How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question - Part 2

How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question - Part 2 ShareShare That previous post showed why its most effective to focus your answer on key selling points that are Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiable (REV) and gave an example of a great REV Intro that does just that. This one will give you step-by-step guidance on developing your own strategic, authentic REV Intro. How to Develop Your Best Answer to the First Interview Question First, identify your key selling points.My May 25 post gives you 10 questions that will help you identify your selling points (a.k.a. your unique selling proposition). Plan a good opening. Often the best way to start is by combining one of your top REV points with a one- to three-sentence summary of your career. For example, lets say youre a human resources manager and one of your key selling points is that you have experience and accomplishments in many areas of the field. You might start like this: I was excited to see that youre looking for someone with expertise in so many different areas within HR, because thats exactly what my background is like. Ive been very fortunate that my 14-year career at Niagara, Inc. and Davis Direct has allowed me to gain experience in Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Compensation and Benefits, HR Information Systems and Analytics.Ive managed all of these areas, and solved complex strategic issues in every one of them, as I can describe later. Bonus Tip: This teaser reference to stories that could be told later is a great way to hint at your successes while keeping your answer brief. Transition into another of your key selling points. Lets say youre known for your talent in engaging your team. You might transition smoothly to that point in this way: I couldnt have achieved any of that without a really engaged team. I get to know my staff individually and what their own goals are, then help them see the alignment between those goals and departments needs. Its worked well; in the past five years Ive had four team members promoted. Continue with another selling point or two. Finally, decide how youll end your answer. Its often effective to end with a question, such as Is there anything Ive mentioned so far that youd like to hear more about? Now that you have a rough idea, type up a simple outline. Use bullets and sub-bullets to help organize your thinking. Use abbreviations and symbols to make it concise and visual. The more you make it easy to read, the less it will intrude on the process of expressing yourself in a natural way. Dont write full sentences, though. This isnt a script, just talking points. Speak your REV Intro out loud, using the outline as your road map, and time yourself. Your intro should be no longer than a minute or so. If its much longer, prune it down. Remember, this is just the start of the interview. Whatever you delete can be said later, as the interview progresses. Practice.Continue until you can say the whole answer without looking at the outline.If you discover youre at a loss for words in a certain spot, revise that part of your outline.Do some of your practice with a mirror, or better yet, take a selfie-video of your answer to see and hear how youre doing. Make sure you sound natural. (If you dont, are you sure you didnt write a script?) Practice with a buddy or a coach and ask for feedback on what worked well and what could be better. Its also wise to plan versions of your REV Intro to answer other first questions, like Please walk me through your background or Walk me through your resume (tweak your answer to be a bit more chronological and perhaps a bit more complete) or Why do you want to work here? (emphasize that its a great fit because of . . . you guessed it, your key selling points!). When your REV Intro sounds smooth and natural while capturing your key selling points, youll be ready to get your interviews off to an awesome start. How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question - Part 2 ShareShare That previous post showed why its most effective to focus your answer on key selling points that are Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiable (REV) and gave an example of a great REV Intro that does just that. This one will give you step-by-step guidance on developing your own strategic, authentic REV Intro. How to Develop Your Best Answer to the First Interview Question First, identify your key selling points.My May 25 post gives you 10 questions that will help you identify your selling points (a.k.a. your unique selling proposition). Plan a good opening. Often the best way to start is by combining one of your top REV points with a one- to three-sentence summary of your career. For example, lets say youre a human resources manager and one of your key selling points is that you have experience and accomplishments in many areas of the field. You might start like this: I was excited to see that youre looking for someone with expertise in so many different areas within HR, because thats exactly what my background is like. Ive been very fortunate that my 14-year career at Niagara, Inc. and Davis Direct has allowed me to gain experience in Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Compensation and Benefits, HR Information Systems and Analytics.Ive managed all of these areas, and solved complex strategic issues in every one of them, as I can describe later. Bonus Tip: This teaser reference to stories that could be told later is a great way to hint at your successes while keeping your answer brief. Transition into another of your key selling points. Lets say youre known for your talent in engaging your team. You might transition smoothly to that point in this way: I couldnt have achieved any of that without a really engaged team. I get to know my staff individually and what their own goals are, then help them see the alignment between those goals and departments needs. Its worked well; in the past five years Ive had four team members promoted. Continue with another selling point or two. Finally, decide how youll end your answer. Its often effective to end with a question, such as Is there anything Ive mentioned so far that youd like to hear more about? Now that you have a rough idea, type up a simple outline. Use bullets and sub-bullets to help organize your thinking. Use abbreviations and symbols to make it concise and visual. The more you make it easy to read, the less it will intrude on the process of expressing yourself in a natural way. Dont write full sentences, though. This isnt a script, just talking points. Speak your REV Intro out loud, using the outline as your road map, and time yourself. Your intro should be no longer than a minute or so. If its much longer, prune it down. Remember, this is just the start of the interview. Whatever you delete can be said later, as the interview progresses. Practice.Continue until you can say the whole answer without looking at the outline.If you discover youre at a loss for words in a certain spot, revise that part of your outline.Do some of your practice with a mirror, or better yet, take a selfie-video of your answer to see and hear how youre doing. Make sure you sound natural. (If you dont, are you sure you didnt write a script?) Practice with a buddy or a coach and ask for feedback on what worked well and what could be better. Its also wise to plan versions of your REV Intro to answer other first questions, like Please walk me through your background or Walk me through your resume (tweak your answer to be a bit more chronological and perhaps a bit more complete) or Why do you want to work here? (emphasize that its a great fit because of . . . you guessed it, your key selling points!). When your REV Intro sounds smooth and natural while capturing your key selling points, youll be ready to get your interviews off to an awesome start.