How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself”
May 9th, 2010 | by admin |This seemingly innocent question is actually a land mine in disguise and I’ve seen many candidates fumble this one.
Sometimes they’ll just recap the last few jobs they’ve had. Sometimes they’ll ramble on about where they went to school, their personal lives, their hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc.
None of this is relevant.
What the hiring manager wants to hear is how you sell your experience in terms that make you a viable candidate. In order to do this, you should very carefully prepare a 60 second overview of your most significant experience and accomplishments as they relate to this specific job. This is the key: tailor you 60 second “bio” in terms that make it appear you are a perfect fit for the job.
This, of course, means you have to thoroughly know the job requirements (which you can usually get straight from the job posting) and the company (which you can get straight from Google).
Here’s an example of how you might answer this question, if you are interviewing for a computer programmer position: “I’ve had five years experience with .NET programming, which I know exceeds your job requirement of three years experience. I’ve also developed several web-based financial reporting systems, one of which is very similar to the XYZ system your company launched last year. I’m also proficient in Cold Fusion, C# and XML, which are all technologies used in your X and Y systems. Finally, I also have two years experience with GIS technologies at ABC Company, which uses the same geographical systems as youself.”
Notice how each skill set and experience is tied directly into either a job requirement for the position you’re interviewing for, or some technology used by that particular company.
Sure, it’s a bit of work to change your 60 second bio to match the job for which you are interviewing, but your success rate with job interviews will skyrocket
Here too, this is something I seldom hear in interviews. Except, of course, from the candidates that get the job!
For complete information about how to find a job, straight from an actual Hiring Manager, please visit Job-Search-Steps.com