Answering “Tell Me About Yourself” in an Interview: Step-by-Step Guide

Tell me about yourself is the dumbest question you'll be asked in the interview and yet it is also the most common question you'll be asked in the interview. What fun. This question is so vague and you've already given them your resume so they know about you and therefore it's so easy to go on this tangent and ruin your first impression. Do not fret though. In this video I have got the winning formula of how to answer this question question and I don't just say things like that. I've got the data to back it up. This answer formula has led to hundreds of thousands of success stories from people using this and absolutely acing the interview. I also have a free little nifty digital download worksheet that goes with this video so you can keep it have it forever. It also has example on there, so be sure you grab that as well in the comments and in the description description. You're also going to get three different examples. The first one will be for early career folks, so maybe you don't have paid experience. Second, for career changers, it might be tough for you to connect your past experience to this interview. And third, a more experienced professional where you risk talking about too many things. Let's dive in. If you're new here, welcome. I'm Madeline Mann. I am a human resources leader and and job search strategies. You may have seen me in the New York Times, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, and more. Additionally, I have been recognized by both LinkedIn and Spotify as one of their top job search instructors. Be sure to subscribe to this channel so that you can have a sweet advantage over all of the other candidates. Kicking it right off with part one of the Tell Me About Yourself formula. It's who you are Are Too many of us have autobiography syndrome where when we're asked this question, we feel obliged to tell our entire life story so they fully understand how we got to where we are or at least our entire professional story. The thing that you have to realize is a company doesn't actually care that much about your work history. Really, what they care about is are you going to blow this role out of the water? Shamu, can you solve our problems? Pretty please? Let me put you in there. And what that means is you can say a lot less in your answer, but you just want to say exactly what they want to hear to be confident in you. So for this first part of your answer where you say who you are, you want to be very concise about a sentence or two about the type of professional you are, and the key here is to not talk about careers and jobs you've had in the past that aren't directly in line with this one you're interviewing for. It's really about stating the exact profession they are hiring for and being specific about the type of work you do. I realize that this explanation may be as clear as scrambled eggs, but trust me, at the end of this video I'm going to give you three examples so you will have no choice but to understand exactly how to do this. If your current role is not directly related with the role you're interviewing for, you should prepare a three through line that connects your past experience to the role that you're going for. For example, if you are a graphic designer interviewing for a digital marketing role, you might say something like I'm a digital marketing professional who specializes in branding, contributing to marketing campaigns, and visual storytelling. These things are all true. In your graphic design role. You did team up with with marketing teams from time to time, and you have put together personal projects and taking classes that have given you the skills to be a well rounded digital marketing professional. So claim it you humble goose. You already got the interview. You already know that you're qualified. Don't go trailing off about your graphic design role and unconvince them. Now. Remember, I did mention that there is that helpful worksheet to follow along with. Make sure you grab that link below. Let's move on to part two. Your highlights Here I want you to highlight some of your past accomplishments that again are directly in line with the qualifications of this role. I don't want you spouting off your biggest accomplishment, such as I closed a $10 million business development deal. Okay, but you're going for a project manager role and closing big deals isn't a part of that. Even though that was super fancy fancy. Leave it out for a class on how to really focus your messaging on your resume to say exactly what the company wants to hear, which will then lead you to do better in your interviews. I will link a free resume revamp masterclass below so you'll want to share what you've been up to in your past few jobs, highlighting several things that you've accomplished that reflect what are the main requirements on the job description. If you're a recent graduate or a career changer without as much professional experience, you can draw on academic or volunteer or project based activities to demonstrate your potential. For example, if you're applying to a recruiter role but you don't have any direct experience recruiting, you could Touch on your volunteer opportunity where you were helping to bring in new members to that nonprofit organization. Okay, this is the portion of the answer where it can get really long. So make. Make sure to watch out for this. Especially if you have lots of great work experience. You're likely going to think that you need to talk a lot, but I would say air on the side of a shorter answer rather than long. I call this answer the theme song because it should be short, two minutes or less, and just simply get them interested in watching the whole show. And if they want more details, they can just ask. And I mean, I already said it, but I'll say it again. They already have your stinking resume. Okay, it's there. The hellscape that is the job interview process. I'm so sorry. This brings us to part three. Why this role? You'll want to end your answer by explaining why are you interested in this particular company and role? This is truly the key to not rambling too much in the interview and answering your answers with so, yeah, I used to do that all the time in job interviews. Do you tend to talk too much or too little? Go ahead and put in the comments. Too much or too little. Okay, so by adding this part three, you're also answering the question, why do you want to work here? Which is actually one of the most important questions that they need to ask you. And so the fact that you're making sure they ask you it is really important. From hiring thousands of people and hearing the feedback from so many hiring managers time and time again, when all things are equal, a hiring manager will often extend an offer to the person who wants the job more. They want people who are intrinsically excited about the work and are more likely to stay in the job long term. Because, heads up, these people who are doing all the hiring, they don't want to replace your role every six to 12 months. Okay? It takes away from their core work. Hiring takes so much energy and they want to choose someone who's really excited about the work and it fits their career aspirations perfectly. So you're going to show your interest in this answer. I want you to come up with specifics of how the tasks you're going to be doing in this role fit your career trajectory and then anything about the company that stands out to you. Now, let's walk through three examples for you to effectively answer this question. The first one is if you are early career. The second is if you are a career changer. And the third is if you've gotten years of experience in your profession under your belt. I do recommend watching all three so you can pick and choose some elements of each. Let's kick off with the early career example where the person doesn't have much experience. I recently graduated with a degree in psychology and I'm thrilled at the opportunity to interview for this human Resources assistant position at your company. During my final year of studies, I collaborated on a project that examined team dynamics and their impact on workplace productivity. Through surveys and data analysis, we explored how different personalities influence team performance. Additionally, I gained practical experience by volunteering at a local community center where I facilitated discussions on stress management and provided individual counseling. The reason I am so interested in this role is I'm looking to contribute to training programs, performance evaluations, and employee support initiatives. And based on your company blog, I can see how focused this company is on employee engagement. What went right? Even this person who has zero paid experience was able to share specific examples of how they have been building the right skills and the right interest for the role that they're going for. Excellent. Our second example is a career changer who is transitioning from being a teacher to working in sales. I am pursuing a role in sales, leveraging my background in communication and relationship building to excel in a great sales team. I took an in depth course on prospecting, cold calling and objection handling to hone my abilities in these areas. In addition to formal training, I have applied these skills in real life situations. For example, I volunteered to lead a membership drive for a local organization where I utilize cold calling techniques to reach out to potential members and effectively communicate the value of joining. I also participated in fundraising initiatives where I successfully successfully close deals with donors by addressing objections and emphasizing the impact of their contributions. And as my next crew move, I'm excited about the opportunity to sell solar panels at Green Eco Solutions. Solar panels potential to address the growing need for renewable energy resonates with me so deeply. And I personally have solar panels so I know I could close many people on how great Green Eco Solutions is because I truly believe in the mission and I live it. What I love about this answer is that this powerhouse isn't dwelling on the past. They do not give any distracting details about their teaching work. No, they jumped right in on what they are actually doing now and focused on taking any experiences they have from their past, paid or not, and translating it to being appealing for this sales job. Oh yeah. Now let's dive into an answer from an experienced professional. I'm the Director of Product Management specializing in software solutions for the healthcare industry. I've successfully led the development of cutting edge software products and have transformed patient care and operational efficiency. In my current role, I led the launch of a groundbreaking electronic health record system, which streamlined medical record management and significantly improved patient outcomes. Prior to that, I managed the development of a telemedicine platform that facilitated remote patient consultations, addressing the growing need for virtual health care solutions. What particularly drew me to the Director of Product Management position at ABC Healthcare Solutions is the company's commitment to revolutionizing health care through innovative technology. The opportunity to lead the development of next generation healthcare software aligns perfectly with my passion for leveraging technology to improve patient care and drive positive outcomes. Okay, this one dropped a lot of great specifics that are relevant to the role and are oh so enticing to the interviewer. There's no way that the interviewer is second guessing whether or not this person should have gotten this interview. This was a really great, well rounded answer. A good job. Make sure to grab the worksheet with this video, use it, practice it, go out into the world, make us proud and then come back and tell us how it went. It has been so good being here with you today. Hit a like on this video and subscribe to this channel. You've got this wi fi high five.