What do you say when the employer asks you, “Tell me about yourself.” Do you talk about how you practice Pooktre tree art? Do you divulge your vegetarian dietary habits then talk about the moral issues you have with eating meat? Or, do you tell your whole life story? Believe it or not, we have heard people answer this million-dollar question in one of the aforementioned ways.
Our best piece of advice for you is to answer professionally, and keep your answers relevant to the job. You are not going to talk about your passion for Pooktre, unless of course you are applying for a job at a greenhouse perhaps. You are not going to talk about how you are a vegetarian, unless you are applying for a position at The Naam, for example. And when would you tell your whole life story? Well, probably never! Get the picture?
Too many people get flustered and are not sure what the employer wants to hear. Do they want to know about your hobbies, your previous work experience, your memberships, your education, your publications, etc.? Well, we have got a great acronym for you to remember when faced with the Tell me about yourself question that will help ease some of that nervous energy and help you prepare a fairly comprehensive answer. The acronym is W.E.P. It stands for Work experience, Education and training, and Personal. If you can remember this little acronym, you’ll never have an issue again. You can even aid yourself when answering the Tell me about yourself question by saying, “My work experience consists of…” and so on and so forth.
Again, however, ensure you keep your answer relevant. If you are applying for a job as an office clerk, you are not going to talk about your work experience as a warehouse worker, how you have your forklift certification, and how you like a job with lots of variety and action. These assets don’t really jive with an office clerk role. Instead, perhaps you will want to talk about how you have work experience in positions that require you to use your organization skills, great phone manner, and proficiency with Microsoft Office. You may want to talk about that Bachelor of Business Administration Degree that you are pursuing. And, you may want to discuss how, for your hobbies, you enjoy creating filing systems or organizing your friends’ closets, etc.
So, to sum up the essence of this post, when answering the Tell me about yourself question, use W.E.P. and make your answer professional and relevant to the position for that you are being interviewed. Best of luck!
