How to Answer "Tell Me About Yourself": Stories

After you have done your introduction and you shared your super skills, it is time to share some stories! In this part, you will give a little more detail about where you have worked specifically and include key highlights of your educational experiences. You will share this information by weaving them into stories that connect to the three skills you mentioned in the section above.

You want to give concrete stories so that person listening to you can imagine you doing the work. When you a list a bunch of places you have worked and degrees you got, the person listening has no concrete image to think about. They will glaze over and wait for you to finish talking. This is a chance to show value, demonstrate personality and share stories that might not get out otherwise during the interview.

This is the longest part of the answer and it pays off to be strategic. Know which pieces you want to hit and illustrate the work you are great at by thinking of an example, instead of simply saying you have the skill.

Build relevant stories by weaving in the important stuff

To build these stories, think about a handful of highlights from your career and select one or two that really explain the value you bring. Practice telling them while weaving in some details about where you have worked and what you studied.

Here are some tips to do this. Get a pack of index cards and use one card per answer to the following questions.

• What education will this employer care about?
• Where have you worked? What places of employment are most relevant to the position you are interviewing for?

Arrange the cue cards on a surface and play around with the order of the stories and information. Practice saying it and choose the most interesting sequence of events, that still makes sense. Focus on giving details and stories that demonstrate value.

Need some support with this?

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• exactly what you will be asked in a job interview
• how to answer Behavioral Descriptive Interview questions
• Memorization tips
• How to make an awesome and memorable first impression
• Overcoming Interview Jitters
• The best guide (with sample scripts) to post-interview follow-ups

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If you are stuck, you may just need to work with a coach on this. I work alongside people to hear their stories and select the best ones for selling their best skills. If you want to work with me, send me an email at [email protected]

If this feels like a lot of work for just one question, remember that you have one chance to make a good impression and this is the only one you really have control over. Most people are nervous at the beginning, this sets you up to know exactly what you want to say and can give you confidence. Make it count, deliver it naturally, and you'll set a great tone for the beginning.

Tomorrow we'll move into the next part of the question, the leaving story. See you then!

 -Kerri

Kerri Twigg is the founder of Career Stories Consulting. She helps people to land their ideal job through their stories, and if they don't know what kind of job they want, she helps with that too. She knows that you want something more from your career, and she'd like to help you get it.  Sign up for her free newsletter at Career-Stories.com.