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How To Present Yourself In An Interview

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Think Past Present Future

How to Introduce Yourself in an Interview | Indeed Career Tips

Using this simple three-part formula can help you craft a professional, informative answer to Tell me about yourself.

Well, Im currently an account executive at Smith, where I handle our top performing client. Before that, I worked at an agency where I was on three different major national healthcare brands. And while I really enjoyed the work that I did, Id love the chance to dig in much deeper with one specific healthcare company, which is why Im so excited about this opportunity with Metro Health Center.

But Inject Some Passion Into Your Answer

Keeping your answer professional, however, shouldnt stop you from shedding light on why youre passionate about your work or about this company, even if that broaches slightly more personal territory.

If people feel comfortable telling their story from a passionate perspective, it helps engage the interviewer and set them apart, says Wascovich. For example, Wascovich recently worked with a special education administrator whod actually been a special education student in elementary school. Her teachers inspired her to pursue the career she did. So in telling your story about how you got your start, that could be a unique hook.

You dont have to go into a huge amount of detail, but if your goal in an interview is to stand out among the applicant pool and be memorable, then infusing this answer with some passion can help you do that.

People dont want to talk to robotsthey want to talk to humans, Dea says. I love it when someone tells me, I knew I wanted to work in marketing when I was a kid. Ive always really loved writing.

Campos agrees. If a person really is connected to their mission and what they want to go after in their next role and this company really aligns, this is a great place to bring that in, she says. You might incorporate a sentence like, Im really passionate about x and y and so I was really attracted to your company

Match The Skills Required To Your Possessed

A job description provides you with the skills required to get the job done.

You can go through the provided skills and match yours with it when preparing for a job interview to introduce yourself in an interview.

In case you find yourself lacking a skill or two, you can pick up on it through online courses.

Also, having knowledge about the skills that you currently are missing can help you be prepared for any uneasy interview questions.

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In The Case Of Professional Setting

Talk about who you are and what you do

The first tip in any professional setup is to introduce yourself by telling your name and telling what you do. Telling your professional title by a simple sentence of what you do is a nice way of introduce yourself to such gatherings.

Make it relevant

Take care of the context. It is by far the essential tip for any introduction. You cannot be talking about technology in an environment that has nothing to do with it and vice versa.

Talk about your contribution

In professional settings, it is paramount that you talk about what you bring to the table. You build your value by talking about how you have contributed to the project or the company since the new people or the people outside your circle will not know what your constructions are.

Go beyond what your title is

Honestly, your job title does not mean much unless you are CEO or a Chief officer of some kind, in which case it is self-explanatory. Your job title does not tell much about what you do so it is better to talk about what you really do in the job.

How To Answer Tell Me About Yourself During An Interview

How to Introduce Yourself at a Job Interview

Dont let this common interview question trip you up.

Whether you’re new to the workforce or have over 20 years of experience, “Tell me a little about yourself” is likely to be the first request asked of you in an interview. This is in part because it can be a nice icebreaker to get the interview started. It also provides the interviewer with a starting point that can allow for follow-up questions.

Regardless of why you’re being asked to spill the beans about who you are, you’re in the spotlight and need to be prepared to answer “Tell me about yourself” the “right” way to stand out among your competition. This is especially true when you consider that though the average interview length is 40 minutes, reports have shown that the interviewer knows if they will hire a candidate within the first 90 seconds. With that said, consider the following tips to prepare for being asked to “tell me about yourself” during a job interview.

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What Are Your Educational Qualifications And The Place Where You Completed Your Education

After the place you are from, it is best to dive into the professional stuff. Yes, we are talking about educational qualifications.

Tell a bit about your schooling, graduation, post-graduation, gap year, and so on. You can also mention some extracurricular activities you have completed. Educational qualifications reveal your personal choices and tell exactly why you opted for a specific course.

There is no need to mention all courses and certifications in your name as you must have already put them up on your resume.

For example- I have completed my schooling at Alpha Memorial school in Indore. After passing out, I prepared for the IIT-JEE exam and opted for BTech in Computer Science at ABC University.

It was a life-changing experience for me and it made me more focused on my goals. Ever since school, I have also been participating in Chess competitions and I also love to practice martial arts when I am free.

Be Aware Of Body Language

Nonverbal communication is important to keep in mind. When youre meeting people during the interview process, remember the attributes you want your body language to display. For example, if you want to communicate confidence, keep your shoulders back, chin raised and chest high. Keeping eye contact as you introduce yourself is another good practice, showing interviewers youre engaged in the conversation and capable of communicating well with your potential future colleagues.

Pro Tip: Unsure about how you may be presenting yourself during introductions? Try recruiting a friend or family member for a practice introducing yourself, including your dress, body language, even your handshake. The mirror is a great practice tool, too.

Youve likely met hundreds of people in your life, and a job interview involves much of the same etiquette you would use when meeting any new person. Your interviewers want to hire a great teammate just as much as you want to be on the teamwhich means they want you to succeed. When introducing yourself at your next interview, confidence, preparing ahead of time and a smile will go a long way.

Read more:

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How To Make The Best Impression

Practice makes perfect:This may not always be the case, but if you take the time to ensure youre prepared and your technology is working properly, the interview will be much less stressful.

Get set ahead of time: Dont wait until the last minute to set up your interview space, clear away the clutter, and get your interview clothes ready.

Pay attention:It can be hard when youre interviewing remotely, so remember to listen carefully to the questions and focus on your interviewer.

Practice Your Answer Before The Interview

How To Present Yourself In An Interview

As a final tip make sure you go practice everything you plan on saying when the interviewer asks, what can you tell me about yourself?

Nothing comes out perfect the first time, and you dont want to appear nervous and stumble when they ask.

So Id recommend grabbing a piece of paper and writing down the key points you want to talk about in your answer. I like to write them in bullet format.

Then, use your smartphones voice recorder app to record a few practice answers and see how you sound.

Dont look at your notes as you give your answer. The idea is to try to remember what you want to talk about without reading off the paper. Then glance at the paper AFTER to make sure you covered everything.

Keep practicing until you can give a smooth answer without forgetting anything important.

Note: If youre having a phone interview, you can use notes/bullet points to help guide you through your answer. Nobody can see you on the phone, so take advantage!

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What Not To Say

Dont share too much or too little information. The interviewer doesn’t want to know everything about you, but disclosing too little can make him or her wonder why you aren’t more open.

Avoid potentially contentious subjects such as political or religious leanings, unless you are absolutely positive that your opinions would be well-received by your interviewer.

Dont talk about a hobby that might seem to be more important to you than your career. No employer wants to take a chance on hiring someone who will miss a lot of work or ask for extensive vacation time to pursue their passions outside of work.

Avoid sharing personal information about your family. There is no need to discuss spouses, partners, children, or any other strictly personal information.

Be Prepared For A Phone Interview

Phone interview etiquette is just as important as in-person job interview etiquette when it comes to getting hired. That’s because, regardless of whether you interview on the phone or in-person, a successful interview will get you to the next stage of the hiring process.

Review phone interview etiquette tips, including phone interview techniques, advice on how to prepare for a phone interview, and phone interview questions and answers, so you can ace the interview.

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How To Close An Interview

Toward the end of the interview, let the hiring manager know that you think the job is an excellent fit and that you are very interested in the job.

It’s appropriate to ask what the next step in the hiring process will be and when you might expect to hear.

Finally, thank the interviewer for the time they spent interviewing with you.

Work On Your Elevator Pitch

How to Introduce Yourself at a Job Interview

One of the best ways to introduce yourself in a presentation is to share a punchy elevator pitch. This works extra well if you are presenting to a new audience.

An elevator pitch is a concise statement that summarizes your unique strengths, skills, and abilities, and explains how these can benefit your listener.

Its nice to have one ready not just for your presentations, but also for networking in general since it helps you immediately connect with new people and communicate your value.

Writing a solid elevator pitch may require several attempts and iterations. But the sooner you start the faster youll arrive at the best formula!

To get your creative juices flowing, here are several elevator pitch ideas you can incorporate in an introduction slide about yourself.

For professionals:

Certified Salesforce Administrator, data visualization specialist, and analytics for top SaaS brands. I help businesses make more sense of their data to drive better outcomes.

For a mentor:

Adjunct professor of creative writing at Columbia University, published author, former lifestyle editor at Esquire, the New York Times. I can teach you how to find, shape, pitch, and publish stories for web & print.

For a student:

Third-year Marine Biology student at Denver State Uni. Volunteer at Lake Life Protection NGO, climate change activist, looking to expand my research about water conservation.

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Look At Sample Introductions

Although introducing yourself is rather straightforward, it can be a bit uncomfortable to do in an online interview. In addition to researching tips and advice regarding online interview introductions, it’s helpful to look at “introduce yourself” samples online, as well as examples of job interview videos. Read blogs, watch videos and listen to podcasts about the topic.

Tips On How To Introduce Yourself In An Interview

How recruiters perceive you as a candidate depends on how well you introduce yourself. Self-introduction is crucial because it not only lets interviewers see your personality and presentation skills but also provides you with an opportunity to directly interact with employers about your skills, experience, and other achievements. Here are the top campus placement interview tips on how to respond to the “tell us about yourself” question.

1. Greet Your Interviewers

Greeting the interviewers is an excellent way to begin your self-introduction. Next, express your gratitude to the interviewers for calling you for the job interview. The first part of your self-introduction should be about who you are and where you live. For instance, you can say, “My name is Leonardo, and I am from San Francisco”.

2. Let Your Interviewers Know About Your Educational Background

Without expanding more on your personal details, talk about your educational background if you are a fresh graduate. Tell your interviewers the name of your school, college/university, and the academic degree you have. State your Cumulative Grade Points Average if you think it is worth mentioning otherwise, refrain from discussing grades. You should also mention the projects you have completed, if any, and the certifications you have acquired related to the position for which you are applying.

3. An Alternate Approach for Seasoned Professionals

4. A Line or Two on Your Passions and Hobbies

5. The Vital Closing Statement

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How To Impress The Interviewer Other Factors To Consider

Dress the part: It is important to dress appropriately for an interview, so that your prospective employer feels that you are a conventional as well as proficient individual. Refer to Job Interview Attire .

Be confident: Be self-assured. When you are self-assured, you would undoubtedly have a better chance of making the right impression.This could be noticed in many ways, such as a rigid hand shake, an optimistic stance, a pleasant/conspicuous smile, in addition to sustaining eye contact.

Calm down: Though the job interview is crucial to your career success, it is advisable not to be too nervous, as this could send a wrong message about yourself. It is recommended to stay focused and not stressed. Refer to How To Relax Before An Interview.

Last but not the least, as soon as the interview concludes, it is worthwhile to send the interviewer a polite thank-you note and this can be done after a day or so, following the interview.

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Introduce Yourself And Respond To Tell Me About Yourself

How to Present Yourself in an Interview

Typically youll be seated in a room to wait until your interviewer comes to meet you. You may want to use this time to get out your pen and paper for notes, take a drink of water and a couple of deep breaths to relax your body. When your interviewer enters the room, greet them confidently by standing up, extending your hand to shake theirs, stating your name and smiling.

Its likely that your interviewer knows the role you are applying for and has seen your resume. Still, you should prepare a short statement to make sure youre they know who you are and what role youre applying for. Something like,

Its great to meet with you to talk about the associate role on your events team.

Once introductions have been made, you can give them a hard copy of your resume, if they dont already have one. You will likely exchange a few pleasantries and get into the interview questionsespecially if theyve got a busy day. If they begin the conversation, let them take the lead.

If theres a bit of silence, dont be afraid to lead with your own elevator pitch that quickly summarizes your professional background and interest in the job. Heres an example that someone applying for a graphic design position might use:

Im a graphic designer with over five years of experience specializing in creating beautiful, unique website experiences that make users time with a brand more enjoyable. Im looking forward to growing my management skills to hopefully develop and inspire a team of my own.

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Putting It All Together

Ultimately, with all of the information above, you should have a pretty good idea of how to introduce yourself in a job interview. Use all of the tips to your advantage and, once you craft a solid response, practice it over and over until it feels natural. That way, your first impression will be stellar, allowing you to stand out from the crowd for all of the right reasons.

Good luck!

Introducing Yourself At A Video Interview

When you’re interviewing via video, be sure to arrive at the meeting slightly early, so you’re sure all your technology is in working order. Arriving late is one of the Zoom interview mistakes you don’t want to make.

Look directly at the camera, and try to keep your focus on the camera during the interview. That’s how you’ll make eye contact with your interviewer. The interviewer will start the meeting by introducing themself. After the interviewer’s introduction, you can reply with a simple introduction of your own:

  • Hi. I’m Sylvia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
  • Hello , I’m Katie, and I’m looking forward to talking with you.
  • I’m Jason. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.

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Tell Me About Yourself Sample Answers

Thats all great in theory, but what would a solid answer actually sound like? Check out these examples from Zhang, Dea, and Campos.

Stav is the deputy editor at The Muse, where she covers careers and work with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Before joining The Muse, Stav was a staff writer at Newsweek, and her work has also appeared in publications including The Atlantic, The Forward, and Newsday. Stav earned a B.A. in history with a minor in dance at Stanford University and holds an M.S. from Columbia Journalism School. She won the Newswomen’s Club of New York’s Martha Coman Front Page Award for Best New Journalist in 2016. She prefers sunshine and tolerates winters grudgingly. You can find her on and and can visit her website here.

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