Join my global crew of 6-figure professionals at companies like Google, Deloitte. Microsoft and Lululemon to get weekly career strategies and job search tips right to your inbox. These emails are FREE and the strategies I share are taken right from my one-on-one coaching sessions (so I know they work really well).
Tell me about yourself DCL #20
If you've ever been in a job interview, you've probably been asked the question, "Tell me about yourself."It’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll get asked this question at the start of your conversation. But did you know there’s a right and a wrong way to answer this question? Yep. You can say good-bye to a second round interview if you mess this question up. Trust me, I’ve been on the other side and mentally declined a candidate if they couldn’t answer this question well. Why? Well, first impressions matter. Here are 5 ways to NOT answer this question
Ok, now that you know the top 5 ways to NOT answer this question, let’s dive into my recommended “Tell me about yourself” framework that I use with my one-on-one coaching clients. Ready to go? Let’s dive in. Hey, if you're new here and got forwarded this email from a friend, make sure to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any upcoming issues! It's time to tell a storyThis is your opportunity to tell the interviewer who you are, what drives you and why you’re excited to be sitting across from them. It’s your opening act before you dive into the details of your past experiences. That’s why this question is so important to help set the scene of the interview. So, how do we do that? The great storyteller Stan Millar recommends framing your answer like a book with 3 chapters. To tell your story, you convert your experiences into a timeline and give each chapter a name. Then, each chapter in your story includes a: ➝ Goal ➝ Challenge ➝ Defining Moment (fork in the road) ➝ Resolution ➝ New Reality ( bridge to the next chapter) Let’s dive into an example. Breakdown of my "Tell me about yourself" answerMy 3 chapter titles are:
Here's my answer (from a few years ago)… "I like to think of my career in 3 chapters. I call Chapter 1, "New graduate to experienced people leader". My early career goal [GOAL] was to learn as much as I could about Fortune 500 companies as a management consultant before starting my own business. [CHALLENGE] I was hired fresh out of undergrad into a strategy and operations consulting team with a question mark above my head about how well I’d perform on data and analytics projects based on my interviews. I was determined to prove to the team’s leaders and myself that I could successfully deliver modelling and analytics projects. So I requested to be staffed on projects related to the corporate finance function and M&A activities. The first project I was on was challenging. I was thrown in the deep end with limited analytical and financial modelling training. [DEFINING MOMENT] But with the support of my mentors plus long hours behind the scenes, [RESOLUTION] I successfully delivered my first financial assessment to a Fortune 500 company to help them determine which capital project investments they should make. [NEW REALITY] Once I mastered this skill, I threw myself into every leadership position I could find while expanding my network and project experience. I became known as a key player in the office and was requested by partners to support high profile projects due to my client skills. I also led recruitment activities to grow our group on a regional and national basis. Throughout my time in consulting, I led multiple projects worth over +$15M in billings and worked with clients in oil and gas, insurance, banking, consumer goods, public sector and retail industries. But as conversations about my future at the firm started to ramp up, I realized that I wanted more out of my career… That leads me to Chapter Two of my story, "My First Entrepreneurial Adventure"… Later on I joined a startup called Prosper as Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer. Our [GOAL] was to build a platform to help the modern workforce level up their career through exercises, content and asynchronous coaching. We raised seed investment to build our platform and after launch, Prosper was featured by Apple as the App of the Day twice. [CHALLENGE] However, we quickly learned that we didn’t have the monthly marketing budget to continue to fill the top of funnel with enough new prospects in this business model. In response, we pivoted the company to focus on leadership coaching and sold our programs to corporations like lululemon and RBC. This move stabilized the business and we continued to grow. [DEFINING MOMENT] After hitting a sales slump and unable to raise another round of funding, we found ourselves low on cash and made the hard decision to close the business down. [NEW REALITY] We sold the business to a US executive search firm. Chapter 3: Serving Others as Coach & Business Consultant After selling Prosper, [GOAL] I pivoted my career and opened my own coaching and business consulting company. One of my anchor business clients was a startup called bluSPARC. [CHALLENGE] The founders wanted to build a leadership development coaching company and needed a leader who understood the market and how to build a tech-enabled service company. [RESOLUTION] That leader was me. [NEW REALITY] Within 12 months, the founders and I scaled the company to their first multiple 7-figure year, established a team and launched their coaching platform to serve Fortune 500 US-based companies. That leads me to our conversation today..." Benefits of this framework:One of the biggest benefits of this framework is that it's predictable, repeatable and interesting. Did you catch yourself wondering what was going to happen next? Did I hook your attention? Chances are, when you use this framework, you'll have the interviewer's attention hooked too. Now, the interviewer can ask you more questions about each chapter as they see fit. Let's re-cap...To answer the question, "Tell me about yourself", breakdown your professional career into 3 chapters. Give each chapter a name and use the following structure for each chapter:
Your turn! Want more feedback before you hit the interview?Book a FREE Discovery Call H​ERE so we can talk about your goals and how to ace the interview. ​ |
Design a Career You Love
Join my global crew of 6-figure professionals at companies like Google, Deloitte. Microsoft and Lululemon to get weekly career strategies and job search tips right to your inbox. These emails are FREE and the strategies I share are taken right from my one-on-one coaching sessions (so I know they work really well).
A Director I recently coached believed they were fairly compensated. They had been in their role for just over two years. The company valued them. Their performance reviews were strong. Annual raises arrived consistently. Nothing about their situation looked problematic. From the inside, their career appeared stable. Then a recruiter reached out. The conversation led to an interview. The interview led to an offer. And suddenly something became clear. The market was willing to pay roughly...
A Director I worked with recently described a conversation with her manager. For the past 18 months she had delivered strong results. Revenue in her division had grown.Her team was stable and performing well.Cross-functional leaders trusted her. By most normal definitions, she was doing excellent work. So she asked about promotion. Her manager smiled and said: “Keep doing what you're doing.” If you’ve been in corporate leadership long enough, you know this line. It sounds encouraging. But it...
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on an important question: how can I be most effective for the people I work with right now? Many of the professionals I support are tenured, capable, experienced, and already doing most of the “right” things in their career. They don’t need more tactics or more activity. And yet, when important career decisions appear, momentum slows. As I’ve looked closely at where clarity actually returns, one theme keeps emerging. What makes the difference is not execution:It’s...