- So tell me about yourself. - I um.... - So, tell me about yourself. - Well, I...I like... - Hmm. So tell me about yourself. - Can I call a friend? - You submitted the resume and you waited and you waited patiently and finally, you got that phone call, and
now you got the interview. You're sitting across the table and the hiring manager smiles
and asks you the question... Tell me about yourself. And you panic. And you
don't know what to do. You don't know what to
say. You start to stutter. And halfway through the
conversation you say to yourself, "Ugh! I blew it! Why
did I even say that?!" You never get a second chance
to make a first impression. Usually that hiring manager
makes up his or her mind in the first three minutes
during the interview. Do you make a good impression? So today I'm going to share with you from a CEO perspective, from
a hiring manager perspective, from an employer perspective, what is the best response to the question "tell me about yourself." You see, we have interviewed
thousands and thousands of potential applicants and I cannot tell you how
many times I see people kind of struggle with this question but however, there are
incidents that we are very impressed with the response. This is not theory. We have taken some of the best replies, some of the best responses
to this question. I'm going to teach it to you,
and by the end of this video you're going to walk away
with the exact formula exactly what do you need
to say and how to say it. I'm also going to give you a
little script, a little template, so next time when you
are asked this question you know exactly what to say. And now let me give you
a couple keys first. Key number one. When the hiring manager
is asking you the question "tell me about yourself" they are not actually asking
about your whole life story. They're not asking about your
parents, your background, and your dog's name, and
what kind of cat do you have. It is not about that. So when people hear that
question, they think, "Oh, let me tell you my life story!" and twenty minutes into it, you have not talked
about anything important. So, what they're actually asking is what are you bringing to the table. So from now on, when
you hear the question, "tell me about yourself" I want you to make the mental switch. That equals what value could
you bring to the company? What problems can you
solve for the company? That's what they are asking. And you shouldn't go on and on and on about all your background and all of that. No. Don't do that. Key number two. Be yourself, but be your best self. See, one of the mistakes
people make here is they believe in the interview, "well, I just want to be myself". Yes, you want to be yourself, but you want to be your best self. You want to be authentic,
you don't want to be fake. But it doesn't mean that
you just share everything. This is the first time you
just sitting across the table from a hiring manager, it's like a date. Right? You're just getting to know each other. This is like a coffee date. So make sure that you
present your best self. Lead with your strong foot forward. So when they are asking you the question, everything you share, any
statement that you make, you always want to tie it
back to what's in it for them. W-I-I-F-M. What's in it for them? So let me give you an example. Let's say someone is
hiring and you're applying for a social media manager position. And the hiring manager is asking you, "well, so tell me about yourself." A typical response, someone might say, "well, you know, I um, I-I-I
grew up with social media and, um, I've used social
media for a long long time my whole life actually. So I'm very familiar with it. And just about three years
ago, I thought to myself well, maybe I could actually
make a living doing this. So I started playing
around with it, and, um, take on a couple clients here and there and I've worked with a couple people, uh, and then, now, you know, I'm planning to get married
and my fiancé told me, you know, I should get a stable job. So here I am, and, I'm
looking for a company that offers good growth potential, good growth opportunity. And this place is not
too far from my home. It's good, it's only a ten minute drive." You see the problem? Like this, all me me me
me me me me me me me me. It's all about that person, what they need and all of that stuff. Bad idea. Now, how do you feel if
you are the hiring manager when you ask that question, comment below, if that's the answer that you get. So, instead of rambling on about that, about my background and all
this stuff, what I want, no. If you turn it into a benefit,
what's in it for them, what's in it for the hiring manager. What could you say? I'm going to give you a simple formula. Write this down. Three S. Three S. First, success. Now here's a script that you could use. "I have been blank". Or, "my background is blank". So, let me demonstrate. Let's say it's the same position, social media manager,
that you're applying. First, success. I have been. I have been doing social
media for the last three years and I specialize in helping companies and entrepreneurs growing
their Facebook fan page. And in the last three
years alone I have helped dozens of clients in over
ten different industries. And on average I've been
able to help my clients to really increase their engagement and grow their fan page by
three to five hundred percent in less than six months. And that's what I am passionate about. In fact I have listed
some of those clients that I've worked with
on the reference letter. You see how that works? You're talking about your
success but without bragging. It's more to demonstrate
and showcase your skillset. What are you good at? That's that number one, success. And then, step number two is strength. And here's the script. "My strength is" or "my real strength is" fill in the blank. My real strength is my
ability to truly understand what your audience wants. I pride myself on my reputation to creating engaging
and compelling content that I know your audience
loves and wants to share. That's the second step. My strength is blank. Third, situation. Meaning, how does that apply to the position that you're applying. How do you apply your
background, your strength into the new company, the new opportunity. Situation, "what I am looking for is". "What I am looking for
is", fill in the blank. What I'm looking for is a company
that I could add value to, that I could produce a positive
return on investment for. Where I could join a strong team. Is this what ABC company is looking for? You see? At the end you ask a question. Whoever asks a question
controls the conversation. So you want to ask a question. And now the hiring manager will be like "okay, yeah, I guess that's
what I'm looking for", or "no that's not what we're looking for". And you got from there. Just because you are in an interview it doesn't mean that
you don't need to sell. The next question you might have is well, Dan, does that mean that I have to memorize a script of some sort? And the answer is absolutely yes. You don't want to go in unprepared. In fact, you want to
write it out, practice it, rehearse it many many times. So when you are in front of
that potential hiring manager, you are ready to go. You need to memorize it
and say it many many times and repeat it many many times so it comes across very very natural. The last thing you want
is to panic and stutter and you don't know what to say. You do not want to do that. If you find this video
useful, comment below. If you want to equip yourself with practical business knowledge, if you want to learn how to
communicate with conviction so you can finally get the
respect that you deserve and attain your goals, make sure you hit the
subscribe button below and subscribe to my channel. Every single day we upload a new video teaches you exactly how to do that. Or, on the other hand,
if you want to increase your income with or without a job, make sure you click the link below in the description so you can check out my free master class on communication and the art of closing.
