Top Interview Experts Share The Best Way To Answer The Common Interview Question “Tell Me About Yourself” by Sarah Johnston
Almost every single interview starts the same way. You walk into the recruiter or hiring manager’s office. After greeting you with a handshake, offering you a place to sit and maybe a cup of coffee, they turn to you and say…..
“ Soooo, tell me about yourself”
METICULOUS PREPARATION IS KEY
As a job search strategist and interview coach, I’ve found that this typical first interview question gives people the most anxiety because it feels too open ended. Clients often stress over if they are sharing too much, not the right information or if they sound uninteresting. I’d like to stress that the key to answering this critical interview question is to anticipate the question before your interview and craft a thoughtful answer in advance.
A STUDY DONE BY MONSTER.CO.UK SHOWED THAT CANDIDATES ARE SAID TO HAVE JUST 385 SECONDS (A LITTLE OVER 6 MINUTES) TO MAKE A SOLID IMPRESSION.
I asked some of the top interview coaching experts to share their best formula or response to this common interview question.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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