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“Tell me about yourself” is the most important interview question and the one that strikes the greatest fear into the hearts of jobseekers. When I coach my clients on interviewing, I start each session by asking which interview questions they need help with. Almost everyone answers, “Tell me about yourself.”
What is the purpose of “Tell me about yourself”? The purpose of "Tell me about yourself" is to understand who you are professionally, to learn whether you’re qualified for the job, and to get a sense of how interested you are in the position. How should you respond? Here’s the secret to responding: Answer as if your entire interview is one or two minutes long. Imagine that you’re invited for a job interview that will be no more than two minutes long. How are you going to convince the employer in this short time to hire you? You can do this by discussing the most important things about you as related to the position. These are: 1. How you meet the core job requirements (such as number of years of experience, critical technical skills, and education) 2. One or two key accomplishments 3. Why you’re interested in this position and/or how you may be able to contribute to the department or company An example Let’s say you’re interviewing for a position as a content writer at a healthcare startup. Here is the job description: Responsibilities and Requirements
Here’s an example of how you can respond to “Tell me about yourself.” “I’m excited to be here because this position seems like a great fit with my background, skills, and career goals. I graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s in English and a minor in journalism. Since then, I’ve worked as a content writer for four years. Two of those years I worked in the marketing department of a hospital and two of those years I worked for a tech startup. I have extensive experience writing blogs, press releases, ads, and social media content. One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is developing a 75-page style guide for the hospital. This style guide was implemented by all communications departments in the hospital and resulted in a uniform style and voice across our media. The VP of Communications was so pleased with the improvements in our marketing materials that she recognized me in our hospitalwide newsletter. I’ve really enjoyed both working in healthcare and working for a startup, so this position would be an exciting opportunity to do both! I also look forward to applying my writing expertise to create content that brings awareness of your products to thousands of potential customers.” Ace your answer When you’re preparing for your next interview, jot down how you meet the core job requirements, one or two relevant accomplishments, and why you’re interested in this position or how you hope to contribute. Practice your response a few times, until it feels smooth and natural. Then you’ll feel well prepared and confident the next time an interviewer says, “Tell me about yourself.
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The summary of qualifications is the most important part of a resume, yet 90% of the resumes I see don’t have one. The reason you need to have a summary is that it makes it easy for recruiters and managers to see that you are qualified for the job and are a good candidate.
Rather than force employers to hunt through your resume to determine whether you are qualified for the position, the summary tells them immediately what they want to know. What Is a Summary of Qualifications? A summary of qualifications contains three to seven bullet points that summarize your key skills, experiences, strengths, and achievements as they relate to the position you are applying for. The summary of qualifications should contain the most important keywords used in the job description. The summary should be customized for each position. It is placed immediately after your contact information at the beginning of your resume. How Do I Write a Summary? The summary of qualifications is surprisingly easy to write. I’ll demonstrate how to do it by showing you a sample job description followed by a corresponding summary. (So you can see how the key job qualifications are represented in the summary, I have matched them with corresponding numbers. Your resume, of course, will not contain these numbers.) Don’t worry if you do not meet all the qualifications—few people do—just include your relevant experience. Job Description The Specialty (1) Pharmaceutical Sales Representative will promote cardiovascular medications to cardiologists, nephrologists, and endocrinologists (2) in the San Francisco Bay Area (3). Desired Qualifications:
Summary of Qualifications
Do you notice how the summary makes it easy for the recruiter and manager to see that this is an ideal candidate? Do you see how easy the summary is to compose? Invest a little time in crafting a summary for each job you apply for and you’ll increase your chances of being invited for interviews. John is preparing to attend a pharmaceutical sales career fair. He wants to advance from a position calling on primary care physicians to a specialty position in which he’ll sell to cardiologists.
John sees that Zybergene, a hot biotech company, will have a booth at the fair. He reviews the company’s website and learns that it has just received FDA approval for an antihypertensive, Lowrenin, that lowers blood pressure in people with diabetes. Assuming that Zybergene will need to hire a salesforce to promote this product, John crafts an elevator pitch that will capture the interest of the recruiter. “Hi, Sarah, my name is John Jacobs. I’ve been selling antihypertensives for three years to internists in San Francisco, and I was the top salesperson in the district for two of those years. I’m excited to talk with you about Lowrenin, because it’s sorely needed by diabetic patients who suffer from resistant hypertension. Can we chat briefly about how I can help make Lowrenin a blockbuster for Zybergene?” What is an elevator pitch? An elevator pitch is a very brief (20- to 30-second) professional summary that is customized to the situation in which you’re networking, such as a conference, a Meetup, or an informational interview. An elevator pitch includes four parts: 1. Who you are 2. What you’re doing 3. An achievement or example of your work, or what you’re hoping to accomplish in this situation 4. A request for an action step, or a question to learn about the other person Elevator pitch templates These templates can help you craft your elevator pitches. Be creative, and write elevator pitches that feel natural to you. For a conference or professional association meeting “Hello! I’m ___________. I’m a ___________ at ___________. Dr. Jones, I found your presentation on ___________ fascinating. I’ve also been studying ___________. I know you’re very busy during the conference, but perhaps I can buy you a coffee between sessions and we can chat for a bit?” For casual settings (like Meetups and Starbucks) “Hi! My name is ___________. I do ___________ at ___________. I’m ready to move into a management position, so I’m currently exploring my career options. How about you? What do you see yourself doing next?” For an informational interview “Hi! Thanks very much for taking time to talk with me about your work and your company. I’ve been doing ___________ for the last ___________ years in the ___________ industry. I’m interested in doing similar work but in your industry. What’s your experience been like doing ___________ at ___________?” For a career fair “Hi! My name is ___________. I work for ___________ doing ___________. I recently developed the ___________ (name of product), which ___________ (what it does/benefits). The ___________ position on your website looks like a great fit with my experience and career goals. Can I tell you briefly about how I could contribute to ___________ (company name) as a ___________ (position title)?” Give your elevator pitches a spin As you can see, elevator pitches are easy to craft, and once you practice them a few times, you’ll feel confident about introducing yourself to new people in any situation. LinkedIn is a powerful tool for growing and maintaining your network. Having both a deep network (people you’ve met) and a broad network (people you don’t know) increases your visibility to employers and recruiters and your ability to talk directly with folks in target companies.
Here are nine tips for expanding your LinkedIn network. 1. Post a photo. I’ll accept connection requests from many people I don’t know as long as they have a photo. A good LinkedIn picture makes you seem more trustworthy and competent, so people are more likely to accept your connection requests, and recruiters are more apt to contact you. 2. Craft a complete profile. Recruiters look for a complete profile, because it makes it easier for them to assess whether you may be a good fit for a position. A complete LinkedIn profile is the online equivalent of a complete resume, and it allows readers to understand who you are professionally. 3. Ask your LinkedIn connections to introduce you. One of the best ways to make a LinkedIn connection is to ask a connection to introduce you, because most people feel comfortable connecting with a friend of a friend. To give back, offer to introduce your LinkedIn connections to others. 4. Accept all reasonable invitations. There are two philosophies about connecting on LinkedIn. One philosophy is that you should only connect with people you’ve met in person, online, or through friends. The other is that you should accept connection requests from just about everyone who asks. I’m in the second camp—if you have a photo, a complete profile, and something in common with me (same industry, type of work, geographical location, or friends), I’ll accept your request. The larger your network, the easier it is to find a connection at a company of interest. 5. If there’s no obvious connection, send a quick, clear introductory note about why you want to connect. For example, “Hi Mr. Johnson. I’m a senior majoring in psychology at Zen College. I’m trying to learn if psychotherapy would be a good career for me. I see that you’ve had a private practice for 15 years. Would you be open to talking briefly about your experience in your practice? Thank you for your consideration, Maya.” 6. Join alumni and interest groups. People in your LinkedIn alumni and interest groups are “warm connections.” Warm connections are people you have something in common with, and they’re more likely to connect with you than cold connections. So, be sure to join your alumni groups and professional groups. 7. Don’t look like a stalker. Checking out a person’s profile multiple times over consecutive days or weeks will make you seem like a stalker. If you need to refer back to information on a person’s profile (let’s say you’re interviewing with that person next week), copy key information from her profile and paste it into a Word document. 8. Don’t send unsolicited information about your business. I’m amazed at how often people ask to connect with me, then immediately send me spam on their business. Just because someone accepts your connection request, it doesn’t mean that they want to become your customer. If you don’t want to annoy your connections, only send them information about your business if they request it. 9. Blog. LinkedIn offers a blog platform that can bring you tremendous visibility. After I write a blog on my website, I post it on LinkedIn and share it with my groups. You can write a unique blog on your area of expertise, click “Write an article” on your LinkedIn homepage, add an image--and post. Then, share your blog with select LinkedIn connections and your groups. Building a LinkedIn Network for Your Career Now that you know how to expand your LinkedIn network, start making a few new connections each day. Soon you’ll have a deep and broad network that will increase your visibility to employers and recruiters and make it easy for you to find connections with people at a wide range of organizations. |
AuthorDebra Rosenfeld, LMFT ArchivesCategories |
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