How to answer “Tell me about yourself” in an interview

Your first line

Marcus starts with “Thanks for coming in. So, tell me a little about yourself.”

“Sure. Right now I’m a shift lead at a coffee shop, where I run the morning rush and train new hires.”

Present, past, future: start with what you do now, then one past win, then why this job. It keeps you near a minute and gives Marcus something real to ask about.

What Marcus might say, and what to say back

1. Marcus: “Can you give me a specific example of that?”

   You: “Sure. Last summer we were down two people. I rebuilt the schedule, and our morning wait time dropped from about eight minutes to five.”

2. Marcus: “What did you do, versus the team?”

   You: “I built the new schedule and trained two people on the register. My manager signed off, but the plan was mine.”

3. Marcus: “Why this role, and not something else?”

   You: “The part of my job I like most is fixing how things run, and that’s most of this role. I want to do more of it.”

Two things that trip people up

• Starting with where you grew up, or reading your resume out loud.Start with what you do now, and keep the whole answer to about a minute.
• Listing adjectives like “hardworking” and “team player.”Give one real example that shows it, with a number if you have one.

More in Interviews

• How to answer “What’s your biggest weakness?”
• How to answer “What are your salary expectations?”
• How to answer “Why do you want this job?”