Tell me about yourself...

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Just got this question at an interview and drew a blank...

What have you answered this question with?

I seem incapable of providing a satisfying answer and 'sell' myself when presented with this... even though I know it's coming...

Ugh... what to do...

I blank out every time, I hate that question.

they want things like general hobbies, maybe if you're married, kids, stuff like that. The trick (I think) is to present it in a way you look persuasive, without looking like you're faking it.

I've been asked this in pretty much every interview, and the key is to tell them facts about yourself that are relevant to your performance/how well you match with the job in question.

So I have to be persuasive, know what they are looking for while basically saying "I like stuff." And to top it off...come up with it within seconds of them asking me...

Those are the all the things I'm horrible at...

That settles it... I'm basically unemployable...

Pugly, you're not unemployable, you just need to work on your interview skills a bit. I used to be rubbish at being interviewd, but i've had a lot of experience lately so i have improved a bit.

It does help a lot to think about what questions you might be asked before your interview. "Tell me about yourself" is almost certainly going to be asked. Think about how you will answer them.

Think about the job you are applying for and what skills they will be looking for. Think about times when you have used those skills in the past.

What i usually do is give them a brief outline of what i did in the two jobs i have had since leaving college. i mention skills that they will be interested in for the job i am applying for, such as taking on responsibility and my good numerical skills. I try and say what i liked about my jobs and how i worked well with my colleagues.

It is also good to mention a few of your hobbies or interests (not too many) and what you most like about the job you are applying for.

I think they are looking to see if you will fit in with the team and also the interviewers may be nervous, if they have not interviewed much before, so its a good starting point.

You can get books about interviews and your CV (resume) from your local library or bookshop. they can be very useful and give you an idea what the interviewer is looking for.

You can take notes into the interview with you. you can take one or two pages, with a few questions you want to ask them, like what does the job involve, how does your job fit into the department, and so on. You could also note down a few points you want to say in answer to "tell me about yourself". its good to have a glance at them to remind yourself of what you want to say, as its easy to forget in the interview, because of being nervous.

Try to be confident and friendly in the interview. the interviewers are only human and are not trying to put you down. you will get a good job eventually. it is a very difficult time at the moment because of the economy.

Good luck with your job-hunting

How does one go about quantifying their life in terms of skills for an employer? I'm trying to wrap my head around this... and It's hard for me to view my life in this way.

Let's take communication skills. I don't think I can actually say that I have communication skills. I currently tutor math, but I believe that I'm good at this in spite of my communication skills. There are many times where I fumble words and they don't quite get what I'm trying to say. Where my tone of voice is inappropriate(usually too weak) and I can't get control of the situation.

The best thing I can do is just present what I've accomplished... but employers aren't interested in what I've accomplished. I've really 'accomplished' nothing in the job sense of the word... and have only created something that is personally satisfying for me.... like writing music... studying math... performing stand-up.

Also how do you get in the mind of an employer to get a sense of what they are looking for? This is also very difficult... actually and part of my problem is during the interview I get a blank because I'm trying to size up the situation and present what I want to say in a way that would be appealing. But I just get stuck at the sizing up side of things... and forget to form basic words to even sound remotely coherent.

I need someone to go out and sell myself because I'm completely incapable of doing it... either because of mental difficulties or moral hangups.

Oh also, this wasn't some fancy job I was applying for... it was just a job at a Video Rental Store. If these jobs reject me... it's hard for me to have much hope for other employment.

If you can tutor maths you have better communication skills than i do. Are you telling employers you do this? You are obviously good at it, or they would not come back for more. It doesn't matter if you stumble over words - it matters you can listen to them explain their difficulty and help them with it. Part of tutoring is going over things in as many ways and as many times as the person needs until they get the hang of it.




These things say you can work independently, have good numerical and problem-solving skills, and are confident enough to stand in front of a crowd. Try looking for jobs that use these skills. Probably only the last one is relevant to working in a video shop.



To get inside the mind of the employer "walk through" the job. What does it involve? What would you do each day? For example, for the video shop job, someone who likes videos, who likes working face-to-face with customers, is confident, maybe had a holiday job working the till in a shop would be a good person to employ.



I could do with someone to go out & sell me too but no-one's going to. everyone finds interviews hard, except perhaps super-confident people.

Maybe you are just going for the wrong types of jobs? Personally i would never go for sales or customer services jobs because i know i'd be crap at them...i look for jobs that use the things i'm good at or that i am strongly interested in. Try looking for jobs where you can use your favourite hobbies.