Do not be afraid of this request from the employer: the person who interviews you most wants you to pass the interview successfully. And there are things that the employer is interested in knowing about. But there is also something that is not worth saying at all.
When answering a request to tell about yourself, remember two rules:
do not tell the story of your life;
Provide information useful to the employer.
The first rule is quite simple to follow. The interlocutor does not need your life story, and certainly he is not going to sit and listen to it. Instead, talk about what the employer would like to know. These include:
recent professional success;
educational achievements;
useful skills;
career goals;
why are you interested in the company.
It is advisable to devote each category no more than 30 seconds. In total, you will get a presentation of yourself for 2.5 minutes. This is what is worth talking about in each of these categories.
Recent professional successes
Yes:
3-5 recent achievements;
mention successes that relate to the position you are applying for;
practice, practice, practice.
This part is the most important. It is worthwhile to prepare very carefully.
No:
retell your resume;
chatting about your experience in vain;
mention achievements that are not related to the profession.
Achievements in Education
Yes:
Explain how your skills will help you cope with your duties;
Tell us what you learned at your last job;
the experience you have gained while working on the largest project.
No:
walk through all the points of your education (school, university, courses);
retell a resume;
talk about skills that are of no use.
If you are a professional in your field, you should not retell every course, conference and presentation that you attended or made a presentation. Instead, it’s better to focus on useful skills that will come in handy at your new job.
Related article: What to wear for an interview?
Useful skills
Yes:
prepare 2–4 useful skills;
Tell us how they will help in practice;
tell us how you got them.
No:
lie about your skills;
talk about skills that are not related to work (I had a rock band, my paintings were shown at the exhibition);
to lie.
Your employer will surely check all the available information if it decides to hire you. And lie or overestimate your abilities is not worth it. It’s best to select 2–4 skills that you possess and are useful at work, and try to describe them as well as possible.
Career goals
Yes:
mention the goals that the company can help you achieve;
tell us about goals that show what you think about the future;
show that you want stability and career growth.
No:
talk about life goals (I want to buy a house, have children);
mention goals that the company cannot help you achieve;
talk about things that show your incompetence.
When a person does not have clear career goals, from the outside he looks incompetent. Set your goals in advance and clearly so that this question does not take you by surprise.
Why are you interested in the company
Yes:
Tell us how the company will help you achieve your goals.
say you like the work environment;
hint that you see yourself in the company in the future.
No:
talk about salary;
say "I just need a job";
to say that you want to work because there are good people here.
Having prepared a story about yourself, based on the above rules, you will save yourself from awkward pauses and not force the employer to listen to information that he does not need at all, which will significantly increase your chances of a successful interview.
When answering a request to tell about yourself, remember two rules:
do not tell the story of your life;
Provide information useful to the employer.
The first rule is quite simple to follow. The interlocutor does not need your life story, and certainly he is not going to sit and listen to it. Instead, talk about what the employer would like to know. These include:
recent professional success;
educational achievements;
useful skills;
career goals;
why are you interested in the company.
It is advisable to devote each category no more than 30 seconds. In total, you will get a presentation of yourself for 2.5 minutes. This is what is worth talking about in each of these categories.
Recent professional successes
Yes:
3-5 recent achievements;
mention successes that relate to the position you are applying for;
practice, practice, practice.
This part is the most important. It is worthwhile to prepare very carefully.
No:
retell your resume;
chatting about your experience in vain;
mention achievements that are not related to the profession.
Achievements in Education
Yes:
Explain how your skills will help you cope with your duties;
Tell us what you learned at your last job;
the experience you have gained while working on the largest project.
No:
walk through all the points of your education (school, university, courses);
retell a resume;
talk about skills that are of no use.
If you are a professional in your field, you should not retell every course, conference and presentation that you attended or made a presentation. Instead, it’s better to focus on useful skills that will come in handy at your new job.
Related article: What to wear for an interview?
Useful skills
Yes:
prepare 2–4 useful skills;
Tell us how they will help in practice;
tell us how you got them.
No:
lie about your skills;
talk about skills that are not related to work (I had a rock band, my paintings were shown at the exhibition);
to lie.
Your employer will surely check all the available information if it decides to hire you. And lie or overestimate your abilities is not worth it. It’s best to select 2–4 skills that you possess and are useful at work, and try to describe them as well as possible.
Career goals
Yes:
mention the goals that the company can help you achieve;
tell us about goals that show what you think about the future;
show that you want stability and career growth.
No:
talk about life goals (I want to buy a house, have children);
mention goals that the company cannot help you achieve;
talk about things that show your incompetence.
When a person does not have clear career goals, from the outside he looks incompetent. Set your goals in advance and clearly so that this question does not take you by surprise.
Why are you interested in the company
Yes:
Tell us how the company will help you achieve your goals.
say you like the work environment;
hint that you see yourself in the company in the future.
No:
talk about salary;
say "I just need a job";
to say that you want to work because there are good people here.
Having prepared a story about yourself, based on the above rules, you will save yourself from awkward pauses and not force the employer to listen to information that he does not need at all, which will significantly increase your chances of a successful interview.
No comments:
Post a Comment