal gives an insight about candidates skills and potentials.
Also reveals a lot about their nature and interpersonal skills.
Finally one of the very important things that are revealed from the response is how you perceive yourself. Some people are overtly self critical. Some are filled with self praises and pride. While some are balanced and present their SWOTS very subtly.
TO think that the person asking the question " Tell me about yourself " has not done their homework to go through your resume is a misconception. They probably have read it thoroughly and have points of concern /consideration which is getting more clarity from the way a person handles this question.
I hope this helps.
Feel free to reach out for any other concerns.
Thanks
Shrabonee Paul
www.neuworldz.com
From United States, North Liberty
" Tell me about yourself" is a key open ended question in an interview as skilled HRs or Industrial- Organizational Development Psychologists, like myself would deem as important, however whose true value has not been understood by many.
Let me share some insights as why this question is important and how to answer.
When an interviewer asks this question, they are not asking you to repeat what is already written on your resume. They want to understand your personality, your likes - dislikes and how you perceive yourself.
A lot of candidates share about their hobbies, interests in sports which give insights about their nature and personality , not to forget also reveals their communication ability.
Simple examples: Adventure sports lovers reveal activity seeking nature, risk taking ability etc.
Indoor sports like carrom, chess etc reveal patience, analytical skills etc.
Brief intro about the family reveals backgrounds and things that we are exposed and acquainted to, even if that may or may not be reflected in our field of study or career. Exposure, wide avenues of knowledge whether formal or informal gives an insight about candidates skills and potentials.
Also reveals a lot about their nature and interpersonal skills.
Finally one of the very important things that are revealed from the response is how you perceive yourself. Some people are overtly self critical. Some are filled with self praises and pride. While some are balanced and present their SWOTS very subtly.
TO think that the person asking the question " Tell me about yourself " has not done their homework to go through your resume is a misconception. They probably have read it thoroughly and have points of concern /consideration which is getting more clarity from the way a person handles this question.
I hope this helps.
Feel free to reach out for any other concerns.
Thanks
Shrabonee Paul
www.neuworldz.com
From United States, North Liberty
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