“Tell me about yourself…”-perhaps the most common, yet most difficult interview question! Why do employers ask this question? It is an opportunity for the person on the other side of the desk to take a few minutes off - to sit back, listen, and silently determine where to take the interview questioning next.
This is perhaps the most discussed interview question. For some, this is the most challenging question to answer. This is because the candidate has to answer a rather different question- Why should we hire you?
For some, this is the biggest point of confusion as the candidate wonders what the interviewer really wants to know and what information he/she should include. For others it is the biggest opportunity to market themselves as a prospective employee.
An impressive answer to this question holds the key to success. Many HR surveys have proved that most of the interviewers make up their mind on interviewees in the first 5 to 10 minutes. It is up to you how you make use of these 5 minutes to best demonstrate your qualities and abilities in a decent manner. You have to expand on your strengths and give the interviewer exactly what he/she is really looking for.
When an interviewer asks you to tell her a little about yourself, you are being asked to provide a general framework for discussion. You will set the stage for later questions that will address various aspects of your academic and work life. If you plan properly, this will give you the opportunity to steer the critical opening portion of the interview into an area in which you are proficient.
I suggest you to prepare a model answer for “Tell me about yourself” in advance, get it checked from your friends, colleagues or mentors. Your answer should include following points:
1. Statement of why they should hire me.
2. 3-5 accomplishments that would be of interest to hiring managers in this position/industry.
3. 3-6 personality traits appropriate to this position/industry.
4. Other key selling points that may apply even indirectly to this industry or position.
However while doing this keep following points in mind:
1. Be honest. They have your resume with contact information right in front of them and they will be calling on your references.
2. Don’t bluff Not everybody can be the class representative or the project manager of your college’s final year project. 95 percent, the chances are that you will get caught as a result of counter-questioning. (There is still 5 percent scope for bluffing! It is perfectly fine to exaggerate a little. But I would say No No to bluffing.)
3. Keep it short and relevant. Find your best qualities and skills and limit it to what is important to the company that you are interviewing with.
I am providing you a taste of what I answered when I was asked “Tell me about yourself”:
“I am Nilesh Miskin, a third year engineering student at KIT’s college of Engineering, Kolhapur. Databases and networking are my favourite subjects. In addition to programming, there is one more thing I like to do often – collecting information on current topics by browsing the web, reading books, news-papers, indulging in discussions with my dad, my colleagues and my teachers. I won many quizzes and participated in paper presentation contests. While retaining the first rank at the school I also held the positions of treasurer and vice president of Interact Club of Kolhapur and got appraisals from senior Rotary Club members. I am a team player and whenever I got the opportunity to lead, I lived up to every team-member’s expectations- be it my project team or our one-act-play team that represented our college at the university level. Using my strong creative and logical skills, backed by my keenness to learn, I want to give my best to the industry and excel in my field”
The company I applied for is one of the world’s most respected companies and also one of the biggest IT companies. As you might be rightly guessing, the ultimate result was that I got selected!
As you can see, I presented myself as a person with techno-commercial skill-set. I emphasized on my strong academics, multitasking ability, enthusiasm to learn, my ability to work in a team, take initiative and make a difference. I backed my qualities by providing real statistics and demonstrated how I was the close-to-perfect package they are looking for.
Let me know whether you liked this article. Also leave your comments to let me know what else you would like to know about interviews, group discussions, aptitude preparation or any other related topic.
Resources:
http://www.careerdevelopers.com/AnsweringtheTellmeaboutyourselfQuestion.htm
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0000/interviewing_skills_what_to_do_when_they_say http://www.fiveoclockclub.com/careerCoach/06answeringQuestion.html
http://www.emurse.com/blog/2007/10/24/tell-me-about-yourself
http://www.jobsdb.com/MY/EN/V6HTML/jobseeker/121_career.html
This is perhaps the most discussed interview question. For some, this is the most challenging question to answer. This is because the candidate has to answer a rather different question- Why should we hire you?
For some, this is the biggest point of confusion as the candidate wonders what the interviewer really wants to know and what information he/she should include. For others it is the biggest opportunity to market themselves as a prospective employee.
An impressive answer to this question holds the key to success. Many HR surveys have proved that most of the interviewers make up their mind on interviewees in the first 5 to 10 minutes. It is up to you how you make use of these 5 minutes to best demonstrate your qualities and abilities in a decent manner. You have to expand on your strengths and give the interviewer exactly what he/she is really looking for.
When an interviewer asks you to tell her a little about yourself, you are being asked to provide a general framework for discussion. You will set the stage for later questions that will address various aspects of your academic and work life. If you plan properly, this will give you the opportunity to steer the critical opening portion of the interview into an area in which you are proficient.
I suggest you to prepare a model answer for “Tell me about yourself” in advance, get it checked from your friends, colleagues or mentors. Your answer should include following points:
1. Statement of why they should hire me.
2. 3-5 accomplishments that would be of interest to hiring managers in this position/industry.
3. 3-6 personality traits appropriate to this position/industry.
4. Other key selling points that may apply even indirectly to this industry or position.
However while doing this keep following points in mind:
1. Be honest. They have your resume with contact information right in front of them and they will be calling on your references.
2. Don’t bluff Not everybody can be the class representative or the project manager of your college’s final year project. 95 percent, the chances are that you will get caught as a result of counter-questioning. (There is still 5 percent scope for bluffing! It is perfectly fine to exaggerate a little. But I would say No No to bluffing.)
3. Keep it short and relevant. Find your best qualities and skills and limit it to what is important to the company that you are interviewing with.
I am providing you a taste of what I answered when I was asked “Tell me about yourself”:
“I am Nilesh Miskin, a third year engineering student at KIT’s college of Engineering, Kolhapur. Databases and networking are my favourite subjects. In addition to programming, there is one more thing I like to do often – collecting information on current topics by browsing the web, reading books, news-papers, indulging in discussions with my dad, my colleagues and my teachers. I won many quizzes and participated in paper presentation contests. While retaining the first rank at the school I also held the positions of treasurer and vice president of Interact Club of Kolhapur and got appraisals from senior Rotary Club members. I am a team player and whenever I got the opportunity to lead, I lived up to every team-member’s expectations- be it my project team or our one-act-play team that represented our college at the university level. Using my strong creative and logical skills, backed by my keenness to learn, I want to give my best to the industry and excel in my field”
The company I applied for is one of the world’s most respected companies and also one of the biggest IT companies. As you might be rightly guessing, the ultimate result was that I got selected!
As you can see, I presented myself as a person with techno-commercial skill-set. I emphasized on my strong academics, multitasking ability, enthusiasm to learn, my ability to work in a team, take initiative and make a difference. I backed my qualities by providing real statistics and demonstrated how I was the close-to-perfect package they are looking for.
Let me know whether you liked this article. Also leave your comments to let me know what else you would like to know about interviews, group discussions, aptitude preparation or any other related topic.
Resources:
http://www.careerdevelopers.com/AnsweringtheTellmeaboutyourselfQuestion.htm
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0000/interviewing_skills_what_to_do_when_they_say http://www.fiveoclockclub.com/careerCoach/06answeringQuestion.html
http://www.emurse.com/blog/2007/10/24/tell-me-about-yourself
http://www.jobsdb.com/MY/EN/V6HTML/jobseeker/121_career.html
8 comments:
Hi
Tks very much for post:
I like it and hope that you continue posting.
Let me show other source that may be good for community.
Source: recruitment 2013
Best rgs
David
Thanks! This has been the most perfect example for me! I am a fresh graduate and I really find it hard to answer this simple question. But hey, this made me think clearer! Thanks! I hope you'll post more tips for freshers. :) God Bless!
This is the answer I was looking for. Great work keep it..!!
This sample answer is 60% of my answer for the question but according to me it should also include your recent Project work
It was good ans
Finally i got for what i was actually looking...thanks a lot
thank you give giving such a good example
very helpful.. visit http://www.interviewguide.in/tell-me-about-yourself
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