“Tell Me About Yourself” writing. Why All of Us Stumble Over This Question

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We all know that preparing for a job interview (or any other admission interview) is quite a stress. Our brain is in a panic because of all those questions that we may be asked by the HR manager, and we are uselessly trying to keep ourselves calm and concentrated.

And one of the most confusing questions appears to be this, at first glance, completely harmless “Tell more about yourself” question.

What is wrong with it, you may ask. Well, mainly it is all because of this question being open-ended which means that it can not be answered simply with “yes” or “no” answer, as well as one, can not give a static response to it. As long as our brain always seeks for logical ways of functioning, dealing with tell about yourself question puts it into a trap because it is trying to figure out why we are asked this question and how it is possible to answer it correctly matching the purpose of a question.

However, there is quite an easy way to skip all those problems and present yourself from the best side of the interview.

Dos and Don’ts When Telling About Yourself During the Interview

As you already know, our brain tends to make everything logical. This is the main reason why, being asked to tell about ourselves, we start retelling all the personal information mentioned in our written CV. Yes, just because it is structured and clear to understand! But is it truly what our interviewer wants to hear from us?

In fact, the main purpose of Tell About Yourself question is to check your communication skills and see how structured your thoughts are, as well as how well and confidently you can share such information. And of course, it is important to show yourself being a confident speaker: make eye contact, smile and behave naturally instead of looking away and nervously twist your fingers. Make sure that your body language shows yourself being absolutely calm and relaxed.

However, not everyone is able to calm down and properly concentrate before the interview. To help you to keep your thoughts together, here are some tips on how to prepare yourself for the easiest and at the same time the most tricky question of all times!

• When telling about yourself at the interview, avoid any personal information that is not related to the job you are applying for. HR does not need to know which flowers are your favorite or where you spent your last vacation.
• Please, when being asked to tell more about yourself, never retell all your previous work experience as if you are reading from your resume! Your interviewer already knows what is written in your CV. Instead, summarize this information and say why you are the best candidate for this particular position mentioning your significant personal and professional features that can make you useful for the company.
• To list all the benefits you can bring to the future employer, think about your strengths. These can be both your personal traits and professional features and characteristics that help you fit this job better than other candidates. When preparing for the interview, just make a list of these features and think of how each of them could be applied at your new job.

How to Prepare Yourself for Tell About Yourself Question

The first and most important advice is to behave in a natural way! HR is the same human being as you are, and you will not get killed if your answer not good enough. To relax, try to imagine any confusing situation that might happen during your interview, and think about how you could deal with it in an easy and funny way!

In case you are still worried, try the following scheme:

• Pick several winning traits that define you and can be applied to the job position you are seeking. It would be nice if you could choose from three to five traits as too many are not ok the same as too few.
• Look through your resume carefully and turn those traits into reasons for your work or education history.
• Connect these traits and your job/education history with the interest in the position you are applying for.
• Use all these facts to explain why you are the best candidate possible for this job.

And don’t be afraid to make notes! It is ok to make a bullet list on your phone and bring it with you to the interview, no one will say a word against it. besides, having your notes will help you to feel more confident.

Even if you have just graduated from your college, you can apply the tips from above for successfully passing your job interview. No matter that you don’t have work experience yet, you can mention your strengths and say how they helped you in your student life – in clubs, classrooms, or any other activity that is related to the job you are applying for.

To summarize, just be you, friendly and sincere, and know yourself. Explain to HR how your strengths made your history and point to how they led you to the new job.