Tips for Answering "Tell Me About Yourself"

This is exactly what I do to impress my interviewers in the first five minutes of all my interviews 👇 In most of your interviews you’ll be asked the same question in the first 5 minutes: “tell me about yourself” (can also be asked as “walk me through your resume”) Your interviewers are interested in knowing WHY you are a good fit for the role and the culture of the company Most candidates I’ve interviewed and coached make the same mistakes: ❌ Explain more about their companies and responsibilities than skills they learned relevant to the interview ❌ Make a very long introduction of more than 5 minutes ❌ Add STAR stories in their intro (taking more time) My “tell me about yourself” follows these principles: ✅ Structured and concise ✅ RELEVANT to the job I’m interviewing for I use a simple and repeatable structure - each job/transition I make is like a Lego block that stacks onto each other. In other words, everything is connected Framework: 🟠 Introduction 🔵 Job and company (skills learned) 🟢 Transition to next job/school 🔵 other Job and company 🟢 Transition… 🔵🟢🔵🟢… 🟡 Why do I want to work with them? —— 🟠 Introduction: this is where I connect who am I with why I’m excited about the company. For example, if I were interviewing with a company like Reddit and communities were important in my life, I would share that: “Hi! My name is Diego and communities have always been important in my life because….” Wrap up quickly and transition to the next part. 🔵 Job and company: I usually start from my first job. As time passes, I spend less time talking about my first couple of jobs to the point where I could mention in general two or three things I learned and move on to more recent jobs. Think of stacking legos where the height represents the amount of time you speak about them. At the bottom (early career) you’ll have flat pieces and as you stack them (more recent jobs) you’ll grab taller pieces. The most important thing about each job you mention is that you need to talk about skills that you learn that are RELEVANT to the job you interview for. When I was an aspiring PM I would say something like this: “I used to work in a Business Intelligence consulting firm where I learned about working with customers, work with engineers, (skill 3), (skill4)….” 🟢 Transitions: tie your transitions to a reason that shows growth. For example, maybe you moved from one job to the next because you wanted to learn about a new industry or a new skill that shows you are a good fit for the role. For example: “after X years of doing this job, I realized that I wanted to learn more about Y industry (or grow in Z other position/skills), so I joined X2” —— Make sure that your story is ~3 minutes at the most and remember to make it as relevant as possible to the job you are interviewing for! What are your best tips for interviewing? 🚀 need help getting your first or next PM job? Check my comment below!

I had a chat with someone yesterday about career goals and they asked how to best answer "tell me about yourself." I said it starts with building your story of your strengths that are going to make an impact at their company, and then practicing it. That led to questions about how to determine what your "story" is and how to show that alignment. Here's the suggestion I gave: Look at job posts. Many of them will have an outline of "what you'll do at this job" or a few sentences about what they want you to bring to the team. Collect these sentences or bullet points into a new document, one sentence/bullet per line. Then, start to rearrange them so the things that excite you or resonate with you are at the top of the list, and the things that don't make you feel as happy go at the bottom of the list. This person was looking at senior-level engineering management roles. We used a few job posts that talked about building teams, coaching, and execution of business vision, but also working with cross-functional department heads, and one job post mentioned interactions with executive management. I told this person to start collecting these points from many job posts and building this list so that the top ten things become your "story" about your background and experiences and how you want to relate to a company and provide them value to solve their problems. This list solves two problems in the job hunt/interview process: First, not only do they have a handful of text points they can turn into a 2 or 3-paragraph story to practice for the inevitable "tell me about yourself" question, but they can better show how they 'align' with that company's values and direction when you can also incorporate text and phrases from their job post into your story. Think of how you'd explain it in an "I'M doing this, YOU'RE doing this, too; we might as well be working together" vibe. Secondly, and maybe even more importantly, as you continue to look at other job posts, you'll start to recognize things that don't resonate with you as much, or aspects of a job post that don't excite you. Yes, it's a tough job market and maybe you want to apply just so you have some kind of paycheck, but that story you tell won't be as compelling or exciting. You won't bring as much energy to the conversation. Companies might pick up on this and choose not to continue the interview process. But as you figure out what you DO want and how to tell that story in an engaging way (practice it on others once you have it down to about 1.5-2 minutes of content), companies are going to see that "spark" of what gets you excited, and the more they see that you're headed in the same direction as them, and excited to do the kind of work they're doing, you become a much more desirable candidate. Let me know your thoughts in a comment below.

Most experienced professionals blow the “Tell me about yourself” question. And, yup. I'll admit it. I did it when I was a rookie. First, here’s the truth no one wants to say: That question is often a cop out. A default move by interviewers who haven’t taken the time to familiarize themselves with your resume. But what do most candidates do in response? They go into painstaking detail… Every job, every transition, every promotion. It’s a career monologue that eats up 8 precious minutes, and leaves the interviewer no closer to understanding your value. Here’s the smarter way to approach it. A tight, strategic answer that frames you as a solution, not a story. The Playbook: ✅ Start with your value. Lead with what you do best and the problems you solve. Think: “I help X companies achieve Y outcomes through Z expertise.” ✅ Touch on career highlights. Mention a few roles, but only to illustrate key skills, not to build a timeline. ✅ If you’ve pivoted, use chapters. Show how each phase of your career added something meaningful to your toolkit. Keep it focused on why it’s relevant now. ✅ Keep it short. Two minutes max. You’re not there to narrate your resume. You’re there to bring it to life. ✅ Make space for dialogue. A long-winded intro steals time from what matters: discussing how you’ll succeed in this role and learning if the company is right for you. A better “Tell me about yourself” answer sets the tone. It shifts the interview from biography to business case. And it gives the interviewer space to see you clearly. As a fit, not just a file. Start strong. Stay focused. And give them a reason to keep listening. ______________________________ Follow me & hit the 🔔 to see all my future posts. ♻️ Repost if you found this helpful. Search #DanzgerGroup to see all my posts on one page.

I’ve landed interviews at Salesforce, Google, Shopify, Stripe, Slack, and many other great companies over the last few years. There is a formula to standing out in the interview process, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you. This is the most difficult job market I’ve ever seen. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average unemployement duration was 19.4 weeks in November. That’s nearly 5 months. FIVE MONTHS! Interviewing for jobs has to be one of the most soul sucking, emotionally draining and physically exhausting experiences of your career. However the good news is that landing an interview is a skill that can be developed and there are real tactics and strategies you can deploy to increase your chances of landing your next job. The first tip is to create a crystal clear career highlights story. You’ll use this story more than any other throughout the interview process and it’s in response to one of the most difficult questions you’ll face: “So, tell me about yourself.” The reason this question sucks is because it’s so broad. It presents the candidate with an opportunity to ramble. The framework I like to use to answer this question is the 3x3x3 method. What it is: 3 things to know about you. 3 last career change decisions. 3 minutes or less. By giving someone a numbered list, you’re making it easy for them to follow along with your story. You’re telling them what they need to pay attention to in advance and this way they get to anticipate where you’re at in your response. My three things are usually: 1) I’m a writer and storyteller at heart with degrees in journalism and film. This stems from my intellectual curiosity and desire to help people. 2) I’m someone who is prone to action over analysis. Im a doer who likes to get shit done. 3) I prefer to work on hard things. I know how to solve problems, especially in ambiguous situations but the more challenging the task the better. Next I use my last three career pivots to demonstrate the three qualities in my “three things to know” response. I know they’re going to ask about my decision to leave my current role or why I was laid off or whatever the reason is I’m currently interviewing at, so I package this up as neatly as I can and deliver it in under three minutes or less. Why three minutes? People have ridiculously short attention spans. Now here’s where I want to help you out. I’ve got bandwidth in the next few weeks to schedule a free 15 minute call. We’ll map out your 3x3x3 story and I’ll give you whatever advice I can about finding your next role. Comment or message me directly if you’re interested in chatting. There’s no catch. There’s nothing I need from you. I just know how isolating it feels to be going through this process alone and no one should feel afraid to ask for help. I plan on sharing more tips and advice on the interview process over the next few weeks so feel free to follow me for more candid advice like this!

To all job seekers listening– It can be frustrating guessing how to prepare for an interview. But there’s one thing you do not have to guess: Every interviewer – in some shape or form – will ask for the “Tell me about yourself” pitch. So prepare a story to present yourself as a match. Obviously, don’t fabricate anything in any way. But know what your relevant talking points will be, so you avoid extraneous details. For example: If I were interviewing for another CEO job right now, I wouldn't spend time talking about where I grew up or what I did in college. Instead, I'd mention: My background as a special operator in the military. My experience with private equity. My path from a recruiter at Bradley Morris to… My role as CEO of the consolidated brand at RecruitMilitary In 2 minutes, I would want to convey: - The experiences that prepared me for the responsibilities of running an organization. - The kind of leadership style I bring to my work. If you are feeling anxious about your upcoming interview - Hone your relevant story and practice it. Be sure your response to “Tell me about yourself” is actually “Here’s how my experiences prepared me for this job.”

When I was interviewing for a popular NY-based startup, a Sr. People Analytics role - I learned a valuable thing about introductions... People usually do not like to hear everything about you, they like to know the “Relevant” you. When you introduce yourselves and your experience - remember that the recruiter/interviewer is not interested in knowing your entire life history  I needed a structure that could help me help the interview go forward productively- And here’s a structure I found after a lot of research - It’s The Present, the Past and the Future The Present: Start by sharing what you're currently up to. Are you studying, working, or pursuing any specific projects? The Past: Briefly touch on what you've been doing recently, typically in the last year or two. This gives the interviewer context about your background. The Future: Share your aspirations and goals, especially as they relate to the role you're interviewing for. Where do you see yourself heading? This changed the dynamics of how the interview took off   A chance to interview is a chance for the company to know about the “RELEVANT” YOU. Not the Personal you. So, unless it directly adds value to the conversation, leave out details like skiing adventures in the Alps. Hope this helps : )

"Tell Me About Yourself" 😬😬😬 This question is DANGEROUS! Everyone blows the answer to this. I remember one such interview that the job was all but mine, until I botched this answer. This is NOT the time to tell your interviewer your life story. It is the PERFECT opportunity to succinctly weave your narrative through the lens of the role you're seeking. Let's face it, your work history isn't going to perfectly align to the role you're seeking. You've likely had diverse experiences that've given you unique perspectives that make you an asset for the role you're interviewing for. Therefore, you want to tailor your narrative through the lens of the role you're applying, while coloring the story with the unique values you bring to the table. For example, prior to my work in enablement, I was a successful entrepreneur. I built two highly successful companies from scratch, from the conceptual planning, to the execution and scale of that plan, to the hiring, training, and growing the careers of my successful GTM org, and much more. While most employers would normally think, why would we take Sarah's job history seriously as it relates to corporate enablement, my response educates employer's that I and I alone are frankly the best fit for their needs. Here's how I'd answer that question: "Tell me about yourself." "For the past several years, I've strategically planned, executed, and scaled two rapid growth companies from conception to meeting and exceeding their 5 year pro forma projections. This included understanding our growth goals, creating a GTM plan to exceed those goals, deploying and facilitating training plans to a diverse, rapidly-scaling GTM organization, and providing optimal support to ensure these individuals performed above expectation confidently and autonomously. These efforts were the reason the company scaled across three states in less than two years, each creating profitable locations within the first few months of operation." In this answer, I'm demonstrating all of the skills and deliverables that matter most in the role that I'm interviewing for. At the same time, I'm downplaying elements of my previous work that don't fit that narrative. I'm keeping my response to my most recent and applicable work. Notice that I didn't take them through college or my early job history. I'm focused on how this set up those that relied on my work for success. By demonstrating my direct stakeholder's confidence and autonomy, I'm reflecting the values the company that I'm interviewing for will value most. How would you answer this question? Let me know below. _________ Hey, I'm Sarah Filipiak 💚 Follow + 🔔 to #wineveryinterview #interviewtips #interview #interviewskills #jobseekers #opentowork #layoffs #layoffs2023