Are you preparing for an interview but questions like “tell me about yourself” are haunting you? Don’t worry, this article will work as a comprehensive guide to help you.
I have over 12 years of experience in recruitment and we work with over 100 HRs helping them hire. The first question that I ask a candidate is “Tell me about yourself“.
Whether you’re a fresher, experienced professional, seeking a job shift or have a career gap, this is a common and recurring question despite them being familiar with your resume.
Creating the ideal response necessitates customising based on the resume and employment position. Let us help you understand how to create an impressive introduction response targeted to your experience level.
Table of Contents
Tell Me About Yourself Examples For Freshers and Experienced Professionals.
In case you are in a hurry, I will share the best answers that a recruiter will like. The most common categorisation is based on experience, like you may be a fresher or an experienced candidate.
Another variant can be situations, purpose of change etc, I will try to share samples that you can use in your interview.
Example 1: Freshers
If you lack experience, don’t worry because everyone starts somewhere. Take a look at a sample introduction for help:
“Good morning, I am Arjun from Mumbai. I graduated from St. Xavier’s College with an English Honours degree and achieved 90% in twelfth grade from Mumbai International School.
I have strong communication skills that will help me excel in this customer service role. I have also done a digital marketing diploma as I am passionate about acquiring new skills.
My father is a doctor, my mother is a lawyer and my brother is a computer science graduate student at Stanford. Chess is my favourite hobby and it has led me to represent my school at district and state competitions.
Apart from academics, I am a member of the Lions Club and volunteer in the community. As a motivated fresher, I offer a strong sense of teamwork and passion for innovation, creativity and focus. I am excited to contribute to your team’s success.“
Suggestion: In the example above, if you are a fresher, add one line about your education, one line about your relevant skills as per the job’s requirement. This will help you prove relevant to the job and improve the chance of selection.
It is important to add one line about your family background, extracurricular activity and achievements (if any).
We are internship experts, we help students get their first job or internship, in case you are not sure, learn about the internship benefits and start with an internship.
Side note: To further enhance your interview experience, check our article on self introduction for freshers.
Example 2: Experienced Professionals
After completing 5 years as a product manager in a company, an employee is interviewing to become the divisional head. You can frame a similar tell me about yourself answer:
“Good afternoon, I am Akshay. I have completed my MBA from IIM Indore and have served as a product manager in XYX LTD for the last 5 years. During these years, I have developed a critical understanding of the product market fit and marketing dynamics to reach a wider audience.
I looked after South East Asia territory and scaled the company’s revenue from USD 100M to USD 175M in the last three years.
Moreover, I dedicated some time to additional courses in the production line, marketing and consumer study to further enhance my skill set and become a suitable candidate for this position.
Regarding my family, I have my wife and 3 year old kid”
Suggestion: As an experienced professional, mention your qualifications, company, and role. Don’t forget to mention your achievements and success stories, this will help you get quick attention. Any course that you are doing, that boosts your skill is worth mentioning here.
Example 3: Similar Role at a New Company:
After spending a few years in a similar role, when transitioning to a new company consider the following steps:
“Hello, I am Tina. I have completed my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University with a focus on software engineering. I worked at TechSolve Innovations Company for 2 years where I handled several web development projects thereby utilising my technical expertise and problem-solving abilities.
While I am an expert in Laravel, I am also well versed with the latest technologies like React JS, Angular, Node JS etc. I have also done certification in mobile app development and learned about Flutter. I have experience in developing complex projects with tight deadlines.
I’m excited about the opportunity to bring my knowledge and passion to your team, producing meaningful results and contributing to our collective success.”
Suggestion: As you are moving into a similar kind of role, explaining your expertise is important. Clearly mentioning the languages you know saves a lot of time. Don’t forget to mention the additional skills and expertise in the latest languages.
If you have experience in delivering a complex project on a tight deadline, saying one line about it helps. That may help you start the conversation in a positive direction.
Example 4: Shifting from Agency to In-House Role:
If you are aiming to move in-house show strong client management, campaign execution and adaptability. Here’s a sample tell me about yourself answer to guide you:
“Good morning, I’m Alex. I graduated with a Marketing degree at UCLA, where I learned about customer behaviour and smart marketing practices. Over the past five years working in agency roles, I managed numerous client portfolios and directed successful campaigns in different industries.
My performance and strong business understanding helped me grow from executive to manager in such a short span of time.
I want to use my agency learnings in in-house position here, I am confident that the organisation will benefit from it for sure. I am excited to take up this challenge and new learning opportunity that will contribute to mutual success.”
Example 5: Career Changer:
This is an example of a candidate who is now willing to change career stream. You may start your career in sales, but later, you may not find yourself comfortable there and look for a customer service role.
Here, after completing 2 years as a content writer, an employee now decides to pursue the field of marketing and a sample introduction can be as follows:
“Good afternoon, I am Virat, a BBA graduate from Delhi University. I spent two years as a web content writer at ABC Ltd where I wrote numerous articles, blogs and newsletters. During this time, I gained knowledge of marketing and product placement by writing product descriptions for new launches.
I may not have practical experience in sales, but as I have two years of corporate experience, I got a chance to help my sales colleagues by making joint calls. I really loved marketing and am confident that I can do wonders if I get an opportunity.
To further enhance my knowledge, I completed courses in marketing, sales techniques, distribution and logistics. Hence, I possess the necessary skills and experience for the post while willing to work hard for our collective success.
In my family, I live with my mother, am a bachelor and can devote more time if business requires me to do so.
That’s all from my side, please feel free to ask if you have any specific questions for me.”
Important: If you are a writer, you can grab Grammarly's student discount and create error free samples for your interview.
How to Answer Tell Me About Yourself
Important: Your answer should be short and crisp, understand you have a chance to sell yourself, so utilise it well. Be humble, sound confident, do not fumble, and be prepared for cross-questions.
I have created this infographic, including the key elements, that you can include in your answer. I recommend choosing these elements wisely, you may, however, skip one or two as per the situation.
Let us make you stand out and prepare a captivating response for the interview. Follow the listed tips to improve your introduction:
Tip 1: Creating an Engaging Introduction
Begin by answering the tell me about yourself question in a way that captures the interviewer’s attention right away. Your goal here is clarity and relevance within two minutes.
Tip 2: Focusing on Relevant Experiences
To properly structure your storytelling, use the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action and Result.
Align your story with the talents and attributes listed in the job description. concentrating on current professional experiences or any relevant volunteer work that shows your commitment.
Tip 3: Sell Yourself
Talk about your achievements, awards, ratings, rankings, and learnings. Something that can help you outshine other candidates. Success stories backed by proof are helpful.
Tip 4: Using Tangible Examples to Highlight Your Strengths
To demonstrate your capabilities and abilities provide concrete cases with quantifiable results such as increasing customer service response rates or delivering major project success.
Show them by way of example like How your learnings helped your previous organisation grow or overcome a difficult situation.
Tip 5: Structuring Your Response Effectively
Follow a defined framework to ensure consistency and understanding in your response.
- Present: Highlight recent accomplishments and introduce your current role and scope.
- Past: Discuss your journey to this point including relevant past experiences.
- Future: Explain why the role aligns with your career path and goals.
Tip 6: Hygiene Factors
Stay calm, and confident, and a little smile on your face with a positive attitude. Ensure you don’t utter negative comments about your previous bosses or companies as it is not liked at all.
Finally, as you have mentioned a lot about your certificates, ratings, success, experience etc, be prepared to handle cross questions. You have now set the stage for yourself to comeout as a winner. More questions means more interest in your profile, ensure you answer them well.
Why Tell Me About Yourself is Asked?
Have you ever wondered why interviewers ask this question even if they have already reviewed your resume? They may already be familiar with your background whether fresher or experienced. The reasons are:
1. Creates a First Impression
Interviewers use this question as a starting point for the conversation or quickly review your resume to get an overview of your background.
2. Icebreaker Technique To Make You Feel Comfortable
Interviews can be stressful, especially for freshers. Asking about introduction provides a moment of relaxation allowing you to honestly express your personality amid the intensity of the situation.
3. Understand Interpersonal Skills
A lot of roles require leadership qualities, confidence level, creativity, behaviour, etc. Your resume does not reveal all these qualities, and hence a recruiter encourages you to speak for a minute or two.
4. Finding Relevance, Growth Mindset and Focus
Resumes are not self-explanatory, and to check your relevance for a particular role, you need to speak up about your experience.
Secondly, every organization wants to grow and for that, hiring people with a growth mindset and focus is important. When you talk about your career path, as I suggested above, you show your competitive spirit.
So, apart from above-mentioned points, there may be interviewer-specific goals as well.
It is worth reading this article, I recommend reading all the information to prepare well for your interview.
Why It’s Critical to Answer
Interviewers analyse your interpersonal skills and the way you engage with clients and co-workers. Your response helps them determine your appropriateness for the post taking into account your cultural fit and technical expertise.
Therefore, it’s help them learn more about your presentation skills, confidence, personality, communication abilities and the way you convey your experiences and goals beyond the paper.
Do’s and Don’ts about Tell Me About Yourself
After learning how to effectively introduce yourself in different work situations, you can solidify your chances of achieving the position by simply following the listed do’s and don’ts tips:
| Do | Don’t |
| Keep your response concise and job-specific. | Rave on or go into unnecessary personal details. |
| Highlight relevant accomplishments and technical skills. | Discussing sensitive themes such as religion or family becomes inappropriate. |
| Concentrate on experiences and talents that are relevant to the role. | Speak badly about previous employers or colleagues. |
| Use the Present-Past-Future method to logically arrange your response. | You failed to highlight your long-term commitment to the organisation. |
| Maintain honesty and authenticity while avoiding exaggeration. | Make false claims about your abilities or experiences. |
| Use quantitative evidence to back up your statements. | Start by explaining your hobbies or passions outside of work. |
Final Words
Ultimately, tell me about yourself is an entryway question by employers to learn more about your personality, communication style and prospective cultural fit. To get selected, keep your response concise, relevant and confident meeting the interviewer’s expectations. Now, share your unique story with conviction as you prepare for your next interview.
Note: All names, institutions and details mentioned are provided as examples and do not refer to real-life individuals. Any resemblance is completely coincidental.
About the Author:
Mrs. Sunny Gupta is the co-founder of a leading talent recruitment firm ecH-aaR Manpower Solutions.
She has worked with several leading brands as HR and helped them in scaling up their organizations.
She is an expert in career counselling, resume making, manpower planning and ERP.