Johnston Group International LLC

A Boutique Recruiting and Career Consultancy Firm

Interview Tip: Tell Me About Yourself

It’s fairly common for interviewers to start out by asking “Tell me about yourself.”

This is your opportunity to take control from the start and position yourself as a great

candidate.

Here’s The Wrong Response

By asking, “What is it that you would like to know?” Don’t do that.

By starting with your personal life story such as “I was born in Michigan, I have

three sisters, I moved to Ohio when I was ten, and I went to college in California

studied Engineering.” The interviewer really doesn’t want to know your personal

history. And, none of that matters.

Your focus should be:

How your background matches the position

On highlighting your most important accomplishments

Try this three part technique:

1 - The Overview: Begin with a br ief version of your career history. Clear and

concise.

2 - Highlight a Specific Achievement that is relevant to the new role: Give a shor t

summary of a specific achievement to engage the interviewer's interest.

3 - Wrap it up: End with a couple of conclusive sentences about what you want to

achieve next in your career --- but make sure it’s relevant to the role!

You’ll need to practice because all of this should be done within a minute or two.

Anything beyond a couple of minutes may tread into the boredom area for your

interviewer.

Here's an example:

1 - "I am an eight-year Sales veteran with a focus on business software systems.

2 - "In my current role, I’ve been able to land two new clients which will add an

additional yearly sales revenue of $500,000. This is particularly important because no

prior salesperson has been able to persuade them to come onboard and use our service.

I was able to close the deal within the first three months of meeting with them.

3 - "For the next step in my career, I would like to move away from the direct sales

work and become the Sales trainer. I’ve been very successful in my role and I have

several techniques that I can teach to the other salespeople. I know that this will have a

tremendous impact on the company bottom line.

Be Prepared

Practice answering this question. This one is easy. Many interviewers will ask so

rather than dread the question, be prepared to wow them!