Tell Me About Yourself: The Perfect Way to Answer This Question | Indeed — Transcript

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1. 0:00hi everyone and welcome my name is jen
2. 0:02and i'm a certified career coach at
3. 0:04indeed with over 10 years of career
4. 0:06services experience personally working
5. 0:08with over hundreds of job seekers from a
6. 0:10variety of industries
7. 0:12today i'm going to share with you some
8. 0:13advice that i've refined over the years
9. 0:15for answering the interview question
10. 0:17tell me about yourself this video will
11. 0:19give you the knowledge that you need to
12. 0:21tell a compelling two to three minute
13. 0:23story about your career and why you're a
14. 0:26good fit for the role that you're
15. 0:27interviewing for also stick around until
16. 0:30the end for a bonus tip on how to make a
17. 0:31real connection with your interviewer
18. 0:33now i'm really glad that we're covering
19. 0:35this topic because when i conduct a
20. 0:37one-on-one mock interview with a client
21. 0:39this is actually the first place that i
22. 0:40start
23. 0:41and that's because you're almost always
24. 0:43going to encounter this question in one
25. 0:44form or another during the interview and
26. 0:47often several times throughout the
27. 0:48recruiting process oh and if you find
28. 0:50this content to be helpful let us know
29. 0:53by giving us a like if you'd like to see
30. 0:55more videos like this or if you're just
31. 0:57interested in knowing more behavioral
32. 0:59based interview questions and how to
33. 1:00answer them be sure to subscribe to our
34. 1:02channel
35. 1:04so first let's discuss what are
36. 1:06recruiters really looking for in an
37. 1:08answer when they ask tell me about
38. 1:09yourself job seekers often ask me
39. 1:12recruiters have read my resume don't
40. 1:14they know this stuff well when you've
41. 1:16applied for the role your resume was
42. 1:18likely processed by an applicant
43. 1:20tracking system which is more commonly
44. 1:22called an ats this is software that many
45. 1:24companies are using to help screen
46. 1:26applicants and if you'd like to learn
47. 1:28more about the system check out this
48. 1:30link up here long story short yes in
49. 1:32most cases your resume has been reviewed
50. 1:34but in some cases it probably only
51. 1:36received a quick read plus the
52. 1:38recruiting process can be very
53. 1:40disjointed the person that's conducting
54. 1:42the interview may not be the recruiter
55. 1:44who selected you so in short it's wise
56. 1:47to assume that your interviewer doesn't
57. 1:49know the details of your professional
58. 1:50history in any case when an interview
59. 1:53asks you tell me about yourself they
60. 1:55likely don't really want to hear about
61. 1:57your resume instead they're interested
62. 1:59in learning about your professional
63. 2:00journey and how your skills are suited
64. 2:02for the role that they have to craft a
65. 2:04strong answer to the question aim to
66. 2:06create a compelling story
67. 2:08so as with writing any other story you
68. 2:11want to start by creating a good outline
69. 2:13when structuring your response i
70. 2:15recommend using the present past future
71. 2:18format writing down this outline will
72. 2:20help you in arranging or rearranging
73. 2:22your response so
74. 2:24let's begin by starting with the present
75. 2:26and the present is where you are in your
76. 2:28career right now or most recently as it
77. 2:30relates to the role that you're
78. 2:31interviewing for another quick note it's
79. 2:34not necessary to state your name at the
80. 2:36beginning of your statement unless
81. 2:38you've been asked specifically about
82. 2:39pronunciation
83. 2:40so starting your response with my name
84. 2:43is can sound stiff and mechanical which
85. 2:46you really want to avoid here's a sample
86. 2:48present statement
87. 2:49i'm currently working for company c as a
88. 2:51customer service representative
89. 2:53i've recently been leading a project
90. 2:55that reduces the time spent on manual
91. 2:57processes by implementing automated
92. 2:59chatbots that respond to simple
93. 3:01questions
94. 3:02in addition to this project i spent a
95. 3:03lot of time on the phone with clients
96. 3:05answering questions assisting and
97. 3:07navigating our website and sending
98. 3:08feedback to our product team for future
99. 3:10improvements so let's break this
100. 3:12statement down first you share what
101. 3:14you've been doing most recently by
102. 3:16giving a high level overview of your
103. 3:18role this includes stating your title
104. 3:20responsibilities and projects that
105. 3:22you've worked on recently in our example
106. 3:24we stated that we're working for company
107. 3:26c as a customer service representative
108. 3:29and in a real interview you would want
109. 3:31to try to show a relationship between
110. 3:33the work that you're doing and the role
111. 3:35that you're applying for if you're
112. 3:36transitioning into a new role or
113. 3:38industry this is a great time to mention
114. 3:40any certifications you've completed or
115. 3:42classes that you've taken or even
116. 3:44personal projects that you've worked on
117. 3:45that are related to the new role so in
118. 3:47this case
119. 3:48start with your most relevant experience
120. 3:50before shifting to your recent role and
121. 3:53be sure to highlight the transferable
122. 3:54skills that you've required that apply
123. 3:56to this role next take the opportunity
124. 3:58to highlight a key accomplishment and
125. 4:00use the preferred experience that you
126. 4:02find within the job description to guide
127. 4:04what you talk about in our example we
128. 4:06talked about the project that we led
129. 4:08that reduced the time spent on manual
130. 4:10processes and increased efficiency once
131. 4:12you've covered where you are now start
132. 4:14talking about the past beginning with
133. 4:16your motivation for entering the field
134. 4:18avoid reiterating the information that a
135. 4:20recruiter can easily find on your resume
136. 4:23you don't want to just provide a
137. 4:24timeline for how you got here you want
138. 4:26to focus on your professional ambitions
139. 4:28for pursuing this career path so here's
140. 4:31a sample pass statement that we can
141. 4:32break down i've always enjoyed working
142. 4:34with people and helping others so i went
143. 4:36to school and received my associate's
144. 4:38degree in communication studies while in
145. 4:40school one of my favorite classes was
146. 4:42technical writing which has become one
147. 4:44of my greatest strengths my first job
148. 4:46out of college was as a technical writer
149. 4:48at company a which i enjoyed although
150. 4:50there was a very little collaboration
151. 4:51with my colleagues and i spent about 95
152. 4:54of my time working alone after company a
153. 4:57i briefly took on a sales role at
154. 4:58company b where i learned a lot about
155. 5:01working within a fast-paced environment
156. 5:03then the opportunity of my current
157. 5:04company company c became available and i
158. 5:07was able to combine my passion for
159. 5:09technical writing collaboration and
160. 5:11helping people
161. 5:12in this example we started by providing
162. 5:15a professional timeline by outlining the
163. 5:17roles that we took after graduation and
164. 5:19we highlighted the key learnings from
165. 5:20each these learnings included the skills
166. 5:23we acquired like technical writing as
167. 5:25well as what we learned about the type
168. 5:26of work that motivates us like working
169. 5:28in a collaborative environment where we
170. 5:30can help others if you've changed
171. 5:32careers along the way or trying to
172. 5:34change careers now then speak to what
173. 5:36motivated the shift in your career path
174. 5:38and try to tie a thread to this new
175. 5:40career if you're a recent graduate you
176. 5:43may consider talking about a class that
177. 5:44motivated you basically this is where
178. 5:46employers like to hear the story of how
179. 5:48and why you got to where you are right
180. 5:50now this section can change depending on
181. 5:52how relevant your current role is to the
182. 5:54job that you're interviewing for
183. 5:56if you're changing industries it's
184. 5:58helpful to highlight transferable skills
185. 6:00you bring even when your previous role
186. 6:02may not seem relevant at first glance
187. 6:04here's a bonus tip if you can show how
188. 6:07your experience from a different
189. 6:08industry provides you with a uniquely
190. 6:10valuable perspective for the employer
191. 6:13that's even better
192. 6:14and finally let's jump to the future
193. 6:16this part of your response is a great
194. 6:18opportunity to get strategic with your
195. 6:20answer and align your personal goals
196. 6:23with the goals of the company aim to
197. 6:25show that you've researched the company
198. 6:26that you know what their values are that
199. 6:28you've researched their mission
200. 6:29statement and that you are specifically
201. 6:32well positioned to fill this role by
202. 6:34addressing how you support an employer's
203. 6:36goals and how your values align with
204. 6:38them you're showing that you're a good
205. 6:40match and that you're invested in them
206. 6:42by already doing the research here's an
207. 6:45example future statement
208. 6:47looking forward i'm seeking more
209. 6:48leadership opportunities and i think
210. 6:50it's important to grow and be challenged
211. 6:52after managing several successful
212. 6:54projects in my current role i found a
213. 6:56new passion in leadership and mentorship
214. 6:59i also want to be part of a company that
215. 7:00contributes to the community and i was
216. 7:03so impressed with how your company
217. 7:04organizes multiple volunteer events
218. 7:06throughout the year now the future
219. 7:08statement is all about why
220. 7:10why do you want this role
221. 7:12why are you passionate about this
222. 7:14opportunity in our example we talk about
223. 7:16how we found a new passion and
224. 7:18leadership and mentorship which are key
225. 7:20attributes especially when you're
226. 7:21interviewing for management roles we
227. 7:23also made a point to reference the
228. 7:25research done on the company by
229. 7:27referring to the volunteer events that
230. 7:28they coordinate throughout the year
231. 7:30and this aligns with our desire to work
232. 7:32with a community focused company
233. 7:34speaking about what excites you about
234. 7:36the role or industry could remind your
235. 7:38interviewer why they got into the
236. 7:40business in the first place and this
237. 7:42makes you more relatable and can draw a
238. 7:44stronger connection if it sparks a
239. 7:46response or a similar passion from your
240. 7:48interviewer be sure to mention that in
241. 7:50the thank you note that you sent after
242. 7:51the interview wrapping up by focusing on
243. 7:54the future is also a natural close to
244. 7:56the answer
245. 7:57it signals to the interviewer that
246. 7:59you're talking about a future within
247. 8:00their company and it gives them the
248. 8:02opportunity to segue to the next
249. 8:04question a common way that i've heard
250. 8:06candidates and their response is by
251. 8:08saying
252. 8:09yep that's me but let's try this
253. 8:10conclusion statement instead
254. 8:13and that's what brings me here today for
255. 8:14this exciting opportunity this is a much
256. 8:17better way to signal to the interviewer
257. 8:18that you're done talking now this link
258. 8:20right above me will take you to an
259. 8:22indeed career guide article on this
260. 8:24topic with more tips and example answers
261. 8:26now that you know what you're going to
262. 8:28say let's talk about how you want to say
263. 8:30it and i have four basic tips here one
264. 8:33avoid reciting or reading your resume
265. 8:35remember in your answer you're telling
266. 8:37the story of who you are and what
267. 8:39brought you to this point
268. 8:41and where are you looking to go from
269. 8:42here all as it relates to this job to
270. 8:45leave out any highly personal
271. 8:47information such as marital status
272. 8:49children or political or religious
273. 8:51affiliations from your answer this is
274. 8:53not relevant for an employer to decide
275. 8:55if you have the abilities necessary to
276. 8:57perform the functions of the job now
277. 9:00there can be some flexibility to this
278. 9:01role for example if it's part of your
279. 9:03personal story and it's critical to your
280. 9:05career path then it's appropriate to
281. 9:07include a high level of detail i for one
282. 9:10have personally broken this role when i
283. 9:12was interviewing to be a technical
284. 9:13career coach my previous experience was
285. 9:16with career coaching at a university
286. 9:18level with students who are majors in
287. 9:20communication business liberal arts and
288. 9:23i thought it was important to mention
289. 9:24that i felt a personal connection to
290. 9:26working with technical job seekers
291. 9:28because my husband is a senior software
292. 9:30engineer and i saw how much he sometimes
293. 9:32struggled in his own job search and this
294. 9:34edition really helped me in the
295. 9:36interview because i was able to provide
296. 9:38that personal connection to the type of
297. 9:40job seeker that i would be serving at
298. 9:42this company this in addition to the
299. 9:44transferable career coaching skills that
300. 9:46i already possessed made me a strong
301. 9:47candidate and i was ultimately offered
302. 9:49the job but unless a personal story
303. 9:52directly impacts your career path like
304. 9:54this it's wise to avoid mentioning these
305. 9:56topics
306. 9:57number three be concise
307. 10:00this question is most likely to come up
308. 10:01at the beginning of an interview so it's
309. 10:03best to craft a response that's roughly
310. 10:05three minutes long you'll have the
311. 10:07opportunity to dig into the details of
312. 10:09your experience and your accomplishments
313. 10:11later talk about the main highlights of
314. 10:13the role and the relevant strengths that
315. 10:15apply to the job that you're
316. 10:16interviewing for a good way to be
317. 10:18concise is to practice by using a timer
318. 10:21or having a friend time you
319. 10:23and four here's my bonus tip that i
320. 10:25always share in one-on-one consultations
321. 10:27don't forget about the human connection
322. 10:29to your journey yes it's important to
323. 10:31have your key accomplishments ready and
324. 10:33tailored but a good interview should
325. 10:35feel conversational
326. 10:37you can briefly mention hobbies personal
327. 10:39development or your community
328. 10:41involvement when it's relevant to the
329. 10:42job that you're interviewing for for
330. 10:44example if you're applying for a role at
331. 10:46an outdoor sporting goods store be sure
332. 10:49to mention that you love to go on hikes
333. 10:51and five smile and make eye contact if
334. 10:54you're in a video interview try to
335. 10:56remember to look directly at the camera
336. 10:58this communicates that you're engaged
337. 11:00and you care about what the interviewer
338. 11:01is saying there's this great quote by
339. 11:03maya angelou that says i've learned that
340. 11:05people will forget what you said
341. 11:07people will forget what you did but
342. 11:10people will never forget how you made
343. 11:11them feel
344. 11:13and over the years i found this to be
345. 11:14really applicable to the interviewing
346. 11:16experience so being professional
347. 11:19approachable and prepared are always
348. 11:21traits that you want to aim to display
349. 11:23so to quickly recap my top tips for how
350. 11:25to answer tell me about yourself are one
351. 11:28stick to the format think present past
352. 11:31future
353. 11:32two
354. 11:33tell your story don't just summarize
355. 11:35your resume three leave out any personal
356. 11:38information
357. 11:39four
358. 11:40don't forget the human connection and 5
359. 11:43practice practice practice
360. 11:45so those are my tips for today's topic
361. 11:48thank you so much for watching i hope
362. 11:50you found this information to be helpful
363. 11:51and that you're able to apply it to your
364. 11:53interview prep if you'd like to see more
365. 11:55interviews like this please like and
366. 11:57subscribe and hit the notification bell
367. 11:59to stay updated
368. 12:00see you next time
369. 12:12you