One of the most frequently asked interview questions, and often the first question asked, is “Tell me about yourself.” What a gift this question is! This is your opportunity to set the tone for the entire interview and lead the interviewer to playing in your court. Unfortunately, most applicants answer this question by simply reiterating what is contained in their résumé or they get into personal information that is totally irrelevant. Before I tell you how to take full advantage of this question, let me explain from a scientific perspective how this can work for you.
Psychologists have identified a phenomenon they refer to as “priming.” Priming is when exposure to a stimulus influences the subsequent response. There are numerous studies that support the effects of priming, but I would like to share one of the more amusing studies with you. Researchers brought college student participants into the lab. One group received a list of words to review that were consistent with the stereotype of an elderly person. The control group reviewed a list of random words. As the participants left the laboratory, researchers measured how fast they walked to the elevator. Participants who had reviewed the elderly stereotype words walked significantly more slowly to the elevator than the control group participants. Thus, providing support for the effects of priming.
How can you take advantage of priming? When the interviewer asks, “Tell me about yourself,” you respond with your carefully-prepared-but-natural-sounding marketing message that describes the benefits you have to offer. Follow these tips when preparing your answer:
1. Be brief (about 60 seconds).
2. Use keywords from the job description or from your research on the company.
3. Describe your top three strengths that are most pertinent to the needs of the company (needs discovered during your research).
4. Include a description of an accomplishment or two as an illustration of your strengths and how they will benefit the company (your value proposition).
5. Keep your message consistent with the branding message you have used in your résumé, cover letter, and social media profiles (consistency makes you memorable).
6. Let your passion for the work show through.
7. Use a story (stories are memorable).
When you bring together the employer’s keywords with your talents and value proposition and put it into a story, you will capture the interviewer’s attention and prime a framework for the interview around your personal brand. Be sure to thoroughly prepare so you can stay on message throughout the questioning and maintain the priming and your advantage.
Here is an example of how an engineer might answer the question from the book 60 Seconds & You’re Hired! By Robin Ryan:
“For my last employer I implemented a new quality-assurance program for seven plants over a four-year period. We received the Q 1 Award for our efforts. Along the way, I’ve learned to effectively deal with employee resistance to quality improvements through training, selling teamwork concepts, and utilizing a personal empowerment approach. I have evaluated 37 suppliers during on-site inspections to improve the quality of their product—parts that will ultimately become pieces of my company’s final product. My five years in design engineering and my strong communication skills have aided me in my ability to work with a diverse population and solve technical problems. These are the reasons I feel I would make a valuable contribution to your company.”
Tags: branding, career coach, Interviews, Job search, Job seekers, qualifications, self-knowledge, strengths, value proposition
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Terry, I always enjoy your posts. As a recruiter, I like the ideas you gave in this post especially. Sometimes the candidate may want to ask a clarifying question before answering. “I’d like to tell you a little bit about my experience, especially as it relates to this position. Would that be the kind of information you would like?”
It shows an attention to meet the interviewer’s needs. Sometimes interviewers want very different info and even great answers such as you suggest don’t meet those needs.
It takes guts to ask a question before answering a question, but candidates will almost always be rewarded by additional crucial information if they dare!
Terry, Been reading your blog and tips over the last month. Had to comment on this particular topic and how you presented it – BRAVO! Too many long drawn out meaningless responses to that “Tell me about yourself” question can now be forgotten and put away forever. Your approach is simple yet very powerful as we each market our brand. Thanks!