Tell Me About Yourself - Best Answer to This Interview Question. ✓

Hi guys, welcome back to my channel. You asked for it. Today I'm going to be sharing with you the best answer to the interview question, tell me about yourself. As someone who trains companies on how to interview candidates, I will be sharing my inside tips with you. This video is actually part of a new YouTube series where I go through all the common interview questions. And from this, you will learn how to answer interview questions more confidently, make a great first impression, and most importantly, land more jobs. When I now started off in my career, I was always anxious when I had an upcoming interview. I was a nervous wreck in interviews. I was afraid of not being able to answer questions. I couldn't breathe until the interview experience from getting the call to the actual interview was over. That is no way to live. It was an emotional roller coaster and I don't want the same for you. Please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to hit the notification bell icon. I want answering these questions to become like second nature to you. I want you to walk into interviews looking like I am coming for my job. Watch this video to the end and share with your friends and family members. This is a masterclass you are getting for free. Yes, for free. I am inspiring and preparing you at the same time for your next interview. I will be sharing with you my formula to approach this question and then provide you with a sample answer. Don't miss this. By the end of this video, I want you to embrace this tell me about yourself question. I want you to be so comfortable with it that if you don't get asked this question in the interview, you will get upset. Like, I went to this interview today and the interviewer did not ask me, tell me about yourself. Unbelievable. Guys, that's a bring it on mentality. So, tell me about yourself. This is often the first question asked in the interview. Yet, so many candidates fail to answer this question correctly. As someone who sits on the opposite side of the table, I can tell you some candidates falter because they are not prepared while others because of lack of confidence. This is the only interview question that causes you to look in the mirror and inside yourself. And if you don't like what you see, you will be hesitant to answer this. I want to address you as a person before I teach you how to answer this question correctly. We are going deeper. This question connects with how you see yourself. Being unemployed can erode your confidence. It can affect your mental state. As an HR manager, I can see the lack of belief in yourself. I see it in your face, in your posture, and in the way you look at me after you have answered, hoping you have convinced me of something you don't even believe yourself. Sometimes the battle is within. Perhaps you just came out the waiting room and there were five other people in the room with you. You looked at the other candidates and thought, I don't even have a chance. Don't doubt yourself. It's time to silence those dissenting voices externally and internally. Before we proceed, I need you to do one thing for me. Believe in yourself. Yes, believe in yourself. Everything you will ever accomplish starts with believing in yourself. Always know you are amazing, you are awesome, and you have so much to offer. You are more than enough. You are worthy. Don't go into that interview room with a defeated spirit. Don't be afraid. Go boldly and take your seat at that table. You deserve to be there. Today, decide that this is going to be the moment when your life changes for the better. Don't think you would be lucky to get that job or work for that company. Instead, think that company would be lucky to have you. You are the asset. Once you truly realize that you are the asset, you will take your power back and start to truly believe in yourself. Today, I want to reset your mind. Press that reset button, just as you would with your computer. Confidence is based on the data you feed yourself. Feed yourself positive thoughts. Let's begin. Tell me about yourself. Why is this question so important? You have one shot to make a good first impression. Within the first three minutes, the interviewers can tell from your answer if they want to hire you or not. This is your time to stand out. You can use this opportunity to capture the interviewer's attention or lose it here. Answering this right sets the tone for the interview to your benefit, and this is what you want. Some of you may say, why do I need to introduce myself? The interviewers already have my resume right in front of them. Here, I must share with you an inside tip. Not all the time as HRs, we read your resume. Sometimes, it's just in the interview, we are reading your resume for the first time. So this question buys us some time to get to know you. We are hoping that this question will get you talking. We want to know more about your professional experiences, qualifications, and to see if you are a good fit for the organization. We are looking at your communication skills. Are you likable? Can you present yourself well? We are trying to understand who you are, how you approach tasks. Do you have the relevant experience? Tell me about yourself is also code for who you are beyond this piece of paper in my hand. You decide how we see you. This is definitely a great opportunity to make us see the best you. There are also many variations to this question, so don't be caught off guard if the interviewer paraphrases it differently. Like, how would you describe yourself? Walk me through your resume, or walk me through your experiences. Tell me a little bit more about your background. This is how one candidate answered this question. I'm happily married with two kids. I just moved to Florida because of my husband's job, so I decided to look for work here. I am super passionate about finance. My strengths are I am self-motivated, hardworking, I'm a good team player, very loyal, a quick learner, and I work well under pressure. My hobbies are I enjoy reading books and traveling. Thanks again for this opportunity. The interview went downhill after that. What's wrong with this answer? It's all about her. She did not show how she could solve the company's problem or demonstrate how she can add value. You can go in a hundred different directions with this question, but I need you to use your elevator pitch to briefly highlight the points that you think make you stand out. This shows how well you can communicate in a short and concise manner and make someone want to hire you, and that is what you want. Lead with your strongest selling point. You want to communicate to them your brand. This answer should be strategically crafted to show why you are the best candidate for the job. What do you want interviewers to know or remember about you? Highlight your experiences, skills, and accomplishments that have prepared you for this position and for this moment. I would recommend approaching this question using the past, present, and future formula to organize your answer. Even though your past may not look so good, always know your future is bright. Stay tuned. I'm going to share with you a sample answer. Here's how to start your answer with the past. Most candidates start answering this question by reciting their whole resume. Interviewers don't want your whole life story. The number one reason why candidates don't get the job is their inability to link their skills, experience, and qualifications to what the employer wants and needs. Look at the job description for the role you are applying for. Share your background as it relates to the job description so the interviewer can get insights to determine if you are the best fit. You are not going to give every detail. Just mention your notable accomplishments. Think about two to three past experiences that are relevant to the job at hand and try to quantify this in terms of time, money, or people. How much experience does the position call for? You can start answering with the number of years of experience in a particular industry or area of specialization. The interviewers are listening for the keywords and things that make you a match. Make sure you make it easier for them to hear this. Many of you have asked me how long your answer should be. For this type of behavioral question, the right length is one to two minutes. You will have time later to work through your resume in more detail and fill in any gaps. In the upcoming questions, you know we as interviewers will pick parts of your story we want to know more about. It's easy to ramble on. Please don't. Be enthusiastic yet concise. Fresh graduates, I haven't forgotten you. Don't panic that you don't have experience. Show us who you are. Why are you passionate about your field of study? The skills you have, your career goals. Tell a story about what you did up to this point that led you to this job and how it fits into the future. You can mention classes, projects, your degree, internships, or any volunteering you did. Treat college as if it was your work. You can specifically pull examples of achievements of working in a team, leading in a group, and most importantly, the success of some of the things you achieved in your classes. Many applications ask for a cover letter and examples. This is where you can include past projects from college you're proud of. A candidate included a website he made, a group marketing presentation, and a short essay on If you are switching jobs and don't have any experience, focus on your transferable skills and tie it to the job description. Some transferable skills include adaptability, collaboration, communication, conflict management, creativity, emotional intelligence, leadership, negotiation, people skills, problem solving, project management, teamwork, and time management. Be sure to look at the skills that you possess and match them with what's mentioned in the description. Keep learning, keep growing. You can improve your skills through freelancing. There are plenty of online platforms for freelance work like Upwork or Fiverr. You can also take online courses. There are many certificate programs and sites as edX and Coursera you can sign up for. This shows both proactiveness and dedication and that you are focused on self-improvement. The next part we get strategic so stay with me. We have finished the past section. Now we go to the middle section of your answer, the present. The present is indeed a present. Here you mention how many and you know skills or experience how many points in the job description you fulfill. Link your skills, experiences, and quantifiable results as dollar value, percentages, volumes, and time spans to those required in the role. We want to know did the company become better because of you? Show us how you provide value. What results did you help the company to achieve? Here some people like to mention what a team achieved. That's great but you are selling yourself. I need to know how you contributed. List one to three strengths you have that are pertinent to this job. You need to answer within the scope of the role you are applying. I keep mentioning this because candidates don't do this enough. Your answers are too generic. Don't think because it's the same job you have been applying for you don't need to study this. Different companies have different requirements. Take a note of what skills the job description has. Make sure they are the skills and accomplishments you share. What skills does a position require? Marketing, finance, data management. Then share those skills. What motivates you? What impact do you like making for companies? Focus on details and outcomes that you can quantify. What problems you can solve? What value can you bring? This is why it's so important to research the company and tie your answer to the specific role. I know you are a hard worker and a good team player. Don't tell me you are good. Show me how good you are. In both past and present outlines mention your skills and experiences relevant to the job. In this way it keeps all of your skills and experiences at the top of the interviewer's mind. Next up the ending. Future. End with why are you there. Make a case why you are a good fit. Pitch the unique qualities you bring to the table. What makes you special? You have marketing experience so does the other 10 people I have interviewed. Include two to three sentences at the end to say why you want to work for them. I love how your company is committed to the environment. When I saw this job posting I knew I had to apply. I mentioned in my previous video five tips to get hired fast. How to research the company. Go on the company website and look for something that matters to you. Maybe it's their mission, products or corporate social responsibility. Link this to why you are here. What excites you about the position? Wrap up your answer by indicating why you're interested in this and why you are the right fit for the job. As HRs we want people who are versatile and well-rounded who can contribute to the overall success of the company. Here most people will tell you never mention anything personal. Ignore this. This statement should give a little sense of your personality too. By giving a little hint into your personal life this gives a complete picture of you. Mention something that will make you stand out and link it to how you can contribute to the company. Keep it short maybe two lines. We are getting thousands of applications and interviewing hundreds of candidates most with the same skill sets and experience. Here is where you can make a impression. Don't say something like in my spare time I make YouTube videos. How will that benefit the company? Link your answer with how you can help the company or department. In my spare time I volunteer at an orphanage. I love giving and helping others. Therefore the company's mission perfectly aligns with mine and this is why I'm excited to work here. One candidate we hired mentioned he did photography on the side although he was a customer service rep and would take pictures for his department at team events. He stood out and we hired him. This is the finishing touch. The icing on the cake. Putting it all together. Here's a complete sample answer sectioned off into the past, present and future formula. Past. First of all thank you very much for inviting me to be interviewed for this position today. Over the years I have built up lots of skills and experience that I believe will be of benefit to your organization. I started my career as a customer care representative working my way from the bottom up. This really made me understand the needs of the customers to better serve them. During this period I increased customer satisfaction to a 90 percent rating over a 24 month period. One year later I was promoted to customer relationship supervisor. I was praised by my manager for working as part of a team that managed to increase company sales by 30 percent in six months. I did that for three years. Present. Continue. Loved it but I wanted more growth and development opportunities. Then I moved over to Company X and took a management role to lead a specific division and to build a team of 100 people. I love managing teams and solving customer problems. I particularly enjoy this business especially the opportunity to connect with people. I was able to work with my counterparts in HR, marketing and finance and we were able to successfully grow the business. I formed some significant customer relationships resulting in a 25 percent increase in sales in eight months totaling 3 million in revenue. Future. A little bit about me. In my spare time I am a photographer but I don't do that as a job. I would be the one taking pictures at our team meetings and meetups for my previous organization which led me being awarded team player for three consecutive months. I enjoy helping companies stand out and increase their customer base in order to grow their business. I am the type of person who will always act as a positive role model when dealing with employees and customers. I know that one of your company's core value is putting customers first and for this reason I knew I would be a great fit for this job. If you hire me in this position you will quickly see a positive increase in customer satisfaction. Thank you. In this answer the candidate mentioned experience, skills and quantifiable results. The job description called for leadership, collaboration, working well in a team which he also mentioned. Then he ended by sharing a little bit about himself and stating why he was a perfect fit for the role. I know some of you have said in the comments you have no notable achievements. Yes you do. Go through your experiences with a fine tooth comb. Have you ever been praised, thanked, recognized, won any performance awards, team player award or even if you have been promoted mention it. Use my sample answer as a baseline. Please feel free to make it your own. More importantly prepare. Write your answer down. Use a timer. Remember no more than two minutes. You don't want to bore the interviewer. Rehearse but sound natural. Practice in front of a mirror. Body language is important. Make eye contact and remember to smile. And if you didn't get a job don't put yourself down. Accept it was never meant for you. Sometimes they already know who in advance they want to put in that position. Do your best and let God do the rest. No need to sulk about what you can't control. Look forward and not in the rear view mirror. There will be many more opportunities ahead. Be patient. Your time will come. In conclusion being unemployed doesn't define your value. You are amazing. You are awesome. Keep moving forward. The right opportunity is ahead just around the corner. After watching this I hope you are feeling better about yourself and more confident and ready to tackle the tell me about yourself question in any interview. Thanks for staying to the end. Don't forget to like, subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don't miss any of my very insightful videos. Have a great day.