“Tell Me About
Yourself” Doesn’t Mean “Tell It All”
By Arlene S. Hirsch
When an interviewer asked a systems engineer to "tell me
about yourself," he felt well-prepared to answer.
After all, he'd been a professional for more than two decades and could recite
the ups and downs of his career in great detail.
Perhaps too much detail.
The engineer was only halfway through a chronological explanation
of his work history when the interviewer interrupted him to ask another
question. The engineer was upset that he hadn't described several important
accomplishments. Reflecting back, he realizes he could have been more succinct.
He also should have grabbed the interviewer's attention at the beginning by
saying something more memorable than where he grew up and why he majored in
engineering.
If an interviewer gives you the stage in this way, understand that
responding is trickier than you think. The following tips can help you provide
a memorable and effective description.
1. Start with the end in sight.
Despite the deceptive phrasing, the directive, "Tell me about
yourself," isn't a polite request for your life
story. What the interviewer wants to know is, "Why should I hire
you?" Knowing this, your goal is to craft a convincing statement that will
make the interviewer want to know more about you and what you can do for the
company.
To prepare, you must develop a response tailored to the specific
employer and addressing its interests, goals, and needs. You should revise,
refine and rehearse your script until you can deliver it flawlessly -- with
energy, enthusiasm and confidence.
2. Take the time to establish rapport.
When interviewers invite you to tell them about yourself, they're
asking you to step into the spotlight, a place where extroverts and natural
performers shine but where introverts can become anxious, tongue-tied and
self-conscious.
If you don't feel comfortable in the limelight, look at the
situation in a different way. Rather than delivering an oratorical performance,
focus on establishing an emotional bond with your interviewer. Here's where
body language can make a difference: Smile, make eye contact, lean toward and
talk to and not at your listener.
3. Sketch the big picture.
Experienced candidates should focus on the big picture first so
that interviewers will place later information in the proper context. Start by
providing an overview that allows them to see your career in total. Example:
"Why don't I start with the big picture? As you can see from my resume, I
have more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing and general
management, primarily in consumer products. The majority of that time was in
the food-and-beverage industry. Thanks to my experiences at ________ and
_________, I have an in-depth knowledge of the domestic and international marketplace
for the food and beverage industries."
4. Focus.
After you sketch the big picture, talk about specific experiences
that are most relevant and interesting to an interviewer. Your research can pay
off here. Learning as much as you can about the industry, employer and job (via
the job description) allows you to zero in on your most relevant qualifications
and experiences.
A senior communications manager experienced in marketing, public
relations and event management knew that a prospective employer, a nonprofit,
was well known in the Latino community for a successful annual conference. In
previous years, major politicians and government officials had been keynote
speakers.
While preparing her tell-me-about-yourself statement, the
communications manager decided to focus on three major experiences:
·
her success in marketing and promoting high-visibility events;
·
her high-profile experience working on political campaigns; and
·
her experience with the Latino community.
However, she didn't use a chronological approach since these
experiences happened at different points in her career.
5. Showcase your communication skills.
Most interviewers observe how you organize and present information
about yourself. If your recent experience is most relevant, detail your
accomplishments in reverse chronological order, giving less emphasis to your
first few jobs. Conversely, if your most relevant
experiences happened in the middle of your career, you may want to start your
description at that point.
Assume, for example, that your first love is training, but
recently you've spent more time working as a general human-resource manager.
When interviewing for a training position, your tell-me-about-yourself
statement might start: "Since training is my first love and one of my core
strengths, I'll start by telling you about my training experience and
accomplishments. While I was working at _________, I put together a very
successful management-training program that received rave reviews from
participants..."
6. Highlight the benefits you'll bring to the employer.
A job search is a self-marketing campaign. Experienced marketing
experts say to stress a product's benefits to the customer rather than its
features, which could well be nifty but the customer
might not need them. In a job search, you're the product. Toward that end,
orient any discussion of your skills and experiences toward showing how they
can benefit your future employer.
Example: "From the job description, it sounds to me like
you're looking for someone who has strong project-management skills. My
greatest accomplishment as a project manager was at _____________." From
there you can describe the goals of the project, what you did to attain them
and the subsequent results.
7. Spotlight the positive.
Never say anything negative about yourself or previous employers.
If you decide to highlight earlier experiences instead of a more recent role,
be sure to present all your jobs in a positive light. To do that, emphasize how
and why your later experiences enhanced your abilities and scope.
For instance, after describing her training accomplishments, the
HR executive might follow up by discussing how her success as a manager has
given her a better understanding of organizational needs and naturally enhanced
her credibility and performance as a trainer.
8. Provide details.
Don't expect interviewers to take your story on faith alone. Have
specific examples ready to illustrate your skills. For example, to emphasize
your problem-solving ability, describe a problem you faced in a past job, what
actions you took to resolve it and the result of those actions. Whenever
possible, choose a problem that's similar to those the prospective employer
might face. To determine the type of challenge you might be asked to correct,
refer to the job description or, lacking that, ask the employer to describe the
position so that you can focus your presentation effectively.
9. Disclose personal information cautiously.
When it comes to disclosing personal information, there's no right
answer. It depends on two factors: whether you feel comfortable using personal
details and what you plan to accomplish by doing so. While disclosing personal
information can be a good icebreaker and rapport-builder, it also can backfire.
You never know how an employer will process that information. Will a hiring
manager be glad to know you're a family man or worry that you won't be free to
travel or work long hours?
Keep the purpose of the conversation in mind. Whenever possible,
mention personal information strategically. For example, an executive who's
interviewing for a job with a toy manufacturer might share anecdotal
information about his children's experience with the manufacturer's toys. An
executive who knows that a job requires extensive international travel could
share about his or her personal travel experiences.
10. Finish strong.
When should you return the floor to the interviewer? Use nonverbal
signs as your cue. If an interviewer seems restless and bored, ask for feedback
about your presentation: "Is this what you want to hear? Or is there
something else that you'd like me to focus on?" This allows the
interviewer to change the flow of communication and establishes a two-way
dialogue.
If the interviewer remains attentive, you'll have more leeway in
how you wrap up. The best way to end your statement is to put the
conversational ball in the interviewer's court by saying why you're interested
in the company and position and asking for more information about current
needs. Listen attentively to the response to determine what parts of your
experience and accomplishments to mention as the interview progresses.
Ms. Hirsch is a career counselor in Chicago and
author of several books on career issues, including "How to Be Happy at
Work" (Jist Publishing, 2003).
From CareerJournal
November 2004