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• How to answer the question, “Tell me about yourself?” It is a poor question because it is completely non-specific, but it is often the first sentence out of many interviewers' mouths and can set the tone for the whole interview. This is also the one question that many consider it poor to ask for clarification on, the assumption being this is the opportunity for you to let the company know what you can do and you should be able to tell them. Be ready for it by preparing a three sentence reply:
1) Sum up your career history in an overview sentence, mentioning only the company names most pertinent to the type of job you are pursuing.
2) Identify your single best accomplishment that highlights your ability for positive impact.
3) State your career goal, again tailored to the company with which you are interviewing.
• Specifics, not generalities. When outlining your past achievements, do not use general statements. Simply stating you did a task is not sufficient. A company wants to know how you improved performance and what makes you a valuable employee to have. Use specific and tangible terms to qualify your work, such as size of budget managed or amount of money saved, percentage of sales increase, number of pieces turned out or increase in quality control or safety measures. This information clearly shows what you are capable of doing compared to other applicants.
• Ask for clarification if you do not understand the question. It is perfectly fine to ask the interviewer to repeat or rephrase a question if you are unsure what information is being sought. Any interviewer would rather provide that clarification rather than sit through an answer which serves no purpose.
• Do not volunteer more information than is pertinent to the question asked. Many candidates have talked themselves right out of a job by doing this. Be wary of becoming either over-comfortable (the interviewer is not your newest friend), or over-eager to tell all the great qualities you have. If the interview goes well, you should have sufficient time to thoroughly cover all details and since you want them talking to you, there’s no point in dropping an overload of information at once.
• Never make negative comments about former employers. Doing so instantly makes the interviewer wonder what the other side of the story may be, wonder what you may be saying about them before long if you get hired, and labels you as a complainer. Besides, you never know who knows who…
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