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Talking about yourself is something that should be easy, yet it’s not. How do you respond to this question in...
The post How Not to Be a Complete Nerve Wreck in an Interview appeared first on Lifehack.
Talking about yourself is something that should be easy, yet it’s not. How do you respond to this question in...
The post How Not to Be a Complete Nerve Wreck in an Interview appeared first on Lifehack.
Talking about yourself is something that should be easy, yet it’s not. How do you respond to this question in an interview.
So, tell me about yourself?
Do you find you are a nervous wreck when responding? If so, fear not, because you are not alone.
People struggle during job interviews. For some reasons, we treat the interview as if something our life has to depend on. We fear failure, yet if we just relaxed, we might find that the interview could actually be conducted as if it were a normal conversation.
During a stressful time, a leader I respect once asked me, “Did anyone die?” He was able to immediately put things in perspective. This simple, yet powerful advice assisted me in a recent job interview with a Fortune 500 company.
Along with putting things into proper perspective, there are certain things we can do to ensure we are able to answer this seemingly simple (yet enormously difficult) question; a question typically asked right at the beginning of the interview.
So, how to answer tell me about yourself?
Jane Copland provides fantastic practical tips for success in landing your dream job. She remarks that in order to avoid the trap of freezing or rambling, we should study common interview questions and prepare our response to them. She encourages us not to memorize our answers, simply practice the key points. If we do this, we will find that we feel more confident and bring out our best. [1]
By following Jane’s advice, this interview question can be broken down into three subordinate questions:
Once we understand the real questions, we can then develop a strategy to ensure we don’t blow the interview with the first question.
Here is a quick list of things you should do… and those things you should never do.
I used this powerful 4-Step Method in a recent interview with a Fortune 500 company. By simply following these 4 steps, I was able to walk in the room with an unwavering high level of confidence. The following sections will break down each step, with tools and practical examples.
The first thing you should do prior to the interview is to thoroughly research the company. To be able to answer the “Tell me about yourself question”, you must be able to customize yourself to the type of person they are looking for. Use these tools and demonstrate that you can improve their bottom line immediately:
If you fail to attempt this step, then you might as well start scheduling your next interview because you don’t have a chance at this one.
If you are looking for a powerful way to guide your interview and answer the question, “Tell me about yourself” then I highly recommend you use one of the following formulas (or a combination of them all):
Use Implementation Intentions. These are “If-Then statements.” They are preplanned responses to make sure you are directing your internal and external behaviors toward the overall goal – in this case landing the job and explaining “Who you are.”
For example, I use the following Implementation Intention during my interviews: If or when scenario x happens, then I will perform y. More specifically: If or when I am asked to prove a principle (i.e. I can improve their bottom line), then I will respond with a detailed roadmap on how I can improve their bottom line. This means that I must have plenty of detailed roadmaps handy.
If you are trying to understand the critical functions of a company and you come across something you do not understand, try chunking the new information or idea. Think of a puzzle, simply break the term down into components, then break those components into further sub-components.
Lastly, make sure to follow-up with the interview panel. I highly recommend you send a personal “Thank You” letter. If you do not receive the job, ask them what improvements they suggest.
Don’t forget, when you are preparing for your interview, make sure you are dressed to impress. Don’t look like a bum! Finally, remember this advice when you are preparing for your next interview.
“If we all threw our problems into a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.”
Hence, don’t forget to put things into perspective and remember that there will always be another interview.
Featured photo credit: Flaticon via flaticon.com
[1] | ^ | The Pensters: 9 speech skills that you have to improve to get a job of your dream |
[2] | ^ | Gary Vaynerchuk: #AskGaryVee |
[3] | ^ | The Muse: A simple formula for answering “Tell me about yourself ” |
The post How Not to Be a Complete Nerve Wreck in an Interview appeared first on Lifehack.