When a hiring manager throws out the dreaded question, “Tell us about yourself,” how do you even attempt to answer this?

We’ve all been asked this during an interview and how you answer this question could be the key landing the job you know you’re meant to step into next.

Do you talk about your education? Your skills?  Your brilliant personality? Your love of Thai food? Or something else altogether?

Most people get tripped up on this question and end up wasting a massiveopportunity to position themselves as the perfect candidate.

The Secret to Answering this Question With Finesse

The secret to mastering your answer to the ‘Tell me about yourself’ question (really any interview question for that matter) is to start by understanding and valuing the contribution you’ve made in your career. This is where you share why & how you’ve been successful over the years.

You see, with this question, one thing the interviewer wants to learn is, do you have the skills we need to do this job well?

How has your work changed or impacted your team? The organization? What results did you produce? Knowing these things helps the interviewer decide whether or not they should put an offer letter in your hands.

(Sidebar…It’s easy to get caught up in the hectic pace of our workdays, overlook the value of the work we do, and the impact we’ve made so I’ve written about why it’s so hard to sell yourself and why we undervalue our contributions.)

So, Tell Me…. What Have You Done?

Your first step is getting super clear about what you’ve done and why it mattered.

Let’s say you’re a marketing manager. You could say, “I’m a marketing manager and I look after the day-to-day activities of bringing in new leads.”

Or you can say, “I’ve been a successful marketing manager for the past 12 years leading a team of 5. The campaigns I’ve led brought in $15 million in sales last year.”

Now which answer gets your attention??

 Of course, it’s the one about the moolah. It’s a magnet because at the end of the day, work is about solving problems and producing results.

Notice how talking about your accomplishments turn a vanilla answer in one that makes you more credible and compelling. It also makes them curious to know more: How did you make $15 million? What are some challenges you faced managing your team? Where did you find these leads? See what I mean?

Now, it’s Your Turn – Homework Part I

Let’s get started by getting you clear on the impact you’ve made. Write down the proudest moment or biggest accomplishment you’ve had so far this year.

*** Did you blow your sales target out of the water?

*** Did you save the company a half a million dollars with a new process?

*** Did you shave 10 days off of an old manual process by implementing a new system?

Write down the one thing you’ve done to make the company or your team better.  Share your answer in the comments section below.

Bridge the Gap

Your next step is to bridge the gap between what you’ve done in the past (your proudest achievements) to what you want to do next.

The key to this is to understand: What are the requirements of your ideal job?

Homework Part II: What’s Your Story?

Connect your results. You need to be able to tell a clear story of what you’ve done and how you would be able to do this again for your future employer. You should talk about:

*** What your goal was

*** What you did

*** What you learned

*** How you would do this for your future employer

The more specific you are, the better your story will be. It will take time to write, edit, and think about, but it will be worth it – especially when you head into your interviews

(P.S. I will be sharing my strategies on how to interview in a way that makes them want you – so stay with me for more juicy blogs!)

And remember, start with your biggest accomplishment this year. What’s yours? Share it in the comments below. I wanna know!

To your success,

Cindy Harvey is a Career Strategy Coach and Founder of Amelia Dee, a career strategy company for women. Cindy helps corporate career women learn how to make the next phase of their careers the most fulfilling version they’ve ever had.

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