It’s the one interview question every job applicant gets: “Tell me about yourself.”
Now, career coach Tali Schlaffer has revealed the best way to answer the simple question in no more than three minutes – to make sure you stand out from the other applicants to land the role.
“Think of this question as an opportunity to show your passion and interest in why you come to work and why it’s important to you, other than getting paid,” Schlaffer said in his Instagram video.
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“Now, what you don’t want to do is walk them through every single line of your resume, because they have it in front of them to look at, and that ends up being very dry.
“Here’s how to answer the question that’s clear and also makes an incredible impression.”
She said you should always hit four components when answering this question.
“I would aim for two to three minutes. The more you can summarize and paint a good overall picture early on, the better,” Schlaffer said.
To answer the question, she suggested that we talk briefly about your background.
“Hi, I’m Tali, I’ve been a project manager for the past five years and have experience in business systems analysis and marketing,” she said in her example.
The second sentence should focus on what interests you.
“One of the things I really like about this line of work is that it allows me to bring together a variety of people to work together for a single goal, a single outcome,” Schlaffer said.
She then suggested highlighting three relevant skills or strengths you’ve built in your career.
“The last few roles I’ve had have really helped me hone my stakeholder management, executive communication and team building skills,” she said by way of example.
Finally, Schlaffer explained how you should give the interviewer one sentence about what you hope to achieve or gain from your next role.
“I’m here today because I really want to take a skill set and apply it to the nonprofit space,” she said.
The career coach said you could finish your answer by sharing some of your personal hobbies “if you think it’s appropriate.”
“Outside of work, I like to walk and I’m really into interior design,” she said.
She added: “This is meant to be a comprehensive summary to paint the picture, then use the questions to dive deep
“Your answers can be longer than my example, this is just to give you an idea.”
“Great tip”
Her video has been viewed more than 880,000 times — with many praising Schlafer for helping them take the stress out of interviews.
“As someone making a career change and terrified of interviews, this was really helpful. Thank you,” said one.
Another shared: “Recruiter here – great advice and easy to follow. Good job!”
One revealed: “Great advice! I was just asked this and just skimmed my resume. Although I received an offer, I felt there was a better way to respond.
Another added: ‘You just put a smile on my face. I’m struggling with getting fired and I’m terrified I’ll never find another job. I feel so insecure.”
While one said: “It’s actually a great way to condense and answer. I’m messing around so I’ll outline tonight for tomorrow’s interview.’
Meanwhile, one shared their embarrassing job interview story after an interviewer asked them, “Tell me about yourself.”
“I once started by saying… “Well I was born in…” omg! The look on their faces,” recalled one.