Answering Tell Me About Yourself

Common Interview Questions

Answering “Tell Me about Yourself” It's one of the most frequently asked interview questions, and it’s the question that opens most interviews: Tell me about yourself. Your response to this request will set the tone for the rest of the interview. For some, this is the most challenging question to answer, as they wonder what the interviewer really wants to know and what information they should include.

Eleanor dreaded this question. When it was the first one asked at her interview, she fumbled her way through a vague answer, not focusing on what she could bring to the job. "I'm happily married and originally from Denver," she began. "My husband was transferred here three months ago, and I've been getting us settled in our new home. I'm now ready to go back to work. I've worked in a variety of jobs, usually customer service-related. I'm looking for a company that offers growth opportunities."

The interview went downhill after that. She had started with personal information and gave the interviewer reason to doubt whether she was an employee who would stay for very long.

 She's married, and when her husband gets transferred that means she has to leave; she did it once and can do it again.  She has some work experience with customers but didn't emphasize what she did.  She is looking to grow. What about the job she is applying for? Will she stay content for long? Is she using this job as a stepping stone?

The secret to responding to this free-form request successfully is to focus, script and practice. You cannot afford to improvise this answer on the spot, as it will affect the rest of the interview. Begin to think about what you want the interviewer to know about you.

Focus List five strengths you have that are important to this job (experiences, traits, skills, etc.). What do you want the interviewer to know about you when you leave? For example, Eleanor is strong in communications and connecting with people. She has a strong background and proven success with customer relationships. Her real strength is her follow-through. She prides herself on her reputation for meeting deadlines.

Scripting Prepare a script that includes the information you want to convey. Begin by talking about past experiences and proven success: "I have been in the customer service industry for the past five years. My most recent experience has been handling incoming calls in the high tech industry. One reason I particularly enjoy this business, and the challenges that go along with it, is the opportunity to connect with people. In my last job, I formed some significant customer relationships resulting in a 30 percent increase in sales in a matter of months."

Next, mention your strengths and abilities: "My real strength is my attention to detail. I pride myself on my reputation for following through and meeting deadlines. When I commit to doing something, I make sure it gets done, and on time."

1 Conclude with a statement about your current situation: "What I am looking for now is a company that values customer relations, where I can join a strong team and have a positive impact on customer retention and sales."

Practice Practice with your script until you feel confident about what you want to emphasize in your statement. Your script should help you stay on track, but you shouldn't memorize it—you don't want to sound stiff and rehearsed. It should sound natural and conversational. Even if you are not asked this type of question to begin the interview, this preparation will help you focus on what you have to offer. You will also find that you can use the information in this exercise to assist you in answering other questions. The more you can talk about your product—you—the better chance you will have at selling it.

Answering “Why should I hire you?” To close the deal on a job offer, you MUST be prepared with a concise summary of the top reasons to choose you. The interviewer’s job is to hire the best person for the position. Most of the candidates that make it to the interview stage are qualified for the job. The winning candidate must be more than qualified, especially in a very competitive job market.

One important thing to remember in an interview is that the interviewer is also just a person doing their job, and trust me interviewing people all day is incredibly boring. Every hire is a risk for the company. Your interviewer will also be taking a personal career risk in recommending a particular candidate to hire. If the candidate performs well, Mr. Interviewer looks brilliant and gets a pat on the back (and maybe a bigger annual bonus). If the candidate turns out to be a dud (doesn’t perform well, doesn’t get along with the team, leaves the job prematurely, etc.), the interviewer looks like an idiot and his professional reputation suffers.

With this question, your interviewer is asking you to sell her on you and your status as the best person for the position. Make her job easier by convincing her that:  You can do the work and deliver exceptional results  You will fit in beautifully and be a great addition to the team  You possess a combination of skills and experience that make you stand out from the crowd  Hiring you will make him look smart and make his life easier

This is your chance to wow them with your highlight reel. Your answer should summarize the top three or four best reasons to hire you. It’s better to have three or four strong reasons with memorable descriptions and/or examples than to rattle off a laundry list of twelve strengths without context.

This is an opportunity to reiterate your most impressive strengths and/or describe your most memorable selling points, tailored to align with the top requirements in the job description. Your 3-4 bullet points could include a combination of the following:

 Industry experience  Soft skills  Technical skills

2 dutiesExperience in  Awards/accolades  Education/training  Keyperforming accomplishments certain  Accomplishments and success stories are always good bets, especially if you can describe how a key accomplishment (a successful marketing campaign, for example) demonstrates a desired competency (creativity, results-orientation). One approach is to mention any unique combination of skills(s) and experience that you possess. For example, many candidates may have strong programming skills, but what if you combine those with team leadership experience that others don’t have? Sounds like a great recipe for a senior programmer. Explain why in your answer.   Most job seekers should be able to develop a standard answer to this question that can be customized a bit for each opportunity. Here’s how:   Brainstorm  To get started, review the job description (or a representative job description if you don’t have an interview lined up right now) and your resume and ask yourself these questions:  What are the most important qualifications for this position from the company’s perspective?  In which of these areas do I really shine?  What are my most impressive accomplishments?  What makes me different from the typical candidate?  Brainstorm and write down everything that comes to mind.

 Structure Your Sales Pitch  Next, choose the 3-4 bullet points that make the strongest argument for you. Use those bullet points to structure your sales pitch. Each bullet will describe the selling point with a brief explanation and/or example for context. Keep it concise—you still want to keep your answer in the 1-2 minute range so you won’t be able to rattle off every skill and accomplishment on your resume. You have to really think about what sets you apart from the competition.   Practice  Once you feel pretty good about the points you want to make, it’s time to practice. Again, it’s not a good idea to memorize a script—you can end up sounding like a robot or feel more nervous because of pressure to remember specific wording.   The better approach is to capture your bullet points, study them, and then practice until you feel comfortable talking about them off the cuff. Your answer should come out a little bit different each time, but it should always cover the points that you want to make.   Remember: It’s also very important to come across as confident and enthusiastic when you deliver your pitch. Make them believe in you—your abilities and your commitment. If you project confidence (even if you have to fake it a little), you’re more likely to make

3 a strong impression. As for enthusiasm, keep in mind that true passion for the work required is a pretty compelling selling point. Yes, experience and qualifications are important, but the right attitude can definitely give you an edge over those with similar professional backgrounds. After many years of experience in recruiting and hiring, I’d rather hire someone who has a little less experience, but who is driven and motivated to learn and succeed.   Possible Answers to “Why should I hire you?”  You should hire me not just because I have an ability to be an asset to your company but also, I can handle pressure, I can solve problems, and I can be your strength in times of weakness. I must say that even though I don't have, experience on this particular job, I can assure you that I will do my best to upgrade your company in terms of technology, and you should hire me to prove to you that this is true.   You should hire me because I have all qualifications you listed in the job announcement, and I believe I am able to do the job. I have a relevant experience that is needed in the position as an experience customer service personnel which I believe will be interacting with different kinds of people. I'm willing to learn and make a great effort to be successful in this field because I want to be part of a successful organization. I am willing to go extra mile and go out of my comfort zone and learn new things, not only to benefit me as career oriented person but also for the benefit of the organization I work for.   Answering “How do you evaluate success?”  A question like this gives your potential employer a sense of your work ethic, your goals, and your overall personality. In your answer, you should be cognizant of the type of job you're applying for. Whereas a large corporation might place all their emphasis on the bottom line, a non-profit would measure success not in money but in social impact. Do your research before the interview: browse the company's website, research their presence in the news and media, and see if you can find any information about their mission statement.   Of course, you'll also want to include aspects of your own personality in your answers. If there's an area where your values overlap with the company's, then make sure to emphasize that in the interview. However, you also want to make sure you give a balanced answer, illustrating a dynamic focus on improving your own performance, furthering your company's mission, and making a positive impact overall.   If possible, add an experience from your life that illustrates your definition.   Possible Answers for “How do you evaluate success?”  I evaluate success in different ways. At work, it is meeting the goals set by my supervisors and my fellow workers. It is my understanding, from talking to other employees, that the GGR Company is recognized for not only rewarding success, but giving employees opportunity to grow as well. After work, I enjoy playing softball, so success on the field is catching the winning pop-up.

4   For me, success is about doing my job well. I want to be recognized as someone who always does their best and tries their hardest to make my goals a reality. At my last job, I saw that the company wasn’t recycling as much materials as it could be. After several meetings with my district manager, I convinced her to get rid of the large dumpsters we used and replace them with large recycling bins and one smaller dumpster. This not only helps the environment it also saved the company over $6000 a year in garbage bills.   Answering “Tell me about a time you had a difficult situation at work or school and how you solved it.”  Select a Good Example  Choose an example that truly demonstrates your problem solving skills at their best. Don’t settle for a lame or boring problem—or one that makes you look bad. (I kept oversleeping and getting to work late, so I decided to buy a better alarm clock.)   Go with examples that are relevant for the job description. If you are interviewing for a job with a project management component, choose a time when you overcame an obstacle on an important project. If the posting stresses analytic skills, go with that time you used your Excel macro skills to save the day.   Don’t try to skate by with generalities like, “I consider myself a great problem solver. I solve problems every day in my job.” You’re not answering the question. Pick an example to illustrate your point.   Avoid raising red flags by talking about problems that you caused or negatively contributed to. Remember that you want to be the hero in your interview stories whenever possible.   Be Specific About Your Actions  To stand out from the crowd, you need to provide enough detail to give a sense of who you are and how you think. Many applicants have made the mistake of rushing through their stories and leaving out the most interesting and memorable details. Good stories offer an opportunity to connect with your interviewer. Give them some details that they can relate to.   Of course, you must also keep your story concise. It is easy to wander off into extraneous details if you haven’t prepared your stories in advance. The goal is to find a nice balance between interesting detail and conciseness. The beauty of the STAR format is that it keeps you focused.   When preparing your own STAR stories, it’s not necessary to write complete sentences with clean transitions. Just jot down the rough bullet points for each section. You want to create a framework that ensures you hit your key points, but your delivery will likely be a little bit different each time. 

5  Practice  I know that practice interviewing can feel awkward, but please don’t skip this step. It really does make a difference. Academic studies show that the candidates who practice land more job offers. Practice makes you more eloquent and more confident and will considerably increase your odds of getting hired.  

 Possible Answers to “Tell me about a difficult situation at work and school and how you overcame it.

 I was once tasked with finding a band to perform at the bar I worked in at short notice, and without much money with which to hire a professional band. We had an event on over a weekend with a few semi-professional bands playing; leading up to a headline act, and one of the semi-professional bands had broken up after we had paid in advance. The spot needed filling, and we didn’t have any budget left to hire another. I decided that the best thing to do would be to go on Myspace.com and try and find a local band who might be interested in playing, and offered them a “showcase” spot. The band I offered the place to was thrilled to be part of a large event with a well-known headline act, and all it cost the bar was the price of a few drinks for the players after their performance.   As a Resident Advisor, I had another RA who often sought me as a person to confide her complaints to and shared quite a bit of information about activities she'd engaged in that violated the rules. Although I did not mind being a resource for this person, I knew that I could not compromise my integrity or her residents' safety. Although she became very outraged and angry with me, I talked to her about the situation and told her that I would have to tell my supervisor. She eventually understood my responsibility and why I had to come forward with information. She knew that what she had done was against the rules, but never realized before I talked to her that she had jeopardized her residents' safety.   Answering “What are your greatest strengths?”  "What are your greatest strengths?" is one of the easier interview questions you'll be asked. When you are asked questions about your strengths, it's important to discuss attributes that will qualify you for the job.   The best way to respond is to describe the skills and experience that directly correlate with the job you are applying for. Do your homework before the interview. Know exactly what they are looking for by studying the job announcement, finding out information about the corporate culture, and if possible, talking to people already working in the company or people who already have the type of job you are applying for.   Think Quality, Not Quantity  Let’s start with what not to do. The worst response I’ve ever heard was a full minute-long speech during which the interviewee proceeded to list a string of positive attributes (outgoing, detail-oriented, hardworking, independent, friendly, easy-going, you name it)

6 and just kept going. One of the adjectives chosen was actually “humble.” I was speechless.   To walk that line between confident and arrogant, definitely don’t just list a bunch of nice adjectives to describe yourself. Sure, you want to sell yourself as the right person for the job, but you’re going to be much more compelling if you cut some of the buzzwords and speak genuinely about your strengths.   Your strategy? Choose one to three attributes you want to mention (depending on whether the question asks for one strength or multiple) and stop. You’ll want to think strategically about what skills will position you as qualified for the job and a good fit for the company. Does the position require client interaction? Communication and relationship building makes sense. Or if the environment is fast paced and constantly evolving—your ability to multitask, adapt, and learn quickly would be good to highlight.   Back Strengths Up with Stories  That said, what’s more important than the strengths you choose is being able to back up your claims—don’t just expect the interviewer to believe you without some evidence.  Start off by answering the question directly, and then segue into a story that shows off your skills. For example, “I think some of my greatest strengths are my communication skills and willingness to take initiative. During my last internship, when I was helping to manage several social media accounts, I made sure that everyone on the team was on the same page and knew what our messaging strategy was by taking the initiative to send out a weekly email to keep the team up to date and to seek feedback. This ended up being so helpful that the weekly social media update was incorporated into a full-time staff member’s responsibilities. ”   Look for Holes and Fill Them  The great thing about the “strengths” question is that it’s actually pretty versatile and open-ended—you can really turn the conversation to whatever you want. A great way to approach this question is to think about something you really want to talk about during the interview, but haven’t had the chance to share yet. Are there any skills that you want to emphasize? Maybe you have a killer “teamwork” story, but haven’t had the opportunity to share it yet. Well, here is your chance.   Alternatively, if you get the question toward the end of your interview and you’ve basically covered your bases, another approach would be to make a final pitch that you’re a great fit for the position and the company culture. Assuming you’ve done the crucial legwork of researching the company prior to interviewing, you should have a good sense of how the company perceives its own uniqueness. Bloomberg, for example, is known for caring about loyalty. On the other hand, Bridgewater is a bit notorious for how much it values open communication.   Of course, you can only use this strategy if your personal values do truly align with the company’s. If they do, you can essentially rehash your answer for “Why this company?”

7 with more of a focus on values and an example to back it up. For instance, “I would have to say that one of my greatest strengths is my ability to collaborate. In fact, having the opportunity to work in a team is one of the biggest draws for me to this position. I’ve found that working in a team brings out the best in me. For example…”   Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for this. Your best bet in preparing for the “strengths” question (and questions like it) is to have your talking points prepared and a lot of good stories to turn to. Use open questions like this strategically, and then make sure your answer’s memorable by telling a killer story. With a bit of preparation, you’ll be ready to take full advantage of being asked, “What’s your greatest strength?”     Possible Strengths to Talk About  Strong leader  Good at seeing the  Good team player  Good manager big picture even when  Ability to help  Initiative dealing with the details influence change  Follow-through  Good at details, but  Creativity  Good at deadlines also know how to see  Good at finding  Determination the big picture ways to improve  Quick learner  Strong at a given existing business  Problem solver skill required by the processes  Flexibility job  Good at resolving  Good people skills conflict

Answering “What is your greatest weakness?” When you're asked what your greatest weakness is there are several different ways you can answer, including mentioning skills that aren't critical for the job, skills you have improved on, and turning a negative into a positive.

Discuss Non-Essential Skills One approach to answering this question is to analyze the key skills and strengths required for the position you are interviewing for and then come up with an honest shortcoming which is not essential for success in that job. For example, if you are applying for nursing job, you might share that you are not particularly adept at conducting group presentations. In this case it will be critical to underscore your strength in one to one communication with patients while providing an example of your difficulty with presentations to large groups.

Mention Skills You Have Improved Another option is to discuss skills that you have improved upon during your previous job, so you are showing the interviewer that you can make improvements, when necessary. You can sketch for employers your initial level of functioning, discuss the steps you have taken to improve this area and then reference your current, improved level of skill. If you use this strategy be sure not

8 to mention anything that you improved upon that is related to the job for which you are interviewing. You don't want your qualifications for the job to be questioned.

Turn a Negative into a Positive Another option is try to turn a negative into a positive. For example, a sense of urgency to get projects completed or wanting to triple-check every item in a spreadsheet can be turned into a strength i.e. you are a candidate who will make sure that the project is done on time and your work will be close to perfect.

Possible Answers for Questions about Weakness (Note that the term "weakness" isn't used in the sample answers—you always want to focus on the positive when interviewing.)

When I'm working on a project, I don't want just to meet deadlines. Rather, I prefer to complete the project well ahead of schedule. Being organized wasn't my strongest point, but I implemented a time management system that really helped my organization skills.

I like to make sure that my work is perfect, so I tend to perhaps spend a little too much time checking it. However, I've come to a good balance by setting up a system to ensure everything is done correctly the first time. I used to wait until the last minute to set appointments for the coming week, but I realized that scheduling in advance makes much more sense.

Sometimes, I spend more time than necessary on a task, or take on tasks personally that could easily be delegated to someone else. Although I've never missed a deadline, it is still an effort for me to know when to move on to the next task, and to be confident when assigning others work.

I had difficulty with calculus during college, but I persevered with tutoring assistance and extra effort and completed 2 levels with a B minus average.

I've learned to make my perfectionism work to my advantage at work. I am excellent at meeting deadlines, and with my attention to detail, I know my work is correct.

I used to like to work on one project to its completion before starting on another, but I've learned to work on many projects at the same time, and I think it allows me to be more creative and effective in each one.

Being Prepared for the Leftfield Question A new trend in interviews, at least in Silicon Valley, is the leftfield question. This type of question is designed to make the applicant think creatively on their feet. It’s to see how well the applicant does with a truly unexpected question and how fast it takes the applicant to come up with an answer. Some examples of this type of question from the Google job interview bank include:  What do you think about Wednesday?  If you were the size of your thumb, how would you escape from an electric blender?

9  If you were a type of breakfast cereal, what brand would you be and why?  Do you believe in Big Foot?  Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?

How do you prepare for these? Really you can’t. That’s why employers love them. What you can prepare for is knowing the unexpected may pop up in the interview.

Answering “Do you have any questions?” "Do you have any questions for me?" could be the biggest trap of the professional job interview. That is, when the interviewer turns the tables and offers to answer whatever questions may be on your mind. Don't be fooled. This is not the moment to relax or think that the interviewer is just being polite. In fact it is often the most important part of the interview. This is your chance to show how much homework you've done, or not, about the company. How much insight you have, or don't, about the position you're discussing. Also, whether or not you are accurately reading the dynamics of the interview.

Do not wait to be surprised when this question comes at you with five or seven minutes left in the interview. Get ready beforehand and use it as the opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competition.

The worst possible answer to this question is, "No, thanks, I think I have everything I need." If you do that the interviewer will write you off, then and there as someone who isn't hungry, isn't curious about the organization or doesn't care about the interviewer him or herself.

Some examples of good areas to probe and effective questions to ask when given the chance:

About the culture: "How would you describe the kinds of people that thrive in the company and those that don't fit in? What does that say about the culture?" Or even more specific, "As I reflect on my two previous organizations, one culture was all about collaboration, teamwork, never using the word 'I' and the other was much more a star system, where it was all about standing out as an individual performer. How does this organization operate on that dimension?"

About the position: "What would success look like in the position? If I were to be offered the job and a year from now we were reviewing how it's going, what would I have accomplished for you to say, 'What an amazing year you've had?'

About the interviewer: "Tell me a little bit about your story. How did you find your way into the company? What have you enjoyed most and what's been most frustrating?" It goes without saying (but it is worth repeating), people love to be asked about themselves. An even better way to ask this question is to have Googled the person you're meeting and framing a question about them with specifics about what they've done, where they went to school, what they may be known for.

About the company: "In the most recent earnings call, the CFO said that the company is now projecting flat revenue for the year. Given that the market is growing double digits, shouldn't I be concerned about the strategy not working?" Or "Would it be an accurate interpretation to say that

10 your two most recent acquisitions were made to attract talent?" If that is the case, why do you think it's been so difficult to attract the talent you need?" When asking about the company and strategy, assuming you've done your homework it's fine to be challenging—as long as you're not being insulting or personal about it.

As you can see, there are any number of questions to ask when you're given the opportunity in the last part of an interview. Your goal for the interview is for the interviewer to describe you, once you've left as being "very sharp and asking great questions." Asking great questions in an interview is among the most sure-fire ways to get the job.