Tell Me About Yourself; How to Answer this Interview Question

Whether you are a fresh grad looking to start a career or a professional looking to switch jobs, preparing for a job interview can be equally challenging, especially when you have to answer subjective questions like, “Tell me about yourself”, learn how to answer this interview question.

Well, this is normally the first question in any job interview and so preparing for this specific question is a must. Since, it’s one of the generic subjective type of interview questions, mostly people get confused, i.e. what and how to answer.

This article will guide you to prepare yourself with the best answer, if you are looking for answers like the following:

  • What is the best answer for tell me about yourself?
  • How do you introduce yourself in an interview?
  • How to answer “Tell me about yourself” in job interview?
  • Best answer to “Tell me about yourself” for freshers.
how to answer this interview question
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Well, you might have a lot to say a lot about yourself, i.e. no one else knows about you more than your own self, but here you’ve to be specific in a job interview. Yes, very specific about the interviewer’s interests with regards to the job post you are applying for. You may have a lot to say about how many hardships you have been through and eventually you made it through the tough time, but it won’t attract the interviewer. Rather summarizing your tough experiences into a positive note would work great!

The interviewer is looking to know about you so he can identify whether or not you’re the right person for the post, so his interests are very clear and here they’re:

  • What skills make you fit for the job?
  • Have you worked on similar stuff in the past?
  • Whether you can take responsibility or not?
  • Are you comfortable working with different people?

Know the fact that there’s no single answer to this question because every individual is different and even if two individuals have same interests and qualifications, they may have different experiences which can change the answer entirely.

Now let’s see how you should start answering all these in a flow:

Tell Them About Your Skills

Start with telling them about your skills that make you the suitable candidate for the job.

For instance, if it’s a sales related job, explain your ability to communicate with various kind of people, how you can convince someone, ability to face rejection etc. If it’s a finance related job, you can tell them about your analytical approach. If it’s a management position, you can share your problem solving skills and so on.

Even if you are fresh grad appearing in an entry level job interview or for an internship opportunity, make sure not to take start with academic qualifications, instead explain the skills you’ve got and then relate it with specific academic background you’ve.

Relevant Experience

Now move on to tell them about your current/last workplace where worked in a relatively similar position. In case if it’s your first job, you can quote the projects you’ve worked on during academics or volunteering experience where you learnt the basics about the job you are applying for.

Your Performance at a Glance

And now wrap up with how you managed to work on last relevant project. You can mention your achievements and awards for the similar stuff.

The Bottom Line

That’s how you can answer the most difficult question very well, i.e. ‘tell me about yourself’. Remember that job interview is the smallest duration where one can attempt to judge your abilities for a particular post, and you must be to the point in all your answers. This will definitely increase your chances to get hired!

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