Answering One of the Hardest Interview Questions

What is the hardest question you’ll be asked in your interview? You may receive a challenging situational question or you might be asked to solve an abstract problem—these questions are tricky and require that you demonstrate systematic and creative problem solving skills. However, we typically find that one of the most difficult questions is when interviewers say, “Tell me about yourself.” Responding to this question successfully helps you steer the interview in the right direction. So, how do you respond? Here’s our advice:

1. Don’t Share Too Much
You’re naturally a little nervous in an interview and this is prime territory for oversharing and rambling. The interviewer isn’t looking for your life story. They don’t need to hear details about how you grew up or what you like to do for fun. You need to use their time and attention span wisely. A good response to this question does not share a lot of personal information and certainly shouldn’t disclose any personal baggage or drama!

2. Focus on making 3-5 main points
“Tell me about yourself” is a warm-up question and it takes some of the pressure off the interviewer and places it on you. Your response seals their first impression of you and helps them gauge how the rest of the interview will go. Keep your response simple and succinct. Start with something you’re passionate about that’s relevant to the job and highlight the other things that you like about the opportunity. Tell them why you admire their company and share your key skills, strengths, and the reasons why you believe you’re a great fit for the job.

3. Avoid discussing a lengthy history of your career
When someone says, “Tell me about yourself” this isn’t an open invitation to give your career back story—especially if it’s a long one. There’s nothing wrong with mentioning a few career milestones but spare your interviewer the specifics. If they want the details, they’ll ask. I’ve had interviews with people where I’ve had to cut them off mid-way through a 10+ minute monologue on their career history when I asked, “Tell me about yourself and what motivated you to apply to this role?” Brevity is particularly important during phone interviews because it’s much more of a challenge to keep someone engaged when you don’t have the benefit of eye contact and an ability to read body language.

4. Practice so you don’t ramble
Know when to stop talking. So many people don’t know how to give a direct response to a question. Yes, if you have a job interview that lasts 20 minutes that’s probably not a good sign, but a successful interview is not about how much talking you do. Your interviewer is looking for someone to solve a problem—and part of that problem is probably how they have too much work and not enough help. Time is money. If they’re interviewing you, their regular workload is piling up by the minute. Rambling or giving a long-winded response is not necessary and can work against you.

5. End Strong
Where you end is usually where they begin, so it’s important to end on a positive note. You should have outlined why you’re interested in the job, why you want to work for them, and how you believe your background and skills will add value and solve a problem that they have. Adding a little bit of something personal is nice, but keep it short. If you know you have something in common with your interviewer, this is a great place to mention that and will help you build a strong rapport that will carry you through the rest of the interview.

Happy Interviewing!