Tell Me About Yourself

The document provides guidance on how to answer the common interview question 'Tell me about yourself'. It explains that the question allows interviewers to learn about a candidate's background and qualifications. When answering, candidates should discuss relevant experiences, relate their skills to the job, provide examples demonstrating strengths, and briefly mention personal interests to conclude professionally.

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Tell Me About Yourself

Uploaded by

Hakan Yılmaz

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

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TOPIC: Tell me about yourself

QUESTION: Could you please tell me about yourself?

Would you first care to tell us a little about yourself?

Describe your background in brief?

When you're attending an interview, whether it be an in-person, phone or video interview, a

hiring manager may start the conversation by asking you "Tell me about yourself." They ask
this question to learn more about you as a candidate and assess how you're different from
other candidates. Understanding how to answer this question can help you improve your
employability and increase your chances of getting a job offer.
In this article, we explain why hiring managers ask the interview question "Tell me about
yourself," provide variations of this question, discuss how to answer it and provide example
answers for you to reference as you create your own.
Why employers ask the interview question "Tell me about yourself"
“Tell me about yourself” questions are common starting points to easy both you and interview
into the interview. It allows the interviewer to get a summary of your background and skills,
giving them insight into what experience and qualifications you think are most relevant to the
position you’re applying for.
Some interviewers might approach this question as an icebreaker by using your response to
spark casual conversation to get to know you better. In contrast, others may move directly into
other interview questions after you respond.
Interviewers may ask "Tell me about yourself" in various versions, including:
I have your resume in front of me but tell me more about yourself.
Take me through your resume.
I'd love to learn more about your journey.
Tell me a little bit more about your background.
Describe yourself.
Tell me something about yourself that's not on your resume.
How to answer "Tell me about yourself"
How you respond to "Tell me about yourself" may determine how successful the rest of your
interview is. When you practice your answer, you want to tell a great story about yourself that
you can share in two minutes or less. Follow these steps to prepare your response:
1. Mention experiences and successes as they relate to the job
Begin by reviewing the job description. Notice what skills the job requires and identify recent
actions of yours that show them. You can review the STAR method to practice telling great
stories in your interviews. You can refer to recent professional experience primarily, but you
may also reflect on past volunteer work and other relevant experiences to support your
narrative.
2. Consider how your current job relates to the job for which you're applying
You may discuss your current job and relate your experiences to the open role. If you're
applying for a more senior role, explain how you're taking on more responsibilities in your
current position. If you're making a lateral transition to a role with different skills, describe
how your existing skills translate into the new position.
3. Focus on strengths and abilities supported with examples
When you start building the script of each example, focus on details and outcomes that you
can quantify if possible. For example, imagine that you want to talk about how you improved
the customer service that your place of employment offered in a past role. Instead of only
stating that you improved customer service, you may strengthen your example by stating that
you increased customer service response rates each quarter by 10% to 15%. If you don't
have the exact information, estimate a realistic value.
4. Highlight your personality
Because "Tell me about yourself" is about getting to know you, it's a good idea to share your
personality with your interviewer. You may want to briefly mention hobbies that show your
intellectual development or highlight your community engagement. Some of these hobbies
may include your love of reading, music, volunteering or playing a team sport. You may also
discuss hobbies that show personal discipline and achievement like learning a new skill.
Discussing personal interests is a good way to conclude your response while maintaining a
professional tone.
5. Format your response
For your response to be clear and concise, you can ensure to organize your answer following
a format or formula. The most common formulas you may consider:
Present, past and future

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