How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself” in an Interview

This post is for you if you get…

• sweaty
• nervous
• lose your words

When you hear the question “Tell me about yourself”

This question doesn’t really need an introduction, because if you’ve ever been in an interview, you’re very familiar with it.

The easiest way to answer this question is to break it down into 3 parts:

How to Structure Your “Tell My About Yourself” Interview Answer

Part 1: Basic Info.
This is the intro section and should include basic info about you, such as:

• your name
• your major/degree
• your college

Part 2: Your Work Experience.
This section should only briefly mention relevant experiences. Here’s what to include:

• relevant job #1: a brief description + 2 accomplishments
• relevant job #2: a brief description + 2 accomplishments
• briefly weave in why you’re interested in the role you’re interviewing for and the company you’re interviewing with

Part 3: Your Life Outside of Work.
This section should breathe extra life into you. It’ll make you more relatable, and change the mood of the interview from serious to conversational. This section should include:

• hobby #1 – it should relate to the job you’re interviewing for (i.e. blogging)
• hobby #2 – it should be one that makes you a better human (i.e. volunteering)
• hobby #3 – it should be one that keeps you creative (i.e. painting)

I know it seems like you’re saying a lot, but in reality, it should only take about 1-2 minutes to answer this question.

How to Correctly Answer the”Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question

Part 1: The Intro

My name is [your name], and I’m a recent [your major/degree] graduate from [your college]. While attending [your college], I worked [job that relates #1] and [job that relates #2].

Part 2: Your Experience (make it brief)

In [job 1] I [brief description + 2 accomplishments]. In [job 2] I [brief description + 2 accomplishments]. Both experiences led me to dive deeper into [the name of the role you’re interviewing for] and the work that you all do at [name of the company you’re interviewing with].

Part 3: Your Life Outside of Work

In my free time, I still find time to [hobby that relates to the job you’re interviewing for], [hobby that makes you a better human], and [hobby that keeps you creative].

“Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question Example

Part 1: The Intro

I’m a recent journalism graduate from The University of Georgia. While attending The University of Georgia, I worked at the Red & Black as a managing editor and the Residence Hall Association as a freshman RA.

Part 2: Your Experience (make it brief)

As a managing editor for Red & Black, I successfully edited 10 articles a week and made sure that my 12 writers met their weekly deadlines. As a Resident Assistant, I planned approximately 20 events over the course of 5 months, to make sure my 100 freshman residents were well acquainted with the Athens-Clarke County community. Both experiences led me to dive deeper into copywriting and event planning and the work that you all do at the Chemistry Agency.

Part 3: Your Life Outside of Work

In my free time, I still find time to manage my food critic blog, which has actually landed me at some really cool local food events. I foster baby kittens and knit when I’m not blogging or eating.

Take Notes: Need to think about it a bit more? Take notes in the space below. Hit submit, and I’ll send you a copy of your notes to your email address. 🙂

Breakroom Buddha Notepad

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