The Most Impressive Answers to "Tell Me About Yourself" in an Interview

The Most Impressive Answers to "Tell Me About Yourself" in an Interview

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Mention your past experiences + current job

We're not talking about that amazing hike you did in Yosemite in high school (unless, of course, you're interviewing for a park ranger job!). Mention your past experiences and current job as they pertain to the job at hand. You might be surprised to discover how many transferable experiences you have. Assess your skills, 

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Mention your past experiences + current job

passions, and experience and relate them to the job for which you are interviewing. The goal here is to lay a foundation for the interviewer that showcases your relevant achievements and responsibilities up to this point. For example, if you work as an administrative assistant but you are interviewing for a social media role, describe how you 

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Mention your past experiences + current job

took over your company's Instagram and tripled the followers in a few months' time. Share with the interviewer how you love to learn new things, so you took it upon yourself to learn all about Instagram growth trends.

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Tie those learnings into what you want to do going forward

Any employer or hiring manager is going to want to take someone who has experiences that led to real, quantifiable growth and/or results. When you're determining what past experiences to share, choose one that has a story attached to it—a story with a climax and a solution that you reached. With this tip, you're building on the foundation you started in 

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Tie those learnings into what you want to do going forward

the first tip by summarizing the results you've gotten and how they helped prepare you for the job you're applying to. And that's not all. When recounting your glorious tales of workplace wins, make sure to also recount one or two major learnings from it. If you can attach data, numbers, or percentages to your wins, do it.

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Mention your strengths and accomplishments

The interview is not the place to be humble. If you're a "rockstar" at research and development, talk about it. Think of a story where you uncovered a lucrative opportunity through research and learning. Share an instance where you problem-solved on your own to reach a conclusion that helped the entire team. Think about how your personality 

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Mention your strengths and accomplishments

plays into how you work. For example, if you'd describe yourself as a creative problem-solver, expand on that. How have you used your creative problem-solving to save the day in the past?

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Include a tidbit about you

Have a little fun in the interview (but not too much) by infusing a little bit about your personality off the clock. For example, if the company has a mission statement that is deeply involved with education, consider mentioning how you recently learned how to throw clay in a pottery class or how you volunteer to tutor kids in math on the weekend.

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Include a tidbit about you

By the end of this process, your interviewer should know what you do currently and how it's relevant to the job and company + your past results/achievements + why all of that makes you a fit for the current job.

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Dos and Don'ts of What to Say

Do: – Keep your response concise and to the point – Discuss your current role and connect how it aligns with the job you're interviewing for – Talk about your qualifications, strengths, and results with information you can quantify – Avoid mentioning super personal information – Showcase what makes you unique from other candidates

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Dos and Don'ts of What to Say

– Be specific about why this role and company align with both your skills and career goals – Humanize yourself and let your personality shine through – Practice and prep ahead of time

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Dos and Don'ts of What to Say

Don't: – Share your whole personal life story in this one question – Read your resume verbatim – Ramble and spit out a bunch of jargon that you can't back up with details – Be a robot and share your answer word-for-word – Forget to review the job description – Make this all about why you need the job - instead, focus 

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Dos and Don'ts of What to Say

on how you can add value to the role and company

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