Looking to polish your interview skills? – then this is for you
Some people really don’t like the “tell me about yourself” question at interview. It can feel like you must talk yourself up and you may not be comfortable doing that. You think that your track record should speak for itself.
Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily the best person for the job but the person who articulates their experience clearly. And sometimes that means you haven’t done enough self-reflection to be able to do that succinctly. Do you know at a deep level what it is you have to offer a potential employer?
Think about when potential clients call and ask me about myself and my experience. If I umm and aah and meander all over the place telling you about my experience – are you likely to feel confident that I can support you to success? Probably not. And even if you choose not to work with me, it should be because we are not the right match, not because you don’t understand how we would work together.
Believe me, I have had to learn to answer this question clearly and confidently. Many years ago, a coach asked me to “tell me about yourself”. While I didn’t think my answer was perfect, I didn’t think I had done a terrible job either. I thought I had answered the question quite well. Instead to my amazement she said, “you remind me of a dusty sporting trophy sitting on the shelf”! I was stunned, and said what do you mean? She then went on to talk about my use of language and self-deprecating statements and demonstrated how to “polish my sporting trophy” aka my unique selling proposition or elevator pitch or whatever fancy tag you want to give to it. I have never forgotten it.
Think about other services you use, whether its medical, plumbing, electrical work or servicing your car. If the provider can’t explain clearly what they are going to do or their approach, you probably wouldn’t use them.
If you need help in exploring what you have to offer and how to articulate that at interview, get in touch and let’s talk further. And if I don’t explain clearly to you how we might work together, feel free to call me out 😊
