Often an employer will open an interview with Tell me about yourself What question is the employer really asking?

Answer 1

There are a number of ancillary details that question should illuminate:

1. Can this person keep their story straight? If what they say in response to "Tell me about yourself" is wildly different from what their resume/application says, they're probably lying.

2. Is this person smart enough to realize this is a good chance to emphasize their strengths and what they bring to the table in terms of perfoming the job they're applying for?

3. What strengths DO they bring to the table relative to the job they're applying for?

4. Can this person communicate well semi-informally? It's easy to make a resume/application look good when you can work on it for a week. When you have to come up with something live, it's a real test of your communication skills.

5. Is there something in their background that might be relevant, even if they don't know it? Applicants trim down their background to the things they think are important to getting the job, but if they happen to casually mention a hobby that turns out to be related to a product the company is secretly developing, that could be the tipping point that gets them the job over somebody else.

Answer 2

Job interviews can be stressful, especially open-ended questions like "Tell me about yourself...". The question is often not anticipated, so the Interviewee feels put on the spot! But, it is a good way to get to know a person. What you say IS important.

You should aim to speak about 5 to 6 sentences; e.g. do not go on and on. You should be able to express yourself coherently, e.g. you make sense. It should be organized, such as a chronology. Above all, it should be POSITIVE! If you have a problem, disorder, illness, disease, etc., do NOT bring it up unless you can say something that (a) is extremely positive and (b) relates to your job search and your interest in working for this company.

Speak about your education, jobs, but also include some personal details. Tell things that are NOT described in your resume or job application.

First, use your first name to introduce a nickname IF you regularly use the other name. You might say...

Example:

I was born Michael Lee (don't restate the last name) but I go by Lee in my daily life. When my father died when I was 15 years old, I dropped out of high school to help my mother run our family grocery business. However, I attended HS classes at night with a tutor, returned to high school when I was 17, and graduated with High Honors with my original classmates. i went on to a Community College at night while working as a bookkeeper in our family's grocery store. While there, I helped implement electronic bookkeeping and upgraded our ordering and customer check-out systems. Other small businessmen who hadn't yet converted to newer systems began asking me for advice, so I formed a part-time consulting business when I was 20 years old. When I studied for my undergrad degree, I knew I wanted to expand into handling databases with a large corporation. My mother retired and sold the grocery store a few months ago, and when I saw your corporation had a job opening, I thought I would be a good candidate to work here.

Example:

My birth name is Bernice, but everyone calls me Bernie. I was born with a congenital spinal defect so I spent most of my youth in and out of hospitals for surgeries. When I entered public high school in 9th grade, I found I was behind in some classes, like the natural sciences. So I had to apply myself extra hard and by 10th grade, I scored well on all tests. Ironically given my bad start in science, I entered college for a Biology degree, which I earned in 2011 and started my Masters that fall. During my Masters program I decided I wanted to teach, so I took a minor undergrad in Education. So I earned my second B.A. and my Masters within 3 and a half years. I'd love to teach your nursing students "Anatomy and Phys", and am very interested in teaching Pregnancy and Maternal Health. I'm also strong in Principles of Laboratory work. I believe my personal health background and educational degrees will help me to work here with other instructors at the nursing school.

So what if you didn't have the best grades, didn't go to college, and don't know what to say?

I grew up in a working class family with two parents who both worked full time. I earned mostly B's in school and excelled in math with straight As for 3 years of classes. But I wasn't interested in going to college yet. A friend of mine has been employed at another fast food establishment and told me how much he has learned about teamwork and business expectations, and he recommended I apply here. Though I've never held a job before, my parents instilled in me good work ethics. I want to learn from the ground up with your corporation. I'm flexible too about my work schedule; I am available to work evenings and weekends once I'm finished with my 6-week training period.

When you think about yourself, don't dwell on negatives. When you speak about yourself, turn negatives into positives. Be honest, but "positively" honest. Be realistic about your good and bad points. Don't make excuses-- but don't bad mouth yourself either. Think about how to word your story so you appear to be earnest, hard-working, interested, and willing to learn. There is no shame in being a beginner; we all had to get our first jobs. But you can tell your story in ways that make you a likable and likely candidate for the job.

Answer 3

You can say your good qualities what you excel at, some hobbies, past businesses you worked for, or your personal life or past (like where you went to school, what you mastered in, etc)

Answer 4

Can this individual be personable without being unprofessional?