While many of us dread the ‘Tell me about yourself question’ from recruiters - this is your opportunity to unleash your awesomeness! This question is your chance to summarize your unique expertise and accomplishments in an exciting and enthusiastic way. It sets the stage for you to share your most relevant experiences and a more effective approach to answering this question. 

Your answer demonstrates your ability to communicate on your feet when thrown a question, your ability to focus, and your ability to clarify your personal interest and a relevant agenda. 

You have been given a gift - to share 2 or 3 of your strongest points and then control where the conversation goes with a question at the end.  Your answer should be easy to understand and should not generate more questions than answers. In total, your answer should be less than 2 minutes. 

The key to handling this question in the interview is to prepare the answer before the interview. Don’t fall into the trap of a long, boring history of your career. Remember the interviewer already has your resume - so they know your history. 

What they really want to hear is a focused summary of relevant points that can benefit them and may help them solve a problem. 

So how to structure this answer? Let’s build a 5 step process to answer this question. 

Step 1: If you’ve prepared yourself for the job interview you’ve identified relevant keywords (ex - products, industries, tasks, titles, etc) that can easily be used to create bullets for this summary. 

Step 2: The first 3-4 sentences can list some of these keywords and expand them with length of experience (years) or breadth of experience (for tasks or titles). 

Step 3: Add some results or outcomes statements based on these accomplishments. Do not try to cover every bit of detail. Instead focus on the 3 major strengths you can bring to the table based on the job description. 

Step 4: Sentences 4 and 5 should be oriented towards benefits to the interviewer and areas of mutual interest. For example, some of the biggest benefits you can bring to the company and manager such as:

• How you could solve their immediate problem
• How you could help the interviewer achieve their personal agenda 
• Your ability to ramp up quickly based on your proven past experience
• You ability to work independently requiring less management time

5. And then end your 4-5 sentences with an appropriate steering question to move the job interview in your preferred direction. (Want to know more about steering questions? Sign up for the InterviewCoach today.)

Here’s an example of how this structure might work for a Senior Account Manager role. 

Interviewer: ‘So tell me about yourself’

Interviewee: 

1. Title sentence: Sure, I’d be happy to. I have 15 years of experience as a Senior Sales Director. 
2. My industry knowledge covers life safety and bio-medical technologies with product knowledge of fire alarm systems, security systems and medical test equipment (include their industry or product where possible).
3. My expertise is managing sales teams, customer relationship management and business development and sales and services leadership. I am a master of account management and I grow business. 
4. The companies I have worked with include company 1, company 2, company 3. 
5. (This is the BRIDGE) What I’m looking for is an opportunity as a Sales Leader (use their title where possible) where I can utilize my skills developing accounts, building and scaling teams, serving customers, and expanding into new markets. 
6. Ask key target questions that put you back in control. 

The key to handling this is simple interview questions that are prepared ahead of time. Pick 3 points and your steering question. Structure a simple 4-5 sentence summary of what you bring to the table that is relevant to the position. Do not let yourself start rambling and give them your entire work history. This is a summary. 

Remember to keep it concise and focus on the aspects that are most relevant to the opportunity at hand. Good luck and enjoy telling your extraordinary tale!

Looking for more tips on how to win your next job interview? Checkout the InterviewCoach system! 

Remember - the most qualified candidate does not get the position. It is the candidate who interviews the best who gets the position.