How to Answer the “tell Me About Yourself” Interview
Question
You've got a big interview coming up. How do you prepare?
You have to make research about the company, polish answers
to common questions and hone in on the ways your skills and
experience will help you achieve results in that particular job.
But you can do all that and still flounder in the interview. Many
candidates stumble at the first hurdle because it doesn't seem
like it requires a lot of effort to clear. What is it? The typical
opener that invites you to tell the interviewer a little more
about yourself.
This hardly seems like the toughest question you're likely to
encounter. You know your own biography, after all. But
according to career coaches, this prompt is a common
stumbling block for inexperienced candidates who go wrong by
taking the question at face value.
Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer
themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into
ancient work history or personal matters.
Here are 15 ways to describe yourself for your next
interview:
“I would say I’m…”
1. “Someone who has high expectations for my results. I am
confident in my ability to produce, and while I prepare for the
worst, I do the work necessary to tilt the odds so that the best
will happen.”
2. “Someone who wants to be judged by individual
performance and rewarded for my efforts based on my ability
to execute.”
3. “Someone who wants to work for a successful company with
strong leadership and vision, one that recognizes and rewards
performers.”
4. “Someone who is consistently growing and takes the time to
continue learning even though it’s not a direct requirement of
the job. I find that many times, my professional growth is
based on what I study, both directly and indirectly related to
work.”
5. “Someone who is modest, hard-working and consistently
sets firm goals for myself. Then, once I’ve defined my
benchmarks, I take the necessary steps to achieve those
milestones.”
6. “Someone who aims to keep lines of communication open
and is concerned with clients’ needs—consistently asking
questions to uncover the what the client truly wants and then
making sure I’m able to meet those requirements.”
“Someone who thinks positively and can execute difficult
tasks. I’m not an individual who needs to be micromanaged.
Rather, when given a specific task, I can figure out the best
ways to solve the problem in an autonomous manner.”
8. “Someone who is able to control a situation rather than
allow a situation to control me.”
9. “Someone who has an unwavering resolve. I am determined
to do well in my job and have a successful career, as well as to
make the company I work for more competitive.”
10. “Someone with a need to produce results. I am the type of
person who meets challenges head-on rather than sweeping
them under the rug and hoping they go away. While I’m an
optimistic person, I am also realistic about the current situation
and how satisfactory or unsatisfactory it is.”
11. “Someone who has been able to not only meet my
employers’ expectations, but has consistently exceeded those
markers.”
12. “Someone who takes responsibility for their actions when
things go wrong. I don’t look for outside forces to blame;
rather, I’m someone who looks at what I can improve upon the
next time around. Pointing fingers solves nothing.”
13. “Someone who demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do
whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results,
no matter how difficult.”
14. “Someone who is committed to building something larger
and puts aside personal gain for the well-being of the group.”
15. “Someone who is mature, candid and believes in integrity.Every day I work to improve myself and my skills—that’s part
of becoming better at what I do.”