Tell Me About Yourself

You've walked in to the interviewer's office, introduced yourself, and exchanged handshakes. You sit down, and... what's the first question from the interviewer? More often than not, it's going to be Tell me about yourself.

A lot of people treat this as a softball question, intended to let you get comfortable. That's wrong. Your answer will give the interviewer his / her first impression of you. First impressions count!

Don't tell him about yourself!

This isn't speed dating; it's a job interview. The hiring manager's goal here is to learn two things: 1) Can you do the job, and 2) Can (s)he stand having you in the office everyday. Maybe (s)he's interested in your growth potential, down the road.

Understand his / her interests, and address them. Maybe don't make it obvious - but speak to the issues at hand.

Keep it professional. Nothing about your family life; nothing about your hobbies. Nothing, even, about how you've always wanted to work for this company; you're emotional needs are not the hiring manager's responsibility.

Be prepared! The interviewer assumes that you know that this is the first question (s)he's going to ask. If you don't have an answer at the ready, you've made a bad first impression, one of being unprepared.

What to say

I've seen career advisers recommend a chronological professional mini-biography, starting with education, and moving on, job-by-job. I think that this formula is terrible advice. It's almost like reciting your resume from memory. Unless you are entry-level, it's going to be a long and boring answer. You'll be burying your lead.

Tailor your answer to the job. You have seen the job description, and there's obviously something in your resume that led them to call you in for an interview. That's your strongest qualification. That's your lead. Follow it up with your next strongest qualification.

Don't worry about covering everything in your resume. Since you're preparing your answer in expectation of the question, you can rehearse it, and put a stopwatch on it. For Tell me about yourself, you've got a bit more time than an elevator pitch, but not much more. Maybe 45 seconds - 1 minute.

That covers my first point (Can you do the job).

How to say it

To address my second point (Can the hiring manager stand having you in the office everyday), I'm going to have to be subjective. So will the hiring manager. Be prepared to read his / her body language, and adjust.