Interviews are a bittersweet business. On one hand, you’re usually pretty stoked to be meeting a prospective employer. On the other, you know you’re about to willingly subject yourself to some of the most awkward lines of questioning known to man. Including the inevitable, “So, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?”
Talking about yourself should be easy—you’ve known yourself your entire life! But for most of us, it’s pretty tough, especially when you’re in the hot seat in an interview.
Fortunately, there are a few ways you can psych yourself up for this portion of the big day, and nail it, too. Here’s how.
Assume the Position
Body language is important, and whether you realize it or not, it speaks volumes about your personality and state of mind without you saying a word.
So, when you’re asked to talk about yourself, give your body a moment to catch up to your brain before you speak. Take a deep breath, and adjust your posture. Relax your shoulders, un-cross your legs, and do whatever you need to do to “switch” into a more casual posture. Not too casual—you’re still in an interview—just enough to give your interviewer a few body language cues that tell him or her you’re comfortable and excited to talk about yourself.
Keep it Short
Although your interviewer did ask you to talk about yourself, he or she probably doesn’t want to spend the entire interview hearing your life’s story. While you want to give a complete answer, linger too long and you’re likely to look unfocused—or worse, lose the interviewer’s interest.
To help keep your response in your interviewer’s attention sweet spot, keep it between one and two minutes. You’ll have to practice this at home a few times to get a sense for what you can fit into that timeframe, but once you do, you’ll be able to pace yourself when it’s time for the interview.
Follow the Formula
So, what should you include? Your interviewer has seen your resume, so don’t regurgitate all your bullet points—just pick out a few stories about some of the more significant and relevant milestones to the new job you’re approaching.
The trick, of course, is to keep yourself on topic while doing this. Think about hitting the following three points.
Be Yourself
When interviewers ask to hear more about you, they usually mean it. The rest of the questions you’ll be asked during your interview will cover your skills and capacity to do the work—but this first question seeks to uncover what you’d really be like to work with every day.
In other words, this is a great opportunity for you to show off your sparkling personality. Don’t be afraid to relax, smile, and throw in stories or anecdotes that show off your passions and interests (think: “The last company I worked for focused on sports teams—which was great, because I’m a basketball fanatic”).
Talking about yourself may never be easy, but using these tips will help make it look easy to your interviewer. While your resume may have an impressive list of accomplishments, nothing on paper could ever bring those talents to life like the person who made them—you!