How to answer the 'tell me about yourself' question

Being crowned county trampolining champion at nine or “finding yourself” trekking in Borneo are great life experiences, but they won’t convince a recruiter to give you a job. As an experienced interviewer, I freely admit that ‘tell me about yourself' is one of the hardest questions to answer; you’ll be nervous at the start of the interview and the question couldn’t be more open.

To help you figure out what are the most important things to say, imagine you’ve only got an ad break to fill. You need to get across your unique selling points before it finishes, so you need to be ruthless.

Why do interviewers ask you to tell them about yourself?

Interviewers will generally ask you to tell them about yourself to break the ice and lead you both into the interview. It’s important to remember that interviewers get nervous too – you’re both meeting each other for the first time!

This question is also important for the interviewer as it allows them to get to know you in a succinct way while also seeing how you present yourself.

Remember, interviewers might not always approach this question in the most straightforward way. Sometimes, they may frame getting to know you a little differently. Some variations on this question include:

• Tell me a bit more about your experience to date
• Tell me what you’ve been up to in your career
• Walk me through what you’ve been doing for the past few years
• Tell me a bit more about your journey so far

How to answer the ‘tell me about yourself’ question

Answering this type of question doesn’t need to be hard. In fact, there’s a straightforward formula you can use to make sure you nail it every time. Try splitting your answer into the following three parts:

1. Where are you now? Remember, your interviewer isn’t necessarily interested in where you went on holiday straight off the bat; they want to know what you’ve been doing in terms of work. This is your opportunity to talk about your current role or your most recent role. Try and avoid reading from your CV – they already have this. Instead, elaborate on the points on your CV and talk about your successes in your current or most recent role and what you learned.
2. How did you get here? This is your chance to touch on roles or experiences you’ve had prior to where you are right now. If you’ve just graduated, you can bring in any work experience, placements or internships you’ve done – these count, too! This is also a good opportunity to talk about any extra-curricular activities of note that have helped you get to where you are today.
3. Where are you looking to go? Lastly, an interviewer wants to know about what you hope to achieve in the future. It’s also a good opportunity to quickly explain what drew you to the role. However, be careful when answering this if you’re leaving your current role – remember to keep your answer positive, even if you hate the role you’re leaving!

‘Tell me about yourself’ example answer

I currently work as a Marketing Assistant for an agency based in London for whom I’ve worked since I graduated from Exeter University two years ago with a first-class degree.

In my current role, I’m responsible for writing copy and managing our clients’ social media accounts. While at university, I did two internships at different marketing agencies to gain experience.

I’m currently looking to progress to the next level in my career and this opportunity feels like a great fit for me to do that.

Top tips on answering the ‘tell me about yourself’ question

Highlight personal achievements

In which part of your career or during what educational experiences can you highlight some really interesting personal achievements?  At this stage, don’t go into detail, the interviewer may pick up on them later if you spark their interest.  Try to give them a flavour of your personal approach to work and what drives you.

Tick the skills boxes

Pick out areas that illustrate you have the skills detailed in the job description.  What parts of the role would really motivate you and have you got any examples to prove that you are the right person for the job?  You don’t need to go into detail, just a headline about what you have done.

5 tips on how to prepare for your interview.

Do your research!

Every employer wants to be wanted, so make sure you do your research on them! If you can tie in why you are interested in their company or what you know about them while answering this question, you’ll always impress.

In my 15 years of interviewing, the two most common mistakes are to go through the minutiae of your CV without demonstrating relevance to the job or to sound as if you spout an identical story to every employer, making your interest sound insincere.

So, when you’ve figured out your personal advertisement, remember:

• Keep it short, no more than five minutes.
• Don’t go into too much detail.
• Layer in snippets of what you have picked up while doing your research.