Tell Me About Yourself
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Hey Fellas,
In today’s newsletter, I am going to address the verbal part of the interview and more specifically the most cliche question; ‘tell me about yourself.’
You can expect 90 percent of interviews starting with this question. Now, let me tell you the reason for beginning with this question:
a. Beginning the interview with a formal introduction is an ice breaker.
b. You are being assessed for your communication skills.
c. Fluency in speaking showcases your confidence.
d. The recruiter is looking for talking points from your introduction so do not mention anything that you are unsure of explaining.
Before we move any further with the topic, please take a look at the video of how you should not be describing yourself (hardworking, alpha male…..??)
Moving on to some serious stuff, how do you tackle this question?
The Formula
If you ask me, there is no set formula that you have to stick to. There are some recruiters that will state the points that they want you to cover and others will simply leave it up to you to answer the best way you can. Do not go for big, heavy words rather keep it simple and informative. You can frame a structure in your mind of the information that you would like to share and then go with the flow while you face the interviewer. Talk about your past, i.e education, and work experience. Give some information about your current situation/employment and mention your future goals that align with the role you are applying for.
The Preparation
I have seen people recite the answer to this question like a poem. Well, you should prepare for an interview but not in this manner. If you are going to mug up your answer then it will sound unnatural and also there is the risk of forgetting the answer. Actually, let it be a glimpse of you. Follow your natural way of talking. Say, if you go blank for a while or you forget to mention something then just excuse yourself and ask permission to start from the top. Admitting nervousness is actually a sign of confidence and not otherwise.
The Audience
Most job interviews are taken in rounds and there is a possibility that in each round you will begin with this question. Each round will have a different manager. Keep your audience in mind. When talking to direct reporting manager share technical information from your respective field and when you face a CXO level manager then talk about the bigger picture.
In an interview, if you want to show that you are well-read then use fancy words and quote your fav authors or say if you want to highlight your favorable qualities then quote an incident. This open-ended question can be and should be used to your advantage.
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4 年Helpful! This will
????CFO, ??Growth hacker, ?? Business strategist, ??Thought Leader, ??Change Manager, ??Power BI/Ui Path/SAP/MS Excel expert, ? AI enthusiastic
4 年Akshay Datt good read. specially "...use fancy words and quote..." it does catches interviewers attention to some extent. I still remember interviews in my early career, no confidence , no guidance , no support, no leads, no references..... having nothing and picking the game up was really not easy. I can still make out what possible areas where i was lacking those days :)