Seems simple, right? It's not. Many quickly lose control of the interview during the most critical time- the first five minutes. "This is difficult because people tend to meander through their whole resumes and mention personal or irrelevant information in answering," says Dawn Chandler, professor of management at Cal Polytech's business arm. Jana Fallon, a VP of staffing and recruitment for Prudential, agrees. "Keep your answer to a minute or two at most. Cover four topics: early years, education, work history, and recent career experience. Emphasize this last subject. Remember that this is likely to be a warm-up question. Don't waste your best points on it. Keep to your professional career!
IF you've been in the working world for a few years, our recommended approach to answer this question is to talk about three things - education, where you've worked in the past, and some of your recent work experiences, leave the early years behind.
In any other given situation, you wouldn't have a problem talking about yourself. But when this question comes up in an interview, you don't know where to begin and where to end, right? Relax... practice answering this question in front of friends or family. Consider preparing a personal branding statement that quickly describes who you are and what you can bring to the company. In fact, this statement can also double as the opening paragraph for your cover letter or resume's summary of qualifications.HINT : Talk about personal characteristics and skills that translate into career strengths. Talk about what youve done to prepare yourself to be the very best candidate for the position. Use an example or two to back it up. Then ask if they would like more details. If they do, keep giving them example after example of your background and experience. Always point back to an example when you have the opportunity.
Stay away from childhood history, jobs you've had twenty years ago, or your life story. They are really not interested on whether you're into sports, dance, personal likes and dislikes, or your opinion on the new season of American Idol. IF you are a recent grad then you can afford to cover your history in a more detail manner. Provide an answer that includes information about where you grew up, where you went to school, your initial work experience, additional education and special training, where you are now, and what you intend to do next. One of the most effective ways to prepare for this question is to develop a 60-second biographic sketch that emphasizes a pattern of interests, skills, and accomplishments. Focus your response around a common theme related to your major interests and skills. Take, for example, the following response, which emphasizes computers.
"I was born in Bluefield, Virginia and attended Graham High School. Ever since I was a teenager, I tinkered with computers. It was my hobby, my passion, and my way of learning. Like most kids I enjoyed computer games. When my mom gave me a computer as a reward for making honor roll my sophomore year, I mastered DOS, Windows, and WordPerfect within six months. I then went on to teach myself programming basics.
By the time I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to study programming. From that point on, everything fell into place. My life revolved around computing. By my junior year at Bluefield College, I decided I wanted to work for a major intetrated communications services company. That is why I had an internship last summer at IBM's professional work experience Center.
I now want to work for a major player so I can be at the forefront of breaking trends and new technology. When my college professor told me about his start in your company, I learned as much as I could about your company and applied for the job, which brought me here today. I am prepared to answer any questions you may have about my education and experience."
Be prepared to anticipate the interviewer's greatest need, want, problem or goal. Start with your personality and tell why you are well qualified for the position before moving on to what you've done in school or your past work experiences. Then, wrap it up by saying why you've applied for the job and why you might be a suitable candidate for the role and the company. In the end, you can always ask the interviewee if he/she would like more details. Remember that the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.HINT : The Key to answering this question is to keep it short and sweet. Just a two or three-minute overview about yourself is enough.
What they really want to know is how you perceive your career, and steps you made to be where you are. The also use this opportunity to assess your poise, style of delivery and communication ability. Depending on the case, briefly talk about the teams you led before and your satisfaction of doing it, or how you've build your technical knowledge. Remember to stay focused and just share what's relevant for the interview that support your credentials.
Use these answers and rework them as if they were your own:
Answer 1: "I love to jump into projects with both feet. I like sitting in front of a computer or at my desk for hours at a time thinking about a problem, plotting out the solution, making the presentation. Ipad Application technology is my newest challenge."
Answer 2: "I graduated from the University of Virginia and since then, I have been working in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics with an small firm where I have assisted in the creation of various patents for my clients. While I've enjoyed working on the agency side, I'm looking to expand my horizons and start doing research for corporate companies such as this one."
Answer 3: "I am a results-oriented sales manager with 10 years of progressive retail experience. My sales and management contributions to luxury boutiques and high end department stores have resulted in a 35% increase in sales for the past 3 years and a measurable boost in employee retention and morale in my department.
I believe that my strong organization and leadership abilities coupled with my talent to mentor and train sales professionals will serve your organization's mission and goals. I'd like to discuss how my exemplary customer service techniques and proven ability to shorten the sales cycle could be a valuable contribution to your organization."
HINT : Throughout the interview you will be asked numerous questions about your attitude and ability to do the job. Whenever possible, talk about your accomplishments in terms of what you did and the results of your actions for employers. Give examples of your effectiveness, which should include specific skills and statistics.
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