Subject: Can you Tell Me Something about Your Self???- Interview Question !!!
Can you Tell Me Something about Your Self???-
Interview Question !!!
"Tell Me Something About Yourself?"
Tell me about yourself, its a question that most
interviewees expect and it is the most difficult to
answer as well. Though one could answer this open-
ended question in a myriad of ways, the key to
answering this question or any other interview
question is to offer a response that supports your
career objective. This means that you shouldn't
respond with comments about your hobbies, spouse, or
extra curricular activities. Trust me, interviewers
aren't interested. To start with there is no correct
answer to this interview question. I would lean in the
favor of a quick reference to some personal traits
that give a quick-view of who you are. From there one
could move to a one sentence of any relevant
education/qualification. There should also be a
mention of employment history.
Purpose of the Question:
In one of my write-up "Across the interview table" I
did mentioned that there is a purpose of asking each
and every question in the interview. One cannot ask
anything and everything. Again, set of interview
questions varies from industry to industry and
position to position. Interviewers use the interview
process as a vehicle to eliminate your candidacy.
Every question they ask is used to differentiate your
skills, experience, and personality with that of other
candidates. They want to determine if what you have to
offer will mesh with the organization's mission and
goals.
What type of answer is expected???
Try to avoid this type of answer: I am a hard-worker
who is good with numbers. After I worked as a
financial analyst for a few years, I decided to go to
law school. I just finished and now am looking fl Ÿ àá %w challenge.Speak something like this: I began
developing skills relevant to financial planning when
I worked as a financial analyst for three years. In
that role, I succeeded in multiplying the wealth of my
clients by carefully analyzing the market for trends.
The return on the portfolios I managed was generally
2% more than most of the portfolios managed by my
company. My initiative, planning, and analytic skills
were rewarded by two promotions. As the manager of a
team, I successfully led them to develop a more
efficient and profitable strategy for dealing with new
accounts. My subsequent training in the law, including
tax law and estate law, gives me an informed view of
what types of investments and charitable gifts would
be most advantageous for your clients.
Preparing for the Answer:
Follow the following steps as outlined below to ensure
your response will grab the interviewer attention.
1. Provide a brief introduction. Introduce attributes
that are key to the open position.
2. Provide a career summary of your most recent work
history. Your career summary is the "meat" of your
response, so it must support your job objective and it
must be compelling. Keep your response limited to your
current experience. Don't go back more than 10 years.
3. Tie your response to the needs of the hiring
organization. Don't assume that the interviewer will
be able to connect all the dots. It is your job as the
interviewee to make sure the interviewer understands
how your experiences are transferable to the position
they are seeking to fill.
4. Ask an insightful question. By asking a question
you gain control of the interview. Don't ask a
question for the sake of asking. Be sure that the
question will engage the interviewer in a
conversation.
Doing so will alleviate the stress you may feel to
perform.There you have it - a response that meets the
needs of the interviewer AND supports your agenda.When
broken down into manageable pieces, the question, "So,
tell me about yourself?" isn't overwhelming. In fact,
answering the question effectively gives you the
opportunity to talk about your strengths,
achievements, and qualifications for the position. So
take this golden opportunity and run with it.
When Asked by Different People?
HR manager or CEO of the company or the Departmental
Head can ask the same question and your answer should
vary. The expectation of each such person is
different.
When asked by HR Manager your response must be like
this: "My career has been characterized by my ability
to work well with diverse teams. I seek out
opportunities to involve others in the decision-making
process. This collaboration and communication is what
has enabled me to achieve success in my department.
People are the most valuable resource of any
organization."
When asked by CEO your response must be like this: "I
have achieved success in my career because I have been
focused on the bottom line. I have always sought out
innovative solutions to challenging problems to
maximize profitability. Regardless of the task or
challenge, I always established benchmarks of
performance and standards of excellence. I have never
sought to maintain the "status quo." An organization
that does not change and grow will die. I would enjoy
working with you to help define new market
opportunities in order to achieve the organization's
goals." In each instance, we responded to the "needs
of the individual." It is almost guaranteed that, when
you respond appropriately to the diverse needs of the
different managers, you will become the standard by
which all of the other candidates will be measured.
Conclusion
The question is very tricky and being the first
question of the interviewcone need to be a bit more
careful in answering the same. This question can make
or break the interviewers interest in you
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