manas kashaudhan
@itssstrange
India, Delhi
Institution: IIT Delhi
Hot Jobs on The Muse SALES JOBS MARKETING JOBS PRODUCT JOBS SOFTWARE ENGINEERING JOBS EXPLORE ALL JOBS by Stav Ziv person in a job interview Westend61/Getty Images “Tell me about yourself” might seem like an easy win of an interview question—after all, you know all about yourself! And good thing, too, because it’s often the very first thing an interviewer will ask you to do—whether you’re having a preliminary phone screen, speaking to your prospective boss, or sitting down with the CEO during the final round. But responding to this invitation to talk about yourself in the context of a job interview can feel stressful and complicated. You might be thinking: Um, what do you want to know? Should I give you the biopic synopsis of my workplace drama complete with ideal casting? Your interviewer doesn’t need to know you envision Zendaya playing you in the imagined movie adaptation of your life. But you can and should prepare in advance so you can use this common opening prompt to your advantage, setting the stage for a successful interview. Why interviewers ask you to “Tell me about yourself” A few common variations of “Tell me about yourself” A simple formula for answering “Tell me about yourself” 8 more tips for answering “Tell me about yourself” “Tell me about yourself” sample answers Other common interview questions you should be be ready to answer More advice to help you prep for your interview Why interviewers ask you to “Tell me about yourself” As with any interview question, the key to crafting an impressive answer is understanding why people are asking in the first place. “It lets them ease into the actual interviewing,” says leadership development coach Alina Campos, founder of Rising. “Often when the conversation starts it’s a lot of small talk and it’s a way to transition into it,” especially for less seasoned recruiters or hiring managers. “The interviewee’s nervous but the interviewer’s trying to get their bearings [too].” This question is also a great starting point that can help inform the direction of the interview, says Muse career coach and BetterWorks Labs founder Al Dea: “Depending on what you say it’s going to help them figure out the next question,” which might help start a chain effect of follow-up questions, lend an easy flow to the conversation, and help recruiters and hiring managers accomplish one of their major goals in the hiring process: getting to know you. If you answer it well, the interviewers will begin to find out why you’re the best candidate for this job, in terms of hard skills and experience as well as soft skills. It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate that you can communicate clearly and effectively, connect with and react to other humans, and present yourself professionally. A few common variations of “Tell me about yourself” There are plenty of times when you’ll hear these exact words: “Tell me about yourself.” But interviewers might have their own versions of the prompt that are asking pretty much the same thing, including: I have your resume in front of me but tell me more about yourself. Walk me through your resume. I’d love to hear more about your journey. Tell me a little bit more about your background. A simple formula for answering “Tell me about yourself” Career coach Lily Zhang, former Manager of Graduate Student Professional Development at the MIT Media Lab and a writer for The Muse, recommends a simple and effective formula for structuring your response: Present: Talk a little bit about what your current role is, the scope of it, and perhaps a big recent accomplishment. Past: Tell the interviewer how you got there and/or mention previous experience that’s relevant to the job and company you’re applying for. Future: Segue into what you’re looking to do next and why you’re interested in this gig (and a great fit for it, too). This isn’t the only way to build your response, of course, and you can tweak it as you see fit. If there’s a particularly potent story about what brought you into this field, for example, you might decide to start with that “past” story and then get into what you’re doing in the present. Whatever order you pick, make sure you ultimately tie it to the job and company. “A good place to end it is to give a transition of this is why I’m here,” Dea says. You want to be absolutely certain your interviewer is left with the impression that it “makes sense that [you’re] sitting here talking to me about this role.”
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