Interview Question: Tell me about yourself?

Strategy and Approach to an Answer:

This is one of the most standard and common opening question in an interview.  Since this is a broad and general question, the worst thing you can do is give a broad and general answer.

To make the most of this question you should structure your answer as a lead in to topics that you want to discuss on the interview.  This question allows you to decide what parts of your career experiences and skill set you want to share with your prospective employer.

An Example of an Answer

I’m really energetic, and a great communicator. Working in sales for two years helped me build confidence, and taught me the importance of customer loyalty. I’ve also got a track record of success. In my last role, I launched a company newsletter, which helped us build on our existing relationships and create new ones. Because of this, we ended up seeing a revenue increase of 10% over two years. I’m also really interested in how companies can use web tools to better market themselves, and would be committed to building on your existing platform.

List of Standard Interview Questions

• Tell me about yourself?
• Describe your employment history
• What are your major strengths?
• What are your major weaknesses?
• What prompted your decision to apply for this position?
• What do you know about this company?
• What’s your greatest achievement to date?
• Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
• Why do you want to work in this industry?
• Why should we hire you rather than someone else?
• Why weren’t your grades better?
• What have you gained from your work/school experiences?
• Why didn’t you participate more in extracurricular activities?
• What difficulties have you faced on the job?
• What do you put as an objective for a resume?
• Do you have any questions?