How to Answer: Tell me about yourself
So, tell me about yourself? This is the most feared and underrated question that everyone is asked in an interview. As someone who has interviewed hundreds of candidates, it’s shocking how stunned candidates are when asked this simple question.
It’s important to have a confident response to this question, because it sets the tone for the entire interview. Regardless of how talented a candidate is, 60% of the interviews I’ve conducted have started off with a shaky start.
Common Interview Mistakes
Autopilot - Candidates will replay a robotic introduction that sounds overly rehearsed. It’s quite obvious when this happens, because the speed of their voice noticeably picks up and their body language looks a bit stiff. It’s also not very personalized to what the particular role needs.
Life story - Very senior (10+ years) and intermediate candidates make this mistake. It’s always a good idea to add a personal element if it’s relevant, but don’t tell your entire life story. Stick to what is relevant. The more you say, the more it can work against you.
Rhetorical question - I would say roughly 30% of candidates have asked me this question: “What would you like to know?” or “Would you like to hear about my full background or just my work background?”.
Let’s go over a few recipes that work every time for an entry level, intermediate, and senior role.
Senior Role
I spent the past [Number] years working in [Industry] primarily as a [Role].
[Specific Skill] is what I do best. I’ve led [Department] teams with upwards of [Number] people, and helped grow [Company #1] by [Growth multiplier] to [Number] ARR over the course of [Years].
While at [Company #2] I helped [Accomplishment].
Filled sample:
I spent the past 10 years working in tech primarily as a Head of Marketing.
B2B product marketing and driving revenue through a hybrid combination of inbound and ABM is what I do best. I’ve scaled teams from 0 to 20, and helped grow Deel by 6.2x to 200 million ARR over the course of 5 years.
While at Biorender, I helped grow ARR by 5x to 100 million over the course of 3 years. This included landing on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list for 2 consecutive years.
Intermediate Role
I’ve spent the past [Number] years working in [Industry] primarily as a [Role].
While at [Company], I was responsible for [Specific Skill]. I was able to [Accomplishment #1].
I also worked very closely with [team] to [Accomplishment #2]. This helped [Accomplishment #3.]
Filled sample:
I spent the past 5 years working in tech primarily as a Lifecycle Marketing Manager.
While at Instacart, I managed a team of 3 and led the charge in optimizing all their campaigns in HubSpot. I was able to increase engagement by 50%, conversions by 60%, and retention by 70%.
I also worked very closely with our Data Scientist to build out custom dashboards for Sales and CS. This helped increase internal engagement, decrease roadblocks, and also led to a significant increase in response time.
Entry Role
While studying [Program] at [School], I interned for [Company] and was part of the [Club].
At [Company], I worked closely with the [Team] to [Accomplishment #1].
I was able to [Accomplishment #2]. I also held the role of [Role] at [Club].
This is where I [Accomplishment #3].
Filled sample:
While studying BCom at UBC, I interned for Shopify and was part of the Biztech club.
At Shopify, I worked closely with the Partnership team to increase the number of influencers and software integration partners. I was able to:
Secure 36 influencers, which generated 900 sign-ups in just 3 months.
Sign on 2 new integration partners within their quarterly targets.
Assisted with creating new PPC campaigns, and sent email campaigns to over 1,000,000 contacts.
I also held the role as a Content Manager at BizClub. I optimized the existing website for SEO, and published over 50 articles. Most of these articles covered Gen AI, LLM strategies, ABM marketing, and inbound marketing.
Looking for more?
If you’re looking for examples on how to answer this question for a specific industry, let us know!
