“Mastering the Interview Question that so many get Wrong.”

Tell me about yourself, maybe one of the most common ways that an interview begins. It seems innocuous enough, but for too many, this question can get your interview off to the wrong start. And unfortunately, because first impressions play such a big role in the outcome, it may be hard to recover from.

What a hiring manager does not want to hear:

·????????Your life story.

·????????A complete regurgitation of your resume

·????????5-minutes of an aimless, unstructured, and monotoned response.

Instead, you should be ready to tell Your Story before you ever walk into that interview. Think of “Tell me about yourself” as your elevator pitch or your opening argument. It is your opportunity to get the hiring manager interested in learning more about you.

Everybody has their own advice and opinions around this go-to question but here is a simple framework to help make sure you don’t become a negative statistic.

• 2-minutes or less with strong non-verbal presence (tone, facial expression, body language).
• 2-3 things that you want the hiring manager to remember about you.
• The qualities and traits which best describe you and remember to include supporting examples.
• Success stories. Include the Situation, the action taken, and the results achieved.
• Include why you are ready for a new opportunity and what is important to you.
• And then, stop talking.

If you really want to prepare and set a strong tone of your interview:

• Write down some notes.
• Practice your response and make changes as needed.
• Record yourself and so you can see what the hiring manager hears and sees.
• Don’t memorize what you want to say…internalize it!

Answering this question effectively won’t guarantee you the job offer, but it will help you create a powerful first impression and make sure that you don’t lose out on a great opportunity in the first five minutes.