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The World's Oldest Job Interview Question - and
How to Answer It
"Tell me about yourself."
It really isn't a question. It's an open-ended command.
It's an icebreaker for both interviewer and interviewee.
To put it another way, imagine you're single, and imagine
yourself at a cocktail party. And as you're mingling,
you meet someone attractive, and you say, "Tell
me about yourself."
And that person doesn't shut up for the next fifteen
minutes. Does that sound like fun for you? Probably
not. You're probably looking to catch the host's eye
for a conversational escape by minute five, and mentally
crossing off a list of lame excuses to walk away by
minute ten.
In other words, you've essentially stopped listening
and you feel trapped. Do you want your job interviewer
to have the same experience with you?
When you rehearse your answer to this question - that
is, when you practice or role play with a friend, business
coach, or loved one - here are a few tips for creating
a great answer:
1. Don't go for the throat.
Your resume got you in the door, and you're going to
be in the interviewee's chair for another 30-60 minutes.
Relax. Don't try to tell the interviewer why you're
the right one for the job in that first answer. No interviewer
ever hears the answer to "Tell me about yourself"
and says, "Stop the interview! The job is yours!"
2. Keep it high-level.
The executive summary of your resume has the salient
points of your career direction concisely packaged.
Drawing from that language (though not parroting it)
reinforces your personal marketing message, and connects
the dots between you and the position you're seeking.
3. Keep it focused.
Don't talk about your early childhood unless it has
a direct correlation to why you're in the interviewee
chair. And if it does have a direct correlation, get
to the point fast.
4. Keep it brief.
You'd be surprised at how slow time moves in an interview.
In a conversational tone and style, reading this article
aloud would take less than three minutes, and it's about
400 words. Three minutes is forever in an interview,
especially at the start.
There's a reason why "Tell me about yourself"
is so commonly used, and it's just to get the conversational
ball rolling. Keep your answer simple, high-level, focused
on no more than 2-3 salient points, conversational,
and about half as long as this article.
Author: Allen Voivod
Allen Voivod is the Chief Blogger for ResumeMachine.com,
the leading resume distribution resource for managers,
executives, and professionals looking to accelerate
their job search results. Get the attention of thousands
of hiring agents with the largest and most frequently
updated recruiter database on the web, and dive into
a wealth of immediately useful career articles and blog
posts - all at http://www.ResumeMachine.com
!
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