“So, Tell Me About Yourself?”: Tips To Ace the Most-Asked Question During A Job Interview.

This is the question many people fear they will have to answer during a job interview. Even if this question isn’t asked directly, it is implicit in almost everything you say about yourself while squirming in your chair — and, in fact, is the foundation for your whole job search. At the Five O’Clock Club the answer to this question is called the Two-Minute Pitch, which is a positioning statement about yourself. It should be tailored for the position you are trying to get, include things that are relevant and present you at the right level.

Kathy, a banker with two Ivy-League degrees, 14 years of experience and several promotions under her belt, applied for the position of customer service VP for a financial firm. Although her current job is with a bank, she is really in charge of customer service — she is not a banker. When asked,“Tell me about yourself,” she was taken aback. She fidgeted and finally said, “Well, I’ve been a banker at First State for 14 years. I’m in charge of customer service…” Kathy was positioning herself incorrectly by saying she was in banking, when she really wanted to get a job in customer service, which leads to the first tip:

1. Position yourself correctly for the job at hand. If you are applying for a position in customer service, start out by saying, “I have an extensive background in customer service with a few leading businesses.” Now Kathy has learned how to position herself for a new job. You need a great pitch so that people see you as appropriate for the kind of job you’re going after. At the Five O’Clock Club we say, “If your pitch is wrong, everything is wrong.” That is, if the way you’re positioning yourself is wrong, everything else about your search is wrong. Nothing is correct.

2. Put a summary of your pitch at the top of your résumé. Put it in bold, so it stands out. This is the first thing that a hiring manager will see, other than your name. The summary statement should match your pitch exactly. The top of your résumé is the written positioning of yourself. The Two-Minute Pitch is the verbal positioning of yourself. And they must correspond. Once Kathy realized how to position herself, she wrote this statement at the top of her résumé:
Customer service VP with 14 years’ experience

Created and implemented customer relations plan that resulted in a 210% increase in new accounts for FirstLake Bank.
Reduced customer-service staff by 50% for major manufacturer by streamlining how calls were handled.

Having the proper pitch worked for Kathy — she ended up getting three job offers.

3. Use job titles that describe what you actually did. Don’t lie, but if your official title was Senior Editor at a publishing company, and you spent much of your time advising marketing on book promotions, then use the title, “Senior Editor/Marketing Advisor.” Regardless of what your paper title was, that is what you actually did. Don’t sell yourself short.

4. Be prepared to talk about the accomplishments on your résumé. Don’t say, “I can’t believe they asked me about when I reorganized the accounts payable department.” If you highlighted it, they’re going to ask you about it. Have your Two-Minute Pitch down pat, and have three or four or five accomplishments down pat. There is no reason for you to start hemming and hawing around when you’re asked these questions.

5. Differentiate yourself from the competition. This is an essential part of your pitch. What will they say about you when you’re gone? If you’re applying for an accounting manager job, everybody else they’re talking to is also an accounting manager. So when you leave the meeting and they say to the hiring manager, “Hey, Jane, what was that guy like?” Jane is not going to say, “Oh, my gosh! I just met an accounting manager.” Everyone she met was an accounting manager. How are you different from all of the other managers? Instead, if you’re an accounting manager, you want them to say, “Oh, my gosh. I just met somebody who is an expert in Lotus Notes. And he worked on a project with IBM, doing exactly what we’re trying to do.” What do you want them to say about you when you’re gone? That is your pitch. Repeat it enough during the interview so that they know how to position you to other people they talk with after you leave.

6. Keep in mind is to whom you’re pitching. What kind of job are you trying to go after? And what are the most important things that you want people in this target market to know about you? What are the most important accomplishments that you want them to know about? You can have complete control over this aspect of the interview. That’s because you have positioned yourself in a certain way on your résumé. But remember that if they ask you about yourself and you know nothing about them, say, “I would be happy to tell you about myself, but could you first tell me a little bit about the job?,” or :”If you could tell me a little bit about what is going on here?,” or: “Could you tell me a little bit about why you called me in for this meeting?”

7. Don’t start out with where you were born and other personal data. Start by positioning yourself where you want to go. Where you were born usually has nothing to do with your next job.

8. Have filler words. People insert words to highlight important points that are coming up. For example in your pitch, you might say, “One of the most interesting things that I’ve ever done was…” You’re saying, “Hello, hello, what I’m about to say next is going to be important. Listen up, listen up.” And then name an accomplishment. You may want to follow that with, “That was one of the most satisfying things I had ever done because I was in charge and I was able to operate on my own.”

9. Develop a pitch that is conversational. Don’t just make a list and sound like you’re reading it. Think about the point you’re trying to make. What is the most important thing you want them to know? What is the second most important thing you want them to know? And then practice it. Is the point clear? When you leave that meeting, what are they going to remember about you? Practice in front of a mirror, tape yourself, try out your pitch with family and friends.

10. Don’t assume that if you tell them certain things that they are going to be able to get it. They are not going to get it. You’re going to say, “Oh, well I thought that if I said I had 12 years of programming experience, they would understand that I also know how to manage project teams …” No! Tell them you know how to manage project teams. That’s your job. Don’t expect them to get it on their own. People always think, “Well, I’ll tell them all of my background and all of my experience and they will see how it fits in with their needs.” No, you have to tell them how your background fits in with their needs.

11. Keep it to two minutes. Two-minutes is a long time, a very long time. Time your pitch and see how long it takes. Three or four minutes is boring. You do not need to tell everything about yourself during the first two minutes.

12. Be friendly, use a one-on-one conversational style. Speak the way you would normally speak; the way that you would speak to friends. Be just a little bit friendly — not overly friendly. Show enthusiasm during those two minutes. Sit almost on the edge of your chair. It will thrust your body forward and make you look more energetic. And try to use your hands a little bit. That will also give much more energy in your presentation. The interview process is a sales process. So whether you’re extraverted or not, you have to act that way more than you normally would during the interview. Or people will doubt whether or not you have the energy to get work done. The good news is that you do not have to act that way on the job! And there’s more good news: By positioning yourself correctly, you have a much, much better chance of getting that job! You might even look forward to answering the question, “Tell me about yourself.”

By Kate Wendleton, President, The Five O’Clock Club