Tell Me About Yourself: How to Create the Perfect Career Story
Posted July 15, 2013 & filed under Interviewing
Two weeks ago I wrote about how not to answer the “tell me about yourself” interview question. To follow up on this important issue, this post discusses a great way to answer this tricky question and make sure you start off your interview with a bang.
Every career has a beginning, middle, and end. Just like a story, the answer to the “tell me about yourself” question should consist of a well thought out, honest, and fascinating mini-telling of your history in this particular field. It should be short and to the point, taking no more than 2-3 minutes to tell. You don’t want to drone on and lose the hiring manager right out of the gate. Although this should be specific to your career experiences, there is a structure that you can follow to make it stand out and deliver the greatest impact possible.
The Three Act Structure
The foundation of modern storytelling consists of what is known as the Three Act Structure. This structure, which guides a protagonist through a series of events, is broken into three segments: The Setup, The Confrontation, and The Resolution. Hitting each of these plot points will allow you to tell an interesting story about your career, the trials you have faced, and how you overcame them.
Act I: The Setup (30-45 Seconds)
The Setup introduces the audience to the protagonist of the story, describes the world in which he or she resides in, and introduces a problem that must be overcome. These are some of the first words you will be saying to the hiring manager, so make them count.
Quickly describe what attracted you to this particular career path. Make it as personal to you as possible. Was there an inciting incident in your life that made you realize that this is what you wanted to do? Were you involved in another industry before you made the switch? What is the ultimate goal that you want to achieve?
Act II: The Confrontation (60-90 Seconds)
The second act is the longest of the three and contains the most detail. It depicts the series of steps that the protagonist takes to reach his or her ultimate goal. This rising action should contain most of the meat from your story and should bring your audience up to speed in your career. It should leave off right at the moment of this interview.
Remember to show, not tell, how your best qualities have allowed you to overcome some career obstacles. Your good qualities should speak for themselves. Do not simply state that you are a great problem solver. Instead, lay out a complex problem that you have faced in your career and how you overcame it. This will actively establish your problem solving skills without you ever having to utter any of the cliché adjectives.
Act III: The Resolution (30-45 Seconds)
The third act ties up all loose ends to the story and should leave the protagonist with a new sense of self. After the climax of the story the main character should have a new outlook on life as well as a new goal to reach.
This is where the job you are interviewing for comes into play. It should be made specifically clear to the hiring manager that this position will play a vital role in your new careers goals. Explain why you are sitting in this room right now applying for this job. How will this position help you to achieve your goals?
Laying out a compelling story that features some of your best qualities is the best possible start to any interview. If first impressions decide the tone of the interview, then why should the first words you say be any different?
By Kevin Withers
