How to answer "Tell me about yourself" interview question [in 5 steps]

There are many right ways but there seems to be more wrong ways also a "tell me about yourself" question can be answered during interview. What this post will show you is how you can answer "tell me about yourself" question and not necessarily how you must answer it. "Tell me about yourself" is one of the most important questions asked during interviews, along with these other top interview questions in [and how to answer them]. To  answer Tell me about yourself question, here are some tips:

1. Do not talk about your personal or family life
2. Tell a story
3. Give a snapshot of your work history
4. Make your short story achievement oriented
5. Tell what you know about this role

1. Do not talk about your personal or family life

It may seem that by asking "tell me about yourself" the interviewer is asking about your personal life, but no, that is not what the interviewer is asking for. When someone ask you tell me about yourself, they are not really asking for the story of your life, the mistakes you made in the part, or your family situation. Instead,  they are actually asking you about your qualifications and experiences and how you fit in for the job. So what you want to do is focus on your professional background and other experiences you have which are relevant to the job position.

2. Tell a story

Of course, not your life story but your professional work story. Tell about your professional experience in an engaging, clear and compelling way. The following tips are some of the ways you can tell the tell a story:

3. Give a snapshot of your work history

That is, go back to the previous professional jobs you've ever held. Tell them

1. what company you worked at,
2. your job title or role,
3. how many years you stayed in that position,
4. your major responsibilities in that role.

4. Make your short story achievement oriented

Describe major accomplishments that you were able to achieve in that role. An accomplishment can be any thing that adds value to the organization. For example, it could be that you've saved time, saved money, improved performance, improved profitability, etc. Anything that you have done that resulted to a quantifiable positive result can be your accomplishment. Pick your major accomplishment, especially one relevant to the job position you are being interviewed for.

5. Tell what you know about this role

Now that you have given a snapshot of your background, qualifications and accomplishment, you can let your interviewers know that you clearly understand the role you're applying for. Of course, one of the easiest ways to get such information about the person they are looking for is the job description. So, make sure you read and understood the job description very well. Recommended: Top 10 paying jobs & careers in Nigeria

Bonus tip

Make sure your answer during oral interview is consistent with what you have in your resume and cover letter. Signs of discrepancies between these two is a no no. All the best in your next interview and please, share this post. Thanks.