Tell me Something about Yourself- And interview ends!

Have you ever been stumped by the "Tell me something about yourself" question in a job interview?

Every one of us have faced this question in our careers more than once. And there has been many instances where after this answer, interview ends in few minutes, and we never get to hear back.

Have you gone through such a situation? If yes, then continue reading this.

Here is the real problem.

When you start answering this question, you start explaining your resume. You start from where you started and every job you did, and what all you are doing in current job. You normally end up speaking 3 to 4 minutes nonstop in same voice modulation.

Now here is the problem.

1. The Listener loses interest.

He is not here to listen to your complete story. He wants to hire you for a role, and he has list of interviews piled up in front of him. He doesn't have time.

2. You are talking so much stuff which is completely irrelevant to what they are looking at.

Now he has a JD to hire for. He has few specific things he is seeking in your career so that he can shortlist your profile and send to second round. Now if you give him so much data and expect him to choose what he wants, he will not do that. So just give him information that he is interested in.

Do your homework before you get to answer this question. And the answer to this question cannot be same for all the Interviews.

So here is the solution

1. The answer to the question " Tell me something about yourself." should actually be " Why they should hire you?" So, think about what the role in hand is and then explain what you have done in your career that reflects you are suitable for the role.

What you just narrated to them is all there in your resume already. What you need to tell them is

"Why should they hire you?"