How to Answer 'Tell Me About Yourself' in the Job Interview

The correct answers decide your future in the interview. Unlike many other questions about your job profile and qualification, few questions like “tell me about yourself” or “describe yourself“or any other question asking you to introduce yourself to the interview persons can really impact on your overall performance.

Though the question asked to lighten up the stressful environment of the interview and to make the interviewee more comfortable or to have the brief idea about the interviewee, the answer of the same can help the interviewer to evaluate the person for the position.

Here are the few do's and don'ts and a sample answer to reply the "tell me about yourself" question smartly.

1. How do You Know Where to Start?

Often people have a misconception about this question that it is to be answered with the personal details. It can be true occasionally if the interviewer tells you to do so. But most of the time the question is asked to have your professional glimpse.

To answer the question correctly you can start with your current job, your professional achievements or educational success. Let them know why you are the perfect fit for the job like how your experience can improve the organization.

 

2. How to Prepare for the Tell Me about Yourself Interview Question

The best answer takes place with better preparations, to answer this question, you need to focus on two things,

What you are going to say and how you are representing your answer.

Calculate your professional blessing, evaluate your experience and have a brief yet summarized points of your professional journey. These notes will help you in replying the question and also you can slightly elaborate how your skills fit perfectly in their shoes.

As this question is Googly ball, be wise with your shot. Sometimes this question is just to ask to see how you can represent yourself or to have the idea of your intellectual skills. So be confident and check your words before saying it.

You can also do some research and check on the company details so you can form a really good answer.

 

3. Do’s and Don’ts

The first and most important thing you should totally avoid sharing your personal stories, usually, people start telling the personal stories when they don’t know what to say in answer.

You can include the following in your answer:-

Do's	Don’ts
Professional Achievements
Do take notes of your professional achievements and prepare a well structured answer. Make sure that you practice the answers to perfection.	Don’t repeat the things you have already mention in your resume. Also, avoid rambling your professional achievements or weekly structured answers.
Qualification & educational Achievements
Do explain how your study can help you on working this positions or how the extracurricular activities helped you in developing team spirit. Also, tell them about the projects you worked on in your college time.	Don’t tell the interviewer the whole college stories and how you won the external certificates etc. Avoid listing out the number of courses you have taken.
Elaborate your skills
Do tell about the relevant skills for the job and how you have achieved them. Also, explain how this will help you in your job duties.	Don’t give the list of the skills simply or talk about the irrelevant skills or the thing which might not help with the position. Avoid lying about the skill.
Career goals
Do tell them about the career goals and how this job will help you to reach the point. Also, answer in the way that it looks that you are an ambitious and career oriented person.	Don’t tell them your life goals or exaggerate the career goals. Also, make sure that you don’t sound like the person without any goals.
Why you are interested in this job?
Do tell benefits of the job to your career and how the work environment helps you in growing.	Don’t reply with the answer like high pay or the job is difficult. Also, avoid disrespecting your employers.

4. A Strong Sample Answer for Toughest Question

Here is the example to reply about the “tell me about yourself”

 

The above are some tricks on how to answer the “tell me about yourself” question. Though you want to impress them with your answer, avoid being overconfident or taking much time in answering.

The right amount of confidence and little hard work goes perfect!

How To Describe Yourself In The Job Interview- Infographic

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Resources:

https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/job-interview-tips/tell-me-about-yourself-how-to-answer-this-tricky-interview-question
https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/tell-me-about-yourself-dos-donts/
https://uptowork.com/blog/tell-me-about-yourself