You Need to Do This in Your Next Interview
There’s one question you will be asked 100% of the time in every interview. It is, “Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?” It’ll be some variation of that question where you’re asked to tell your own story. It happens EVERY time. And it’s usually where most people lose the job.
I get it, for most people this is the most uncomfortable question. People can talk about all sorts of things very well but when asked to talk about themselves, they struggle. If that’s you, let’s fix that.
There are 5 keys to telling your story well and ultimately making sure you start the interview off the right way. And they are:
1. You need to speak with confidence and enthusiasm. There’s nothing you know more about than yourself so be sure to approach this initial question with a confident tone. And realize that if you act bored when you’re telling your story, the interviewer will be bored. Put some energy (and ideally a smile or two) into your story as you tell it.
2. Start your story off by positioning yourself and establishing credibility. People too often jump right into the details of everything they’ve done in their career and the listener is still just trying to understand the big picture. For example, if it were me, I’d start by saying something like, “I’ve worked in marketing and career coaching for the past 20+ years. My expertise is helping people land their dream job. In fact I wrote a book on how to do this called Made To Hire. I’ve also taught in the business school of a major university for the past 10 years. I like to say that my secret power is unlocking potential in others.” That’s an example for me but the key parts to how YOU position yourself would typically include how many years you’ve worked in your area of expertise, what you’re known for, and any specials accomplishments or degrees that will help someone understand you professionally. You want the interviewer thinking, “Wow!” in that first minute.
3. Provide meaningful details. There are so many potential things you could share when you give a few minutes of background about yourself but you need to think about specifically which parts of your story are the most relevant to the job at hand. Share a few examples of the type of work you’ve done and the impact it had. Those examples will likely peak the interviewer’s interest to come back to them with a question later in the interview.
4. Your story needs to emotionally connect with your audience. You need to make the interviewer feel something. By the end of the first 5 minutes, you want them thinking, “I like this person, they’d fit in here, and I feel confident they can do this job.” The rest of the interview is a validation of that initial reaction they have to your story in those first few minutes. What are you going to share in those first few minutes as part of your story, that is going to make them feel something? If it’s just boring details, it won’t happen. For example, when a prospective client is ‘interviewing’ me and I’m telling my story, I always share that I know how tough the job market is and I know how looking for a new job makes even the most confident person question themself. That makes people feel that I get it and that I’ll be part of the solution. What’s your version of that?
5. Connect yourself to the company. Your story should make it seem like it isn’t a coincidence that you’re interviewing for this exact role at this exact company. If you tell your story well, it should seem intentional and almost seamless that you are there. It should feel as if it was meant to be. A great way to do this is to understand the company’s mission and be sure to talk about it and perhaps also share how passionate you are about specific products or services the company offers.
Start your next interview off with a plan for how you’ll tell your story. The results will be very different!