“Tell me a little about yourself.”
When it comes to handling the typical interview question, more times than not, the job seeker misses the mark and does not answer properly, which is a major missed opportunity.
Many people approach this question as if they are being asked to give a brief rundown of your work history or other information that is already contained on your resume. That is providing unnecessary redundancy, and is not an ideal response that will assist in helping your chance at securing the position.
There are also some who misinterpret the question to mean discussing general life history. Jane Cranston, a career coach from New York, states, “The biggest mistake people being interviewed make is thinking the interviewer really wants to know about them as a person. They start saying things like, 'Well, I was born in Hoboken, and when I was three we moved …’ Wrong. The interviewer wants to know that you can do the job, that you fit into the team, what you have accomplished in your prior positions and how can you help the organization.”
In order to understand what is really being asked, I use the analogy that was used by Geoffrey James on this topic. The interview is basically a sales call where you are the seller (of yourself/skills) and the company is the buyer. This initial question is a setup to answer the standard thought process of a new sales call.
Author Mike Bosworth states that there are three main concerns that must be dealt with at the start of a new sale. The first concern is: “Who is this person?” Before a sale can proceed, the buyer must have a grasp for who they are dealing with. The second concern is: “What does this person want?” For the interviewer, this is to probe deeper than just the information you have provided on the application, resume, or cover letter. The third concern is: “Can I trust this person?” When it comes to sales, this is a big one that crosses over to the job interview nicely. Your job is to make the interviewer comfortable enough to complete the sale with you.
With that in mind, you need to be prepared with an engaging story that will satisfy all three of these concerns and will relate directly to the needs of the position. You need to know the company’s needs before going to the interview, and then build your story around that, ahead of time. You need to focus, script, and practice your story before going to the interview.
Of all of the articles I have read on this topic, the one that I found to be the most beneficial as a starting point is by the aforementioned Geoffrey James, in the article "How to Spin Your Career Story and Get the Job." In the article he laid out many of these basic principles, as well as great examples and suggested steps to use in preparing and telling your story in a brief, yet compelling and memorable way.
For such a common interview question, it is a shame that so many blow the opportunity to use it to their advantage. Prepare ahead of time, do the research, find and formulate your story, make it applicable and memorable, keep it brief, and practice, practice, practice.
Photo: Courtesy of FreeDigitalphotos
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