Tell me about yourself?

Nervous? Are you preparing for your next Interview? You already have your entrance exam scores with you and a Personal Interview at your favorite Institute is knocking on the door? Is it your first day at your new college? Are you preparing for your dream job interview? Whatever may be the situation, one question is constant, Tell Me About Yourself? You would indeed agree on it, Right?

Good! At least, you are sure about one question in the Interview. Still, what makes you nervous? Why are you not able to answer it well? You still think, how should I respond and if you are a Fresher, it is more difficult. If someone is an experienced professional, one has past experience to talk about but I am a fresher, what should I say? Thinking on this line.

If this is your query, you are in the right place. So, before discussing How to answer this question and What to answer. Lets’s first understand, why this question is put by an interviewer to you in the first place.

The reasons I can put, to better remember and on a lighter note as the most popular movie – “PUSHPA”

Putting you at comfort, Understanding your fit and beyond your Resume, soft skills, hobbies, interests, personal information, brief, attitude, etc.

It is the opening question, which every interviewer assumes that you are already prepared with, thus it can make you comfortable at the start of the interview and can be a better ice breaker. This question can give an opportunity to the interviewee to prove and the interviewer to understand, whether the candidate is the right FIT for the organization or Institute. Your interviewer mostly had gone through your resume and if it is not the case, then also, it is a great opportunity for you to take your interviewer beyond your resume and introduce something unique about you which is not possible to put in your resume. The Interviewer would like to know some personal information about you but keep in mind to do it in brief. You may be technically really sound but if do not demonstrate good communication skills, interpersonal skills, or a good team member, you can be a MISFIT, thus this question gives insights on the soft skills which is not reflected in the resume or to prove if you have mentioned some. As a fresher, the Institute or Organisation mostly focuses on attitude, especially openness to learning attitude, positivity, respect for individuals, and openness to feedback, to name a few.

This was all about why and now coming to HOW??-formula can be PPP-“Prepare, Practice, Present”.

When you already know the question, prepare very well and PRACTICE!!! PRACTICE!!! Rehearse!! and score well and present your best attitude. Let us help you in preparing.

Greet your interviewer- Please be sure and look at your watch what is the time of the day. Yes, people do fumble whether it is morning, afternoon, or evening and then the interview goes fumbly.

What’s there in the Name?, though your resume already has it, still it is your name that shows how confidently you present yourself but don’t be obsessed with “SELF” words-Myself, Ms., XYZ rather put as I am Ms. XYZ or My name is Ms. XYZ.

Since you are fresher, your Assets as of now are your highest qualification, additional qualifications, Online certifications-Courses, Udemy, etc, your college project, and internships. How have you added value to the project and the organization, any suggestions if considered for implementation? Are you leading any college committees or events? Good!! Talk about it.

Any participation in renowned Intercollege events? Have you presented any paper at a conference, share it? Share it!! Talk about your strengths. Match your strengths and skills with the company. For e.g the company is looking for an enthusiastic marketeer, focus on how good you are at communication, energy levels should be apt, if any event you had conducted successfully, etc. So, please go through the Job description and know the job and company well.

Conclude it with your Hobby/Interest which you are confident and genuine about, If you like Trekking or you are excellent at games on PS, why not share it!! But how you present it matters, trekking talks about you being a risk-taker, explorer, independent, etc. Games give you more insights on strategies, agility, decision making, etc. Plus, it puts you as to how you can quickly gel in the organization/institute’s culture. You can also talk about personal information about family but make it brief.

Highlight your Accomplishments and create a structure of your response with this information. Don’t Use Superlatives!! Be polite, and humble, and show your openness to learning as a fresher. Present your information as “PPF” as “Past, Present, and Future”.How you can become an asset to the company in the future.

The amount of confidence you show in your profile and pictures on Snapchat and put Hashtags on Instagram. You can better remember all the above points as SNAP HASHTaG

With this information, I hope you give your best on the most asked question-Tell me About Yourself or Describe yourself. Wish you all the best.