There are 2 rules and a tips tips in order to answer the "Tell Me About Yourself" interview question the right way so that you can stand out in front of the hiring manager, and ideally, land more job offers.
Rule #1: DO NOT talk about your personal or family life
When someone asked you "tell me about yourself", they are not actually asking you to tell them about your personal life choices, and the mistakes that you're learned from, and how you got here as a human being. They are not actually asking you to "tell them about yourself". They are actually asking you to tell them about your qualifications, your experiences, as well as why you are a good fit for this role. They just want to know about your professional background and experience in a nutshell.
Rule #2: DO tell a story
Even though I had mentioned that you should not be telling them about your Life Story, you do want to tell them your professional work story. A good professional work story means that it needs to be engaging, compelling, clear and complete.
The Major Tip on How to Answer the "Tell Me About Yourself" Interview Question
TIP : Give a SNAPSHOT of your work history
What this means is that you are going to go back in time to the earliest professional job you have ever held and you are going to start your story from there. So, essentially, you are going to describe what company you worked at, this includes:
- Company Name
- Your title
- No of years in that role
- Your major responsibilities
Let say you started off your career five years ago as a Financial Analyst, and then you moved up to Senior Financial Analyst and now you are a Finance Manager.
When you tell your story, you are going to start off your role as a financial analyst.
"I started off my career as a Financial Analyst five years ago with XYZ company where I performed full-cycle accouting duties, month-end closing procedures and assisted with budgeting and forecasting on a monthly basis."
Good luck in your next interview.