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It's too general which is why so many people I talked to had issues with the question. It sounds better to say, tell me a little bit about your work history or talk a little about your personality. Not just coming out and saying..."tell me about yourself"
It's such a lazy way to find out about a job candidate
Bud, not every interviewer is very smart or experienced but I would rather get an open question like this than be questioned on specifics. I am in sales all my life so I look at interviews as a sales experience - you are selling yourself and your skills to the company, make it sound exciting for them, tell them what they need to hear.
The stupidest one , and the one I have the hardest time with is "Why do you want to work for this Co'.? I just feel like telling them, "I really don't want to work for you or anyone else, but since the lottery isn't paying off and I can't find a sugar momma, I figure your Co. is a good place to kick it for awhile and pay a few bills and get some good green". I swear next time I go on an interview , I really don't want the job , I'm telling them this.
So they basically gave you a rope and let you hang yourself, because they didn't tell you what to talk about. You couldn't win, because they didn't tell you anything.
Instead of blaming the interviewer, you could do research on common interview questions and how to answer them. The information is freely available on the internet in numerous places. I'm actually a little surprised that so many people seem to be unfamiliar with this question, which is really common and kind of a softball type question.
I've had to learn from experience, though, I didn't know how to answer this question early in my job search.
This is an easy one, IMHO: tell them about yourself with respect to how it relates to the position for which you are interviewing. Focus on your accomplishments, skills, and experience and how they would improve the company's bottom line.
Years ago, I had a small company. We grew it to 34 employees. One of my employees is now a comedian so we were a fun office. We also got the work done.
(PS - Carrot Top is his name BTW) - worked for me for 6 years.
Anyway, I wanted to make sure someone would stay, fit in and just overall looked for clues to their personality. The work could get intense at times but I wanted to see if someone could hang in there and roll with the punches.
If you seem too evasive, that's not good either.
If you've had a few jobs over the past few years - say something like:
Even though the economy has experienced tough times, I have not given up and will not give up during my employment with your firm. You can count on me through the hard times and know that I will be a team player. Something like that.
I been getting mixed answers to this question. Some say you are only supposed to sell your "personality and character" and then some say you are supposed to talk about your strengths and linked them to the job you are applying for. I struggled with this question last month because no one never asked me this question on a job interview and it showed because the interview went downhill from the beginning.
So what type of response is best for "Tell me about yourself?
I researched this question several months ago. There is a good answer.
Keep it completely job related, pretty much starting from college.
For example,
"I graduated from XXX university with a degree in sdofhsodf, accepted my first position at fehofshso and worked primarily with/on dsaofhodshf. In 19XX I accepted a position with sdofhsdofhds performing asdfiuhasihu. During that time I earned an additional degree which helped mesdfuhsdoifdshoi....."
Pretty much along those lines.
Nothing about family, kids, where you live, what you like to do, etc. Only work related stuff and education or activities related to work in the context of the job you are applying for.
I researched this question several months ago. There is a good answer.
Keep it completely job related, pretty much starting from college.
For example,
"I graduated from XXX university with a degree in sdofhsodf, accepted my first position at fehofshso and worked primarily with/on dsaofhodshf. In 19XX I accepted a position with sdofhsdofhds performing asdfiuhasihu. During that time I earned an additional degree which helped mesdfuhsdoifdshoi....."
Pretty much along those lines.
Nothing about family, kids, where you live, what you like to do, etc. Only work related stuff and education or activities related to work in the context of the job you are applying for.
Maybe 30 seconds or so.
I agree but don't forget to mention you are:
a) dedicated
b) loyal
c) focused
d) hard working
e) a team player
etc etc. Tell them what they WANT to hear. Tout your own horn, if you don't do it nobody else will...
So they basically gave you a rope and let you hang yourself, because they didn't tell you what to talk about. You couldn't win, because they didn't tell you anything.
That's essentially what it is.
There's no right way to answer the question, as every interviewer is different.
If you go with the executive summary route, the employer will think you're just reiterating what's already on the resume (what more they would want to know, I don't know) and that will annoy them.
If you go with the hobbies/interest route, they'll wonder why are you telling me stuff that has nothing to do with the job you're doing.
If you go with the personality route (I.E. goal oriented, hard worker, success driven, etc.), they'll think you rehearsed the question and you're lying.
If you think about how to answer the question too long, they'll assume you're slow.
You just can't win when that question is asked.
The interview I've seen go well is when the interviewer actually reviews word for word what's on your resume and asks you to elaborate on them. What's the point of sending over my resume in the first place if you're just going to ask me to tell you about myself anyway?
It shows communication skills and the ability to summarize information while being concise.
One big key to interviewing is to be able to show in detail how your experience demonstrates the qualities they're looking for.
Don't just say you're a hard worker, talk about a time where you had to work hard and it paid off. Ditto for being a team player, being detail oriented, or whatever else it might be. Otherwise it's just a bunch of empty buzzwords with nothing to back it up.
However, if you don't click with the interviewer, it probably just isn't going to work out.
Instead of blaming the interviewer, you could do research on common interview questions and how to answer them. The information is freely available on the internet in numerous places. I'm actually a little surprised that so many people seem to be unfamiliar with this question, which is really common and kind of a softball type question.
I've had to learn from experience, though, I didn't know how to answer this question early in my job search.
Actually I've done that with every interview I have ever had.
But the question was, "Tell me about yourself", not the company.
So if they want to know what you know about the company, they can ask.
I usually volunteer what I do know about it anyway.
I do well on interviews and have been told that. But many times, find myself more experienced
than the person conducting the interview. I am just not well connected and I don't know a lot of
decision-makers. It's who you know.
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OK, another thought
