Are You Prepared to Answer the Toughest Interview Question?
When preparing for an interview, plenty of thought is usually given to how you would answer the obvious questions (fit, management style, handling difficult situations, etc.), but one of the most challenging interview questions to answer is “tell me about yourself.” It is difficult for me to tell anyone how to answer this question; the most important thing is to think about how you would answer the question. Without doing so, you run the risk of spending a lot of time seemingly ticking off companies, positions and accomplishments with no rhyme or reason.
The “tell me about yourself” question is also your opportunity to give the equivalent of your elevator speech. Use this open-ended question to give the interviewer a high level summary of the experiences you feel are most relevant and interesting in the context of the position for which you are interviewing. Often, this is the first question many interviewers ask — and it sets the tone for the balance of the interview. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for this question:
If your resume is a summary of the companies, positions, responsibilities and accomplishments of your professional career (for many of you, spanning 20–25+ years), break your response into three or four “buckets” instead of attempting to chronicle experiences from four to five companies, in 10–12 different positions and an endless list of accomplishments.
- For example, Bucket I might be personal — about your family, where you grew up, went to college and how and why you chose a particular career track.
- Bucket II could cover your early and formative career; what you learned and how it has helped you develop a foundation for your career.
- Bucket III may be a summary of your mid-career and, many times, this is where scope and responsibility broaden and the impact you are making is more significant.
- Bucket IV could cover your current work, contributions, relevant experiences, etc. It is obviously easier to talk about the more current jobs and accomplishments and their relevance.
Buckets aside, the key thing is to think about how you would approach this question, categorize your experience in 3–4 digestible and cohesive pieces versus meandering through a chronology of every company, job and position you’ve held. Instead, use the the “tell me about yourself” question as your opportunity to tell your story in a way that is most interesting and relevant to the interviewer with whom you are meeting.
About the Author | Doug Ehrenkranz
Doug Ehrenkranz is an executive recruiter and a member of the CPG and Industrial Practice at Boyden Global Executive Search.
