Member-only story
Tell Me About Yourself
What’s the real answer?
I know!
It’s the most common question, and yet the one we are least prepared for.
Whether it's a job interview, a social networking event, or your first date, you know it's coming, one way or the other.
“Tell me about yourself.”
“I am a hard worker and team player.”
“I am a software engineer.”
“I love long walks by the beach and sunsets.”
You want to somehow define your worth in the next 10 seconds. This answer will also determine how the conversation continues and whether or not the other person will want to be a part of.
It’s a lot of pressure.
How do you even sum up an entire personality in 2–3 sentences?
You rehearse and produce a polished and sanitized version of your existence that you make an effort to withhold and live up to. The bloopers are cropped out to never see the light of day.
What if it’s all a big, fat lie?
What if the real answer is not a list of accomplishments and desirable qualities, but something more — some deep, dark, tangled clutter of contradictions?

