Tell me about yourself? A simple question that decides the fate of the job interview. Often misunderstood by the job seekers, ruins the whole interview. There is a huge gap between what the interviewer wants to hear and what job seekers have to say. In this article, You’ll learn how to frame your answer, How to highlight your strengths and hide your weaknesses, the best ways to describe your achievements, How to outshine your competition, and some best examples of “tell me about yourself for Fresher” and “Tell me about yourself for experienced candidates”!
Why this question?
Job interviews can be very daunting at times, the job seeker and the interviewers have probably never seen each other in person. “Tell me about yourself” acts as an ice-breaking activity to start with. The interviewer is probably trying to make you comfortable. This question is a conversation starter.
Whether you are a fresher with no experience or a seasoned professional with decades of industry experience, whether it’s a telephonic interview or you are speaking with your hiring manager face to face, the first question you will be asked is Tell me about yourself.
To learn more about such questions and answers do not forget to check our other detailed articles.
“Tell me something about yourself” As easy this question may sound, let me tell you it’s not that easy. Did you know most of the candidates get rejected because of this one question? You know, almost 80% of all interviews begin with this one small “innocent” question “Tell me about yourself”.
How do you answer tell me about yourself for fresher & experienced?
You must be wondering, you have already mentioned everything about yourself in your resume. Of course, you have, you must understand the purpose behind this question.
The interviewer is looking for information not already mentioned in the resume? Probably not. If you have a well-crafted resume, that talks about your career history in detail and presents your skills and expertise in the most professional way. It means you already have everything needed for the job. After All, that’s why you have been invited for the interview.
The interviewer is interested in how you present yourself. How do you describe your skills, expertise, experience, and future goals?
Most candidates believe it to be the easiest interview question, and it is. Only if you know how to start, what to talk about, when to stop, and what to not talk about. I have interviewed over 5000 job seekers and I have heard them all. Some of them were peculiar kinds of “tell me about yourself responses.”
If you are looking for how to describe yourself examples, We have listed some really great tell me about yourself sample answers for you at the end of this article.
Other variations of tell me about yourself: 10 questions about yourself
- Brief me about yourself
- Tell me something about yourself
- Can you tell me a little about yourself?
- Help me understand your resume
- Take me through your resume
- What makes you a suitable candidate for this position
- Why should we hire you?
- What makes you a better choice
- Describe yourself
- What makes you unique
How to answer tell me about yourself for fresher & experienced?
You have probably answered this question every time you appeared for a job interview. Yes, it is one of the most common job interview questions. Tell me about yourself allows you to talk about your skills, and career, and align your experience and expertise with the position.
This is how most of the candidates’ answer tell me about yourself:
My name is Andrew, I have done my graduation from Auckland University. I have three members in my family including myself, my father is a carpenter and my mother is a housewife. I have three years of experience in sales, lead generation, and key account management.
My hobbies are playing drums, listening to pop music, and traveling.
Probably this is how everyone answers this question. And there is nothing wrong with it.
Yes, this is how everybody answers “tell me about yourself”. And that is exactly what is wrong with this answer. Interviewers and hiring managers are tired of these answers, they are no longer interested in your family details, they care less what your parents do for a living and they are definitely not interested in knowing if you like playing drums or buckets.
Don’t forget to check our blog for more interview questions and answers.
At the end of this article, you will find some great examples of tell me about yourself sample responses.
You might face this “tell me about yourself” question in different forms at various stages of the interview. But that does not mean you have to repeat the same answer every time.
How you introduce yourself in an interview is very important. There are three things to keep in mind for answering “Tell me about yourself”
The best way to answer tell me about yourself or introduce yourself is to:
- Start with the present:
The best way to describe yourself in the interview is to start with your current position. If you are a fresher, talk about and have no work experience start with that. Compliment it with the skills, qualifications, and internship experience. Align the answer with the job requirement and then you can talk about the rest of things.
If you are currently employed, talk about your designation, your role, and how you help your current employer with reduced TAT and increased revenue. Talk about the skills and expertise that you have acquired and are willing to share with the company.
- Add a little about the past: You can also talk about how you started, a glimpse of your career history along with how you enjoy your role and learnings. Do not forget to talk about your achievements and awards if any.
- Explore the future: If you enjoy your work you should be able to talk about your future plans, the kind of roles you desire in the future, or a milestone that you wish to achieve in near future.
Depending on what you say and how you present it, this question can decide the direction of the interview. Use this opportunity to influence the interviewer in your favor.
The primary goal of this interview question is to know about job seekers. This introductory question helps the hiring managers decide why should they continue with your interview. When you start with your present state in your career, you tell your interviewer about what you do currently, and you align your current job role with the position you are getting interviewed for.
When you tell your interviewer how you got there, and you talk about your achievements, learnings, and experience that helps the hiring manager assess your growth path and how well you have been doing in your career. If your interviewer finds something fishy here, he might ask you a cross-question.
And then tell him about what you are looking to do next and why you are applying for the job.
We’ll help you prepare the best answer to this question “tell me about yourself”. We’ll also help you with some sample answers and with the best possible way to describe yourself.
Many candidates, who do not understand the importance of this innocent but tricky interview question, mostly unprepared, skewer themselves by rambling, talking about their life stories, delving into ancient work history, or personal matters.
Important points before you start answering “Tell Me About Yourself”:
The best way to describe yourself is to start with your skills and tell them why you are well qualified for the position.
Remember that it’s important for all successful interviews to match your qualifications, experience, and skills to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words, find at least 5 words to describe yourself and you must sell what the buyer is buying, not what you are selling. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.
So, before you answer “Tell me about yourself” or any question it’s imperative that you research, read, and find everything about your interviewer, try to uncover your interviewer’s requirements, position details, and the problem that they are trying to solve or goal.
And based on the research you must frame the question in line with the requirement.
To do so, take these two steps:
1. Do all the homework you can before the interview to uncover your interviewer’s requirements and position (not the generalized needs of the industry or company)
2. Ask for a more complete description of the offered position. You might say: “I have several accomplishments and skills to talk about, but I want to make the best use of our time together and talk directly to your needs. To help me do, that, could you tell me more about the most important priorities of this position? All I know is what I (heard from the recruiter, read in the classified ad, etc.)”
Then, You must ALWAYS follow up with a second and possibly, third question, to draw out your interviewer’s needs even more.
Surprisingly, it’s usually this second or third question that will tell you what the interviewer is most looking for.
You might simply enquire, “And in addition to that?…” or, “Is there anything else you see as essential to success in this position? Remember, This process will not feel that easy or natural at first, because sometimes it is easier simply to answer questions, but only if you uncover the interviewer’s wants and needs will your answers make the most sense.
Find a friend and practice the interview well in advance. Practice asking these key questions before giving your answers, the process will feel more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other competing candidates.
After you have found out what the employer is looking for, describe why the requirements of this job bear striking parallels to tasks you’ve succeeded at before.
When the interviewer demands you to describe yourself, you are not supposed to talk about your personal life or your favorite movie star, or what you like doing in summer.
Tell me about yourself is the first opportunity for you to describe your career objectives and goals.
With a little smile and a truck full of confidence, Be sure to talk with specific examples of your responsibilities and especially your achievements in your past assignments, all of which are geared to present yourself as a perfect match for the needs he has just described.
More Tips for answering Tell me about yourself for fresher & experienced:
So you have an upcoming interview and it’s mostly going to start with this one innocent and the most difficult interview question “Tell me about yourself”.
How do you introduce yourself in an interview? We have prepared do’s and don’ts for you.
- Keep it professional, Do not talk about your personal life
- Tailor your answer in line with the roles and the company, do not talk about your personal goals and ambitions
- Be confident, poor confidence will cost you the job
- Do not recite your resume. Keep your answer brief, specific to the objective, and interesting
- Practice your interview, but do not memorize
- Before you answer this interview question tell me about yourself, and find some information about your interviewer’s professional life. E.g you may want to check his LinkedIn profile.
- Talk positive, Act positive, and Be positive. You may have heard, that the first impression is the last. It includes not just a warm handshake, Greetings, and Eye contact but also a proper answer to the question “Tell me about yourself”
- Smile. I don’t need to tell you how important a smile is. Remember your interviewer is trying to find the best match for his team. He wouldn’t want to hire someone with a dead face.
Tell me about yourself best answer: for experienced professionals and freshers
Tell me about yourself examples: #1
- I’ve been in the sales industry for over 7 years, primarily working in key account management and client servicing roles. In my last company, I worked as a Senior manager of sales for a leading technology firm. I successfully managed a total net worth of 25 million dollars accounts for my company. and now I’m looking to expand my experience across other domains and a particular (hiring organization).which is why I’m so interested in joining a company like yours.
Tell me about yourself for a fresher Sample Answer: #2
So, I have always enjoyed accounting and taxation, even going back to my college days. For example, I was a bookkeeper for my cultural event committee at my college. This led me to pursue accounting as a career. In addition to that, I also helped a local book store manage its financials. After college, to improve my skills and to learn about taxation I decided to enroll for a master’s in accounts. Given this position offers a perfect learning opportunity for me I decided to jump at the chance to apply when I saw an opening.
Sample Answer Tell Me About Yourself: #3
I’m a marketing professional with over seven years of experience. I specialize in brand promotions, market analysis, and competition mapping. I most recently worked as a Sr. Marketing Manager for a large advertising agency managing multiple large-size projects and overseeing marketing efforts for my clients. And now I’m looking to expand my experience across other aspects of marketing including digital marketing and OOH. This is why I am more interested in joining your organization.
There are various ways to answer this interview question “tell me about yourself” and we have given some examples above. However, you must prepare your answer in your own words.
Check out our other posts on job interviews, resume writing, letter writing, and job search. Also if you liked “Tell me about yourself for fresher or experienced” feel free to let us know in the comment section.
FAQ
Start with a brief introduction, followed by your skills, qualifications & certifications, and past work experience.
Don’t forget to highlight your strengths and skills. For example, a team player, leadership, well organized, passionate, and communication skills.
For examples of how to answer tell me about yourself click here
A lot of things. For example, do not talk about your personal life, failures, problems, medical history, bragging, complaining about other employers/reporting managers, colleagues, etc.
My Name is Steven Hobbs. I am from Mississippi, I’m a science graduate from ABC university.
If this is how you introduce yourself. Please spare me.
Nobody is interested in who you are and where you are from. A self-introduction is an opportunity to talk about the value you bring to the table. The interviewer is looking for a problem solver, a learner, and a highly motivated individual for the position.
Frame your self-introduction around the job requirement. You are hired.
So, I have always enjoyed accounting and taxation, even going back to my college days. For example, I was a bookkeeper for my cultural event committee at my college. This led me to pursue accounting as a career. In addition to that, I also helped a local book store manage its financials. After college, to improve my skills and to learn about taxation I decided to enroll for a master’s in accounts. Given this position offers a perfect learning opportunity for me I decided to jump at the chance to apply when I saw an opening.
I have a strong interest in the software industry. The reason is I’d like to leverage my analytical mind and apply the coding skills and technical know-how that I have acquired throughout my BTech courses. I see myself as a creative person. I demonstrated this by working in various group web development and app development projects with differing types of individuals. I would like to be a part of your company to further develop myself within the software industry and to use my capabilities to serve both your company and your clients.
