You know that you can predict 90% of what will come upon most interviews yet still many of us struggle to confidently answer the #1 job interview question, tell me about yourself.
This episode talks about a new approach to maximise the first impression you have, listen on Spotify, Apple, Google play. Get the scripts below.
The New Way is Better
Now, this is going to contradict probably everything you’ve ever done or been told. The number one mistake people make is chronologically running through your CV.
You start by talking through your first job and why you decided to take a second. The situations you found yourself in. And before you know it, 5 minutes have passed and you haven’t really sold your recent relevant experience. And perhaps you mentioned some career moves you weren’t entirely happy with. But the interviewer is ready to move on.
I want to turn this on its head. Every leader and hiring manager we spoke to, said the best candidates are those who start with telling me their recent relevant experience and why this makes them suitable.
Don’t worry if you feel that you’ll miss out on sharing your CV, first off they have it right in front of them, you’ll also be able to sneak your best examples in anywhere and thirdly many interviewers still use it as a prompt.
And remember this is an answer that will evolve overtime.
In fact, one peice of advice from a CIO said that you need to rewrite the backstory for each new role as if it were always meant to be.
The Confidence Vibe
Now tell me are you guilty of underselling yourself? Like somehow there’s a voice in your head, saying you’re not as good as you thought. You can’t be too boastful, it’s cocky, or you had help from a team so you can’t claim the credit.
These little doubts can come across in your answers and give the hiring manger the impression that even you don’t beleive you can do the job.
A little quote once said you need 4 times as much confidence in yourself to persuade someone else.
That’s why it’s one of the core pillars in the 3D Success framework, it’s so important to so much of what you do.
In this episode, I share two examples of how to answer this question taking relevant experience and tying it to the job.
Scripts
You can download example scripts for a Data Engineer, Data Scientist and Head of Data below:
If you are currently interviewing for your next role then I wish you lots of success.
Don’t forget to check out our empowering program to help you be the master of successful interviews.
To your net job move, Sue 🙂
