Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question.

The clock is ticking… tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

You have 90 seconds…

90 seconds to make a perfect impression, the chocolate gateaux coming toward you gasp type of impression so…

Tell me about yourself?

I bet your legs are wobbly, you have a complete butterfly kingdom in your belly and no doubt you are burning up and to cut through the silence and make some noise you begin to waffle and waffle and waffle!

These feelings, emotions and YES waffling are all components of not preparing yourself properly to answer this type of question.

You see this tiny, minute question is a great opportunity to not only make a huge impression but also set the tone for the rest of the interview.

So if this was you at your last interview or you’re beyond terrified that it will be you at your next interview then read on as I am going to share with you THREE BIG mistakes to avoid when asked this vitally important question AND what to do instead…

Mistake #1 - Relaying Ancient History

Those who are interviewing you DO NOT I repeat, DO NOT want to hear about your first job out of high school! They don’t even want to hear about your first job out of university (unless of course, you’ve just graduated!).

The interviewer has examined your resume after all that is why you are in the hot seat!  So relaying the last ten or fifteen years of experience to them is just a time-waster and provides them with an opportunity to think about what to have for lunch.

So keep it short and sharp and maybe just stick to the last few years, maybe even say “you have seen I have quite a few years experience in (choose your industry) but most recently I …”.

Mistake #2 - Putting the Z in Zoom!

Don’t fall into the trap of zooming into your current role too much. 

The issue with this is it doesn’t provide a holistic overview of ALL the skills, knowledge and experience you have acquired therefore you are packaging yourself into a tiny area when it should be vast.

Mistake #3 - An Unclear Message 

The third big mistake I see is people confusing the heck out of the employer all because they are unclear about their own added value.

The issue here is, they have done so much in their career there is a struggle to connect the dots, confusing the other person and more than likely themselves. 

When somebody's confused, they find decision making difficult which means they certainly don't decide to hire you.  

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO INSTEAD? 

You have to get yourself a pitch.

This is YOUR story, HOW you communicate YOUR narrative, YOUR unique value. 

In your pitch, you need to be able to sell yourself and be able to articulate, very clearly, the value you can bring to the organisation based on all the years of skills and experience you have accumulated.

Your pitch is the consistent message between your resume, Linkedin profile AND the perfect answer to the interview question "tell me about yourself".

In my programs, we practice this question over and over again because the more confident you become in delivering it, the better first impression you'll give. 

Don’t be too hard on yourself because interviewing is a skill.  A skill you can learn and the ONLY way to learn something is by practice. 

If you are reading this thinking “I must learn more Caroline”.  I have a program called Path To Career Fulfilment. 

It's a program where I help professionals create their stories, raise their profile and stand out from the crowd so they can land their next six-figure leadership role. Check it out or book a free breakthrough call with me today.

https://www.newhorizoncoaching.com.au/path-to-career-fulfilment