During an interview, you may be asked several questions that seem to have nothing to do with the
actual job position, such as behavioral questions or questions to test your common sense or questions that tell more about your personality. One of the several questions that an interviewer may ask at the beginning of an interview is...So, “Tell me a bit about yourself.”
How do you answer that? Do you tell them about your family or how many pets you have? No, it would not be appropriate at this time to speak on those topics. However, this is a great time to give your 30-second elevator speech.
The ideal answer to this question is that you want to answer ‘who you are, who you serve and how you have added value in the positions you have served in. Be vigilant of the audience you are speaking to and only mention what is relevant to that specific job.
A good example of a response to “Tell me a bit about yourself” is: I’m a sales and marketing executive
who assists start-up companies gain a competitive edge, and bring new and innovative products to the market. I have excellent analytical skills and one of my strengths is identifying and implementing new sales and marketing opportunities. In the last year, was able to assist 10 companies meet and exceed their sales goals and exceeded my sales quota by 35%.
Don’t tell your whole life story, in this aspect, less is more. The rest of the information that the
interviewer will need to know about you, will come during the interview process. Remember to be clear, concise, and brief in speaking about yourself and how you can and have added value within the
positions you have worked in.