“Tell me about yourself” is one of the frequently asked questions that open the job interview. Okay, it’s a simple exploratory question, but it offers a great opportunity to make a good first impression and start the interview along a path that suits you. For this reason, whether you are a recent graduate or an executive, you need to prepare an answer.
All you have to do is start focusing on what you have done that is relevant to the position you are applying for. Remember that a recruiter wants to know what you’ve done and what are the skills that make you a good candidate for the role.
Maybe someone will be offended, but knowing how many dogs or cats you own, how often you windsurf, or how much you are passionate about football is not the recruiter’s goal. He would like to know aspects related to your job, skills, and relevant experiences for the position being selected.
A tip that makes a difference
The best answer this question, use the acronym S.E.C.:
S = Studies
E = Experience
C = Skills (and results)
I suggest this acronym, and more generally I invite you to use a structured approach so that you can more easily manage the mental process during the interview. It is good to appear relaxed and confident, rather than agitated and confused.
Having developed an adequate and effective curriculum, in fact, does not protect you from the risk of experiencing, during the interview, nervousness, mental chaos, argumentative inconsistency.
An example of a bad response
I am a very determined person. I finished my studies with excellent results and then I started working, almost immediately, for a company in the telecommunications sector. Previously I did an internship at an accounting firm. I live together. In my free time I like going to the gym and watching movies. Now I’m looking for a new, more stimulating job that will allow me to grow professionally.
Being vague and inconsistent is a mistake committed at all levels, both by junior profiles and senior. The effect consists of communicating low motivation and inadequate experience. The consequences? Interest in the candidate collapses, and recovering from the damage resulting from a first bad impression is really tiring. In this presentation, the hypothetical candidate does not specify the type of degree obtained, does not give information on the training courses attended, and does not describe the duties performed in the company.
If you don’t know much about yourself, you don’t value or have no experience, it will be very difficult to demonstrate that you have the necessary elements to get in touch with the role to be filled.
Talking about relevant things, then, is the key. Read the job description, analyze the personal characteristics required, get an idea of the type of candidate they are looking for. All this will serve to shed light where there is no fog or total darkness.
An example of a good answer
The reason why a presentation that respects the S.E.C. (studies, experience, skills, and results) sounds good and is effective, is linked to the fact that it allows you to expose in a clear but not “slimy” way the benefits you can bring to the company.
Whether you leave university or are looking to advance in your career, the key to a good interview is also and above all the ability to be specific. There is no better exercise, and there is no better way to start a job interview than prepare to answer the question: “Why don’t you tell me something about yourself?”.
Be concrete! Build a story that conveys why you are the right candidate to fill that position. The more you are calm, clear, and precise, the better the result. But you will be able to do this if you can organize your thoughts.
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