How to answer “tell me about yourself — part three

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Posted By: ransomplace December 9, 2015

With the positioning approach to answering the interview question “tell me about yourself,” you’re matching your skills and achievements to the needs of the interviewer.

While it is the best of all approaches to answering this, the mother of all killer interview questions, some of the job candidates who I’ve coached wonder if by using the technique interviewers will think they’ve rehearsed the answer.

Of course prospective employers know you have a well-rehearsed answer. But they’re listening to how well you’ve prepared and how you deliver it. Unless you rehearse thoroughly beforehand, you’ll be caught off guard just like those unprepared job candidates who provide rambling answers with few specifics. Such applicants are perceived by interviewers as poorly focused job seekers who may not be the best candidate for the job.

When you deliver the positioned approach to the question, “tell me about yourself,” you will have positioned yourself to be a perfect fit for the job.

There are more typical interview questions you need to know how to answer. Examples are “what are your weaknesses,” “why do you want to work here,” “where do you want to be five years from now,” “what makes you stand out from other applicants,” and “why is it taking you so long to find a job?”

I coach you how to answer those toughies—and many more— in my new book, “Your One Minute Job Finding Coach.”

If you’d like to order,  click here for a link to Amazon.com.

Copyright ©2015 by Ransom (Randy) Place

About the Author

ransomplace
RANDY PLACE IS A JOB-FINDING and executive coach, writer on career topics, broadcaster, and host of yourcareerservice.com. For twenty-three years, he helped thousands of employees who had been let go from JPMorgan Chase find jobs. And he coached executives at CBS Television, Pitney Bowes, and major outplacement firms in New York on job-finding techniques, communications skills, and selling strategies. An accomplished seminar leader and speaker, Randy has designed and presented workshops on interviewing, telephoning techniques, job-search writing, and sales training nationwide. Randy's groundbreaking nationally syndicated radio series, Your Career Service, has been heard on over two hundred radio stations across the United States. And his articles on career topics have appeared in the Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly. A former broadcast journalist in New York, he has also been a commercial spokesperson for an array of national and regional advertisers. In addition, Randy was a sales executive at NBC Radio and the New York City sales manager for syndication at Wolper Productions. He holds a Bachelor's in Sociology and Broadcasting from Syracuse University, and a Master's in Journalism from New York University.