“Tell me about yourself” is a common open-ended question asked during job interviews. Sometimes it seems difficult to answer this question because there is no ‘structure’ to it. However, it is a great question that opens conversations. Also, it allows you to take a hold of the reigns and makes sure you say what you wanted to, ensuring nothing important gets missed. Here, we have some tips from our Recruitment Consultants on how best to answer this question.
About you
Include information about your career history and your life outside of work too. Prospective employers want to get to know the whole you, not just the work history. – Amy Watson, Legal Recruitment specialist covering the North East and Yorkshire.
Importantly, employers want to get to know the whole you, including your interests, hobbies, and out-of-work life. Whilst it’s important to include information about your career history, don’t put too much emphasis on this, as interviewer’s will only see the ‘work-side’ of you.
Try not to be boring!! The client wants to know things that are not on your CV … try and be authentic and true to yourself ... – Jo Hood, Recruitment specialist Legal Finance, Finance and Accountancy roles.
Similar to the above, your career history is going to be highlighted throughout your CV. Employers have already read your CV, so they don’t want it repeating back to them! Think outside the box, be more interesting and don’t talk about the obvious. What about your achievements, hobbies, any awards you have won?
Be concise, relevant and recent. – Siobhan Courtney, Managing Director and Legal Recruitment Specialist covering the Home Counties, London and Ireland.
Interviewers don’t need to know the name of the school you went to, or what your best friend is called. Relevance is vital and by showcasing your recent and relevant experience, you are highlighting your main points. Don’t go off on a tangent and let the interviewer become distracted or disengaged – this is a bad sign. Show off your desirable personality as well as your work experience, and remember, be concise, be relevant, and be recent. Think about what you’ve learned and skills you’ve gained from your hobbies and interests.
About your experience
Include your biggest achievement and what you’re most proud of. – Nikki Phillips, Legal Recruitment specialist covering North West England and Wales.
Talk about your biggest achievement and think about how you can relate it to the role you are interviewing for. What positive impacts did you make with this achievement? Why are you most proud of it? Remember, you need to be able to support what you say, so don’t just make up anything.
Talk about your biggest challenge and how you overcame it. – Shelley Gilchrist, Resourcing Consultant covering Legal Finance, Finance and Accountancy.
Highlighting a challenge you faced and the ways you overcame it can show multiple skills and characteristics that will be desirable to an employer. For example, it gives you an opportunity to demonstrate problem-solving, resilience, adaptability and learning and growth. Showing off your potential you have to offer gives the interviewer an insight into how you can fit in and help in their team.
Tips
Don’t say 1000 words when 100 words can get your point across… – Sam Heraghty, Resourcing Consultant covering Legal Roles across the North West, Wales, and South West.
Keep your answers concise and to the point. Demonstrating your ability to answer clearly and effectively shows strong communication skills and highlights your professionalism. Additionally, by keeping your answers concise, it ensures you only talk of the key information, and it allows the interviewer to retain it much better.
Generic structure to follow:
- Brief introduction to career history as well as life outside of work
- Key achievements demonstrating your strengths
- Biggest challenge connecting your past experiences with this new role
- Concluding statement relating to your future goals and long-term plans
Support with your job search
Helping legal and finance professionals secure new jobs, we are award-winning recruitment consultants. Offering support at every stage of the job search process, we support you in everything from arranging job interviews to in-depth job interview preparation. Contact us today if you need help with your job search.
