Most Weird Interview Question: Tell me something about yourself

Tell me something about yourself

What are recruiters heartily looking for when they ask, “tell me about yourself?”
It is an open-ended question, let me tell you.

Your brain pops up with the regular questions, like “ummm, what does he/she truly want to know?

How can I just pick any random incident from my entire life story right now?

Is it about my family, school, hobbies, achievements/failures?”

And, you just lose those precious couple of minutes pondering and self-querying.
It is not that difficult. 0% Luck. 100% Hustle.

You might think that the interviewer already knows about you from the CV, but no!

There's a catch! Often, the resume is processed via ATS (Applicant Tracking System).

So, you must start with a compelling story about your professional journey, tie the skills you possess with the job role you are applying for, share your accomplishments with proof of performance and what measures you would like to take to upgrade them.

Your answer will set the tone for the interview.

Potential employers do not want you to blurt out your life stories or talk about your previous gig.

If you drag it into a monologue instead of a conversation then it would simply be a wastage of time and effort.

Avoid reciting your resume and exclude highly personal information because that would take the interview downhill.

You must prepare a narrative for your record which includes all the information that you want to convey.

Be human and not a robot or a news broadcasting machine whom people would hate to have in the next cubicle. Devising a smart, thoughtful answer in advance helps to keep stress at bay.

Otherwise, you might just zone out the recruiter and make him think about his next vacation!

The interviewer may trick you into asking the same question differently.

If such a situation causes you to overthink and flub this question, then you have lost the game at your own cost.

Customize yourself to be sold in the first place because the recruiter does not want to regret and lose his share of the performance bonus with a bad catch.

Nobody is interested in what you did 10 years ago, cause squeezing out too much information will only be a flat-foot put ahead.

An example of this question can be,

For a fresher,

“Hello, my name is Varun Agarwal from Delhi. I graduated in Electronics and Communication from St. Stephen’s College with a CGPA of 8.7.

I love to play soccer and was also elected as the Captain of the Debate Club in college.

I stay with my parents and my pup, Bonzo.”

For experienced job-seeking individuals,

"Hello, I have graduated with my professional degree in Chemical Engineering three years ago and was immediately placed in XYZ company.

Since then, I have actively been a participant in the research and development team and was getting inclined towards the pharmaceutical industry.

One of my key accomplishments during my professional journey was speaking at a conference meeting on Fluid Mechanics, based on research I had done with my colleagues.

I feel like I am ready to take my career to the next level and I would be grateful if I can encash this opportunity.”

Researching the company profile, the job description gives you a tailor-made script to deliver and act according to the whims of the recruiter.

If you get distracted and produce a scattered voice note instead of being collective and concise, you are surely going to shoot yourself in the foot.

Let the approach be built with confidence and grace which can cut right to the chase, and satisfy the panel as to why they should hire you amongst the rest and why you are the best fit for the job.

Nothing goes perfect in the first attempt or even in the nth attempt.

Grammatical mistakes are so common and acceptable as long as you serve confidence on the table.

You certainly don't want to fumble and then stay awake the whole night with a bowl of ice cream in hand and thinking what went wrong.

A few tips that you can incorporate in your schedule to jazz up the interview are:

Practice in front of the mirror – Yes, your body language counts!
Use the voice recorder application to gauge the tone of your pitch.
Apply the STAR method – Situation, Task, Action and Result.
Lastly, if it’s a phone interview – use bullet points because no one can see it!

Although brain-teasers have fallen out of popularity, if you run into one of such challenging situations, be prepared.

Companies test your nerves to check whether you can "wing it" without any prior preparation.

You are not expected to answer all the questions at your immediate disposal.

Rather than struggling, just verbalize your thoughts because it has often occurred that the answers are totally irrelevant.

Finish off the interview by touching on how you envision your future.

Everything is achievable with the right attitude, zeal to learn and passion to deliver.

You might decide to opt for a career shift in your late thirties or mid-forties, or participate in the Olympics, or even shed 60 kilograms in a few months!

Wishing to live the life of your favorite celebrity or sportsman is a lacklustre dream if you do not put effort into it.

So, yeah if you have an interview coming up (fingers crossed) just stay calm, be well-dressed and well-versed and deliver what you know and wish to be.

Align your aspirations with the organizational goals to draw benefits towards your work station.

You are a human and you need recuperation like everybody so do not overburden yourself with the risk of burnout.