You are almost 100% likely to be asked the question “tell me about yourself?” Whilst it is not a trap or a trick question it does trip some people up.
Interviewers are listening to what you have to say but are also listening to how you answer the question as this tells them a lot about you too.
So many people talk through their CV from beginning to end and whilst that’s not the wrong answer, it’s always going to be a little obvious and won’t position you effectively.
Focus too much on your hobbies, make the answer long winded and boring, say something too short and irrelevant and these answers are not going to play well. It’s a bit of a lazy question to ask but most people ask it, so a great way to respond is to be structured and let it lead to more questions.
Explain what you role you’re doing at this present time, or how you’ve just graduated and what you’re doing to find a job. This can be one sentence or a few but should remain snappy. For example “I’m currently in sales working for a legal services business where I sell to law firms in the UK. It’s an interesting and demanding role.”
Explain what led you to this role for example “I actually studied law and thought I was going to be a lawyer but I had some friends in sales and really liked what they were doing and that they were being paid for results. I found my current employer and really liked that I could combine sales with my legal education. I’ve been here for 1 year.”
Here’s where you explain why you’re having a conversation with the interviewer. “I really enjoy my role but I know I can learn more from a bigger/smaller company like yours. I am also extremely drawn to helping customers and growing those customer relationships. I still want to be in the legal space so this Customer Success role feels like a great next step for me and I’m really pleased to be talking to you. I want to be a Customer Success leader in a few years time.”
A good end to the question could be – would you like me to elaborate on anything?
This is just a very rough example and your answer needs to fit you, where you’ve been and where you want to be. If you can’t answer those three things then you need to be able to do so before you can successfully interview.
If you do want to walk through your CV then only pinpoint the things that are truly relevant to the role and make it interesting and informative.
Written by Mark Paterson