Hi, everyone, and welcome. My name is Jenn, and I'm
a certified career coach at Indeed with over 10
years of career services experience personally
working with over hundreds of job seekers from a
variety of industries. Today, I'm going to share
with you some advice that I've refined over the years
for answering the interview question, tell me
about yourself. This video will give
you the knowledge that you need to
tell a compelling two to three-minute story
about your career and why you're a good fit
for the role that you're interviewing for. Also, stick around until
the end for a bonus tip on how to make a real connection
with your interviewer. Now, I'm really glad that
we're covering this topic, because when I conduct a
one-on-one mock interview with a client, this is actually
the first place that I start. And that's because
you're almost always going to encounter this
question in one form or another during the interview,
and often several times throughout the
recruiting process. Oh, and if you find this
content to be helpful, let us know by giving us a like. If you'd like to see
more videos like this or if you're just
interested in knowing more behavioral-based
interview questions and how to answer them, be sure
to subscribe to our channel. So first, let's discuss. What are recruiters
really looking for in an answer when they
ask, tell me about yourself? Job seekers often ask me,
recruiters have read my resume. Don't they know this stuff? Well, when you've
applied for the role, your resume was likely processed
by an Applicant Tracking System, which is more
commonly called an ATS. This is a software that
many companies are using to help screen applicants. And if you'd like to learn
more about the system, check out this link up here. Long story short, yes. In most cases, your
resume has been reviewed. But in some cases, it probably
only received a quick read. Plus, the recruiting process
can be very disjointed. The person that's
conducting the interview may not be the recruiter
who selected you. So in short, it's wise to assume
that your interviewer doesn't know the details of your
professional history. In any case, when an
interviewer asks you, tell me about yourself, they
like me don't really want to hear about your resume. Instead, they're
interested in learning about your professional journey
and how your skills are suited for the role that they have. To craft a strong
answer to the question, aim to create a
compelling story. So as with writing
any other story, you want to start by
creating a good outline. When structuring
your response, I recommend using the present,
past, future format. Writing down this
outline will help you in arranging or
rearranging your response. So let's begin by
starting with the present. And the present is where you
are in your career right now, or most recently as
it relates to the role that you're interviewing for. Another quick note-- it's not
necessary to state your name at the beginning
of your statement unless you've been
asked specifically about pronunciation. So starting your
response with, my name is, can sound stiff
and mechanical, which you really want to avoid. Here's a sample
present statement. I'm currently
working for company C as a customer service
representative. I've recently been
leading a project, that reduces the time spent
on manual processes by implementing
automated chatbots that respond to simple questions. In addition to this project,
I spend a lot of time on the phone with clients,
answering questions, assisting in navigating our website, and
sending feedback to our product team for future improvements. So let's break this
statement down. First, you share
what you've been doing most recently by
giving a high level overview of your role. This includes stating your
title, responsibilities, and projects that you've
worked on recently. In our example, we stated that
we're working for company C as a customer service
representative. And in a real
interview, you would want to try to
show a relationship between the work
that you're doing and the role that
you're applying for. If you're transitioning
into a new role or industry, this is a great time to mention
any certifications you've completed or classes
that you've taken, or even personal projects
that you've worked on that are related to the new role. So in this case, start with
your most relevant experience before shifting to
your recent role, and be sure to highlight the
transferable skills that you've acquired that
apply to this role. Next, take the opportunity to
highlight a key accomplishment, and use the preferred
experience that you find within the job description
to guide what you talk about. In our example, we
talked about the project that we led that reduced the
time spent on manual processes and increased efficiency. Once you've covered
where you are now, start talking about the past,
beginning with your motivation for entering the field. Avoid reiterating
the information that a recruiter can
easily find on your resume. You don't want to just provide
a timeline for how you got here, you want to focus on your
professional ambitions for pursuing this career path. So here's a sample
past statement that we can break down. I've always enjoyed working
with people and helping others, so I went to school and
received my associate's degree in communications studies. While in school, one
of my favorite classes was technical writing,
which has become one of my greatest strengths. My first job out of college
was as a technical writer at Company A, which I
enjoyed, although there was very little collaboration
with my colleagues and I spent about 95% of
my time working alone. After Company A, I briefly took
on a sales role at Company B, where I learned a
lot about working within a fast-paced environment. Then the opportunity at my
current company, Company C, became available, and
I was able to combine my passion for
technical writing, collaboration, and
helping people. In this example, we
started by providing a professional timeline by
outlining the roles that we took after graduation and we
highlighted the key learnings from each. These learnings included
the skills we acquired, like technical writing,
as well as what we learned about the type
of work that motivates us, like working in a
collaborative environment where we can help others. If you've changed
careers along the way or are trying to
change careers now, then speak to what motivated
the shift in your career path and try to tie a thread
to this new career. If you're a recent
graduate, you may consider talking about a
class that motivated you. Basically, this
is where employers like to hear the story
of how and why you got to where you are right now. This section can
change depending on how relevant your
current role is to the job that you're interviewing for. If you're changing
industries, it's helpful to highlight
transferable skills you bring, even when your
previous role may not seem relevant at first glance. Here's a bonus tip. If you can show
how your experience from a different
industry provides you with a uniquely valuable
perspective for the employer, that's even better. And finally, let's
jump to the future. This part of your response
is a great opportunity to get strategic
with your answer and align your personal goals
with the goals of the company. Aim to show that you've
researched the company, that you know what
their values are, that you've researched
their mission statement, and that you are specifically
well-positioned to fill this role. By addressing how you
support an employer's goals and how your values
align with them, you're showing that
you're a good match and that you're invested in them
by already doing the research. Here's an example
future statement. Looking forward, I'm seeking
more leadership opportunities and I think it's important
to grow and be challenged. After managing several
successful projects in my current role,
I found a new passion in leadership and mentorship. I also want to be part of
a company that contributes to the community, and I
was so impressed with how your company organizes
multiple volunteer events throughout the year. Now, the future statement
is all about why-- why do you want this role? Why are you passionate
about this opportunity? In our example, we talk about
how we found a new passion in leadership and
mentorship, which are key attributes, especially
when you're interviewing for management roles. We also made a point to
reference the research done on the company by referring
to the volunteer events that they coordinate
throughout the year. And this aligns with
our desire to work with a community-focused
company. Speaking about what excites
you about the role or industry could remind your interviewer
why they got into the business in the first place, and this
makes you more relatable and can draw a
stronger connection. If it sparks a response
or a similar passion from your interviewer, be sure
to mention that in the thank you note that you sent
after the interview. Wrapping up by
focusing on the future is also a natural
close to the answer. It signals to the
interviewer that you're talking about a future
within their company and it gives them
the opportunity to segue to the next question. A common way that I've heard
candidates end their response is by saying, yep, that's me. But let's try this
conclusion statement instead. And that's what
brings me here today for this exciting opportunity. This is a much better way
to signal to the interviewer that you are done talking. This link right above
me will take you to an Indeed Career Guide
article on this topic with more tips and example answers. Now that you know what
you're going to say, let's talk about how you
want to say it. And I have four basic tips here. One, avoid reciting or
reading your resume. Remember, in your
answer, you're telling the story of who you are, and
what brought you to this point, and where you're looking
to go from here, all as it relates to this job. Two, leave out any highly
personal information, such as marital
status, children, or political or religious
affiliations from your answer. This is not relevant
for an employer to decide if you have the
abilities necessary to perform the functions of the job. There can be some
flexibility to this rule. For example, if it's part
of your personal story and it's critical
to your career path, then it's appropriate to
include a high level of detail. I, for one, have personally
broken this rule. When I was interviewing to
be a technical career coach, my previous experience was with
career coaching at a university level with students who were
majors in communication, business, liberal arts. And I thought it was
important to mention that I felt a personal
connection to working with technical job seekers,
because my husband is a senior software engineer and
I saw how much he sometimes struggled in his own job search. And this addition really
helped me in the interview, because I was able to provide
that personal connection to the type of job
seeker that I would be serving at this company. This, in addition to the
transferable career coaching skills that I already possessed,
made me a strong candidate, and I was ultimately
offered the job. But unless a personal
story directly impacts your career
path like this, it's wise to avoid
mentioning these topics. Number three, be concise. This question is most
likely to come up at the beginning
of an interview, so it's best to craft
a response that's roughly three minutes long. You'll have the
opportunity to dig into the details
of your experience and your accomplishments later. Talk about the main
highlights of the role and the relevant strengths
that apply to the job that you're interviewing for. A good way to be concise is
to practice by using a timer or having a friend time you. And four, here's my bonus
tip that I always share in one-on-one consultations. Don't forget about the human
connection to your journey. Yes, it's important to have
your key accomplishments ready and tailored,
but a good interview should feel conversational. You can briefly mention
hobbies, personal development, or your community involvement
when it's relevant to the job that you're interviewing for. For example, if you're
applying for a role at an outdoor
sporting goods store, be sure to mention that
you love to go on hikes. And five, smile and
make eye contact. If you're in a
video interview, try to remember to look
directly at the camera. This communicates
that you're engaged and you care about what
the interviewer is saying. There's this great quote
by Maya Angelou that says, "I've learned that people
will forget what you said, people will forget what you
did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." And over the years,
I found this to be really applicable to the
interviewing experience. So being professional,
approachable, and prepared are always traits that you
want to aim to display. So to quickly recap my top
tips for how to answer, tell me about yourself, are
one, stick to the format. Think present, past, future. Two, tell your story, don't
just summarize your resume. Three, leave out any
personal information. Four, don't forget
the human connection. And five, practice,
practice, practice. So those are my tips
for today's topic. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you found this
information to be helpful and that you're able to apply
it to your interview prep. If you'd like to see more
interviews like this, please like and subscribe,
and hit the notification bell to stay updated. See you next time.
