I was coming back from a Muay Thai session (again) when I got this text from a friend. She’s found herself interviewing for the first time in over a decade.
“Tell me about yourself,” is the famously vague interview question that can be answered a million different ways. And if you search the internet, you’ll find a million different frameworks to respond with.
However, the right response doesn’t start with your work experience or a personal story. It starts with understanding your “why.”
In fact, the best way to answer this question starts well before you begin applying for any new opportunities.
Here are 3 important tips to help you nail this question AND to interview successfully for the roles you want to secure:
- 1Define your professional goals FIRST: Knowing what job/role/company you want isn’t enough. What’s your purpose - your “why?” Spend time writing down the values that drive your decisions. If you haven’t clearly defined your “why,” then you won’t know how to answer that question (or more importantly, how to identify opportunities that are aligned with your goals).
- 2Create a list of parameters for your search: Use your refined professional goals to create a list of parameters for your search. Are you looking for smaller or larger orgs? What technical skills are you looking to develop further? Or would you prefer more leadership responsibilities instead? Using your “why” to create parameters will help you identify the right opportunities.
- 3Prepare questions that fill in the gaps: Prepare questions that help you confirm whether that company/role/opportunity fulfills your professional goals. Then use those questions to help kick off the interview discussion. “Tell me about yourself” is a chance for you to tell them what you’re looking for and for YOU to evaluate whether they have what you’re looking for.
I train sales, customer success, and leadership teams to communicate with clarity, confidence and impact. Have a question similar to my friend’s? Leave a comment (or message me) and ask! Whether it’s about interviews, sales calls, client 1:1s, or presenting to leadership, I’ll answer every question and feature the best ones in upcoming posts.