In every English interview that you have, you will almost certainly be asked some variation of the “Tell me about yourself” question. This question is usually the first question you are asked. It is arguably the most important question, since it gives you a chance to make a first impression. Your first impression can have a major impact on the rest of the interview and how your interviewers think about you.
Since this is such an important question, it is also one of the most difficult. A good answer thus requires a lot of practice and serious thinking. We have discussed some strategies for answering this question and provided a template to this question in our Interview Template Guide.
In this post, we highlight four reasons why your answer to the “Tell me about yourself” question might not be as good as you think it is. We discuss four common problems we see in our clients who work with us in our interview preparation package. While these are not the only problems we see, these are definitely the most common. This post will help you to avoid making these mistakes and help you start creating a strong answer.
1. Irrelevant Information
The first reason your “Tell me about yourself” answer may be weak is because it includes irrelevant information. Despite the many possible ways it could be asked (“Walk me through your background,” “Tell me about your resume,” “Give us a background about your work history,” etc.), this question is essentially asking you to explain your professional background and your work experiences that qualified you for the role. Thus, you should include only information that is relevant to the role and your professional background.
We often encounter clients who say things like “I was born in South Korea in 1993, and I am a passionate worker. My hobbies are tennis, golf, and traveling.” None of this is relevant or appropriation information for a job interview. First, as we have emphasized throughout our Premium Resume Workbook, you should not include any personal information. Your hobbies are also irrelevant, and we generally recommend clients avoid mentioning these. Next, there is no need to say “I am a passionate worker.” This is a general statement, and if we are going to hire someone, we hope they will be passionate.
We also hear clients say things like “I am very skilled at all fields of finance.” This is also something you should avoid since it is vague, general, and does not explain your specific fit for the position. What does “everything related to finance” mean? What exactly can you do in “finance”? It is unrealistic that someone can do “everything related to finance” with the same degree of skill. Most people specialize in something. General statements like this make it hard for other people to know exactly what you can do and what you have done.
Therefore, think carefully about your background and how you are a good fit for the position you are applying to. Emphasize this background and fit in your answer.
2. Lack Details and Experiences
A second common reason our clients struggle with this interview question is that they often fail to provide detailed explanations about their experiences and background. For example, we often hear clients say something like “I worked as a marketing manager for 3 years, and before that I was a market researcher for 5 years.”
While this is not bad, many people fail to elaborate on what they actually did in these roles as “marketing manager” and “market researcher.” This question gives you the chance to provide a very specific explanation about what you have done in your career.
Therefore, you should include something like this: “As a marketing manager, I am responsible for managing all of our companies’ marketing planning for the travel sector, organizing market research campaigns, and developing marketing strategies with our C-suite. Recently, I was responsible for overseeing a multifaceted project that involved reevaluating our customer segments based on original research. I was in charge of identifying the issues with our current segments, research planning and analysis, and developing new strategies based on this research.”
By providing more details of what you did in these positions, you allow your interviewers to better understand your skills and abilities.
3. Fail to Full Range of Skills
Another common problem we see in our clients is that they fail to explain their full range of experiences and abilities. While this isn’t a crucial mistake, it is a problem because you want to provide your interviewer with a very clear image of your background and experiences. You also do not want to sell yourself short (i.e. downplay your skills).
We see this in two common ways. First, as in point 2 above, our clients often fail to give sufficient details about their past responsibilities and work experiences.
Second, our clients often also fail to give their full range of skills when they do not mention other relevant experiences and only give highly focused answers. Our clients often omit details about their background because they are either in the distant past or in a role that they feel was not directly related to the one they are applying to.
For example, let’s say that one of our clients is applying to a consulting job at a small financial consulting firm. At a small firm, even as a financial consultant, you may have to do many things since the company might be very small. Our clients will often only discuss very technical skills in the finance industry when they give their answers. If that is what the role requires, then that may be fine. However, we often recommend our clients include as sentence such as, “In addition to my direct experience in financial consulting, I also have experience working in and closely with accounting departments, leading research projects resulting in quarterly reports, and serving as a company representative at large trade conferences.”
Notice that these additional skills may not be immediately related to financial consulting, but they are still relevant to the job. They are also especially appropriate for a small consulting company, which may expect their consultants to have a wide range of skills. For instance, public speaking skills at conferences shows that this person is capable of being a strong representative of the company and would be comfortable speaking in front of others. Likewise, leading research projects that result in quarterly reports shows that the person is capable of both taking control of research projects and creating content based on these reports.
4. Not Ending With What You Are Looking For
Finally, we often see clients who do not conclude their answer to the “Tell me about yourself” question by saying what they are looking for in their next role. This is important because it provides a fuller context of your work background (past, present, and future). It allows you to complete the story of why you are seeking a new job and how you want to use this position to grow.
For example, we often recommend our clients end their answer to this question by saying something like: “Right now, I am looking for a role that will allow me to get more experience with (A) and a chance to work on (B).” Ideally, (A) and (B) will be things that the job you are interviewing for will potentially offer. It is also important that you know what not to say here, but this is a subject of another post.
In short, it is crucial that you end your introductory answer with a clear statement about what you are looking for in your next position and how you want to further develop your career.
Conclusion
While avoiding the mistakes we discussed in this post won’t make your answer perfect, it will help make your answer much stronger. A good answer to the “Tell me about yourself” interview question requires careful thinking and constant revision. Feel free to contact us for help working on your own answer to this question as you prepare for interviews.