A more appropriate way to answer the Question “Tell me about yourself” at Interviews.

1. You do not need to state your gender especially in phone interviews except if otherwise asked.

2. The interviewer is not interested in knowing your state.

3. You do not need to state your marital status.

4. Your position in your family or the number of children your parents have is not a required information here.

5. Your address is not required because in most interview cases your interviewer has your CV with them which must have stated your address.

6. Your interviewer is not interested in your local government area.

7. This is not the moment to read out your CV, the interviewer can see this but even if you want to say something already on your CV, it is to give better explanation.

8. Your interviewer is more interested in you stating your skills and competencies and why you are a qualified candidate for the job.

9. You are required to state your accomplishments (especially those directly related to the job you are applying for) in relation to the job.

10. A brief summary of yourself basically on what you can offer is needed.

11. Answering this question is a moment to showcase your ability and get in the good books of the employer as a potential candidate.

12. Most importantly, the ability to answer this question intelligently well is to have rehearsed well before the interview and prepare to answer this question, getting befitting answers all boils down to self-awareness and knowing why you are applying for a particular job.

Here is an example on how you can structure your answer;

My name is Adedoyin Lawal. I am a graduate of economics from the University of Lagos. I was drawn to study economics because I wanted to understand the dynamics of allocation of resources and how that affects both firms and countries. In addition to studying economics, I have developed my ability to solve complex problems and lead teams. Besides graduating quite well, I led the team of volunteers that organised employability events that impacted more than 2,000 students across different campuses in Nigeria. I am interested in investment banking. I attended Pharmahub Academy where I learnt about the financial markets and how to help businesses forecast their financial performance into the future. I love music. I can sing all the lines of Asa’s songs! Also, I love teaching children.

Interesting right?