It’s almost guaranteed. During your interview, you’ll need to be ready to answer the question “Tell me about yourself”. This question is an opportunity for you to share more about your background. But it’s important to do this in the right way. You want to keep your interviewer engaged, and successfully demonstrate your fit for the job. This can be surprisingly challenging. After all, how do you describe your relevant experience and skills in just a few short sentences? In this article, we’ll explore answering “Tell me about yourself”.
Why do interviewers ask this question?
Normally, you’ll be asked to introduce yourself at the start of the interview. Your interviewer will probably provide a brief introduction of themselves, focussing on their role at the company, and what their relationship to you would be if you were to join the organisation. Essentially, this question can be used as an opportunity to confidently and succinctly talk about your professional and educational background, some of your most relevant accomplishments, and why you’re an excellent match for the position.
It’s important to keep the focus professional. When answering the “Tell me about yourself” question, think about the experiences and skills you hold which make you an ideal fit for the role, rather than talking about more personal things like your hobbies or interests.
Answering “Tell me about yourself” in three parts:
Fortunately, the “Tell me about yourself” question is fairly straightforward to prepare for. Focus on keeping your answer short and easy to follow. This isn’t an opportunity to provide a long walkthrough of your CV or Resume. Instead, it’s an ideal chance to pitch your skills and experience, provide an overview of your key achievements and share your motivations for the job.
Ideally, you don’t want your answer to last any longer than 2 or 3 minutes. Focus on keeping your interviewer engaged, and tailor your response to make sure it’s as relevant as possible for the job, industry, and company you’re applying for.
1. Professional & Educational Background
Firstly, when answering “Tell me about yourself”, highlight your professional and educational background. Take the time to think about your qualifications and work experience so far. How do these relate to the job you’re applying for, and how can they demonstrate your ability to perform?
Take the opportunity to highlight your most relevant work experience. For example, if you have ten years of experience in your current industry, pick out the most relevant roles to showcase this. Think about the key tasks and responsibilities you had. How can these demonstrate your ability to perform in a new role?
Let’s imagine you’re applying for a role as a Public Relations Manager. The first part of your answer could look something like this:
“I have a degree in Marketing, which I later complemented with a postgraduate degree in Communications and Public Relations. Currently, I work for XYZ Corporation as a Public Relations Specialist. Prior to this, I was a Marketing Communications Assistant at a leading food manufacturer.”
2. Achievements
Secondly, it’s important to highlight your key achievements. Take a look at your CV, and consider your accomplishments. Choose the two most relevant for the position you’re applying to. Consider how these examples can evidence your skills, and ability to perform the job.
The best examples will clearly showcase your ability to add value to the position and role you’re interviewing for. For example, you might have been responsible for increasing client numbers, boosting revenue, or implementing a new process. Consider how you can use these past accomplishments to demonstrate your suitability for the role.
So, if we’re continuing to use the example above, for the second part of your answer you could say something like:
“Most recently, I was responsible for managing all communications for a new product launch. I successfully pitched a story idea to a leading media network, who subsequently featured the product in a major news article. This resulted in a significant increase in our brand awareness, and saw our sales increase by over 30%.”
3. Motivations
Lastly, and just as importantly, it’s vital to reserve space in your answer to describe your motivations. Why did you apply for this position, and why do you want to work at the company? Take the time to link your professional background and key achievements with the role you’ve applied for. Remember, recruiters are not just considering what you’ve already achieved – they’re wanting to know how you’ll be able to make an impact, and will want you to demonstrate your interest in a new role.
This can be a useful opportunity to express your interest in the company’s industry, or demonstrate cultural alignment. Perhaps you have experience in the same industry, or maybe you identify strongly with their company values.
So again, using the previous example, you could finish your answer with something like:
“I’m excited to be applying for this role because I am looking for new opportunities to grow and utilise my skills. Having worked extensively in the food and drinks industry, I’m passionate about applying my skills in this new role to increase your market share and brand awareness. With my knowledge of the industry, I will be able to quickly establish positive relationships, and develop your communications strategy”.
Answering “Tell me about yourself” (Final Example):
Once you’ve successfully considered how you’d answer the three parts, you should have a complete answer. You can then make small adjustments to ensure it’s personalised for the role you’re applying for. So in this case, when answering “tell me about yourself” we could say:
“I have a degree in Marketing, which I later complemented with a postgraduate degree in Communications and Public Relations. Currently, I work for XYZ Corporation as a Public Relations Specialist. Prior to this, I was a Marketing Communications Assistant at a leading food manufacturer.
Most recently, I was responsible for managing all communications for a new product launch. I successfully pitched a story idea to a leading media network, who subsequently featured the product in a major news article. This resulted in a significant increase in our brand awareness, and saw our sales increase by over 30%
I’m excited to be applying for this role because I am looking for new opportunities to grow and utilise my skills. Having worked extensively in the food and drinks industry, I’m passionate about applying my skills in this new role to help increase your market share and brand awareness. With my knowledge of the industry, I will be able to quickly establish positive relationships, and develop your communications strategy”.
As with any interview, it’s important to always be ready to personalise your answer depending on the role and company you’re applying to. But it can be useful to create a template answer, which provides the foundations and can be easily modified. This will help you deliver a polished and confident answer to an essential interview question.
How do you normally introduce yourself during an interview? What are your Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts?
