The Data Point #10: Crafting the Perfect Intro for Your Interviews

“Tell me about yourself.”

It’s a common interview prompt but one that can stop us in our tracks if we’re not prepared for it.

Many an interview has been derailed from the very start due to sloppy, anxious, drawn-out answers to this interview prompt.

The reason this one can get us is due to the open-ended nature of the question. We don’t know whether to say a little or a lot, how far to go back, or how much to say about ourselves.

However, answer this prompt well and you’ve created a solid start to your interview, put your best foot forward, and opened up talking points to return to throughout the interview.

I have 5 key suggestions for how to craft a well-worded “About me.”

1 | Prepare ahead of time

It sounds simple, but preparation is the most important step here. Expect the question and write out your introduction in advance.

Note: I would not recommend reading it verbatim from your notes during the interview. Rather, have the general outline memorized and the key points you’d like to touch on.

I find that writing this out helps you to organize your thought and get a gauge of how long your answer will be.

Overall, expecting the “Tell me about yourself” prompt to come up with make sure you’re not blindsided by it. Even if it doesn’t outright get asked, you can find moments early on in your interview to talk about yourself anyways.

2 | Keep it 3-5 minutes

There is nothing worse than rambling in an interview.

I’ve heard of folks who drone on for 20 minutes talking about themselves at the very start of the interview.

I say this often, but brevity is always best.

Brevity is being able to say what you need to say in as few words as possible while still being effective. This is why I recommend keeping your answer to 3-5 minutes.

Remember that you’re just giving an overview during this portion of the interview. Highlight key points, but don’t overshare.

The interviewer can always ask you more questions about something you’ve said if they’re interested. If they’re not interested, but you ramble anyways, then not only have you wasted time in the interview, but you’ve also likely bored them.

Keep it brief, yet powerful. Again, writing out your response ahead of time will help you to gauge this.

3 | Make your answer plot-driven

Having a narrative and exercising your storytelling skills will serve you well here.

By “plot-driven” I mean sharing what has moved you from stage to stage throughout your career journey. Don’t get bogged down by details too much.

For me, I pivoted to data from another career so when I describe this transition I make sure to highlight what inspired the move and briefly share how I did it.

Make your story interesting by emphasizing these key points of your narrative. Don’t just say, “ I wanted to work in data so I started applying for data jobs.”

Rather, say something like “My previous role required elements of data analysis, like reporting and Excel dashboards. As I began taking data courses I realized how much I loved it and knew it was the career path for me!”

Maintaining a plot-driven narrative in your response will help you keep your story interesting.

4 | Emphasize relevancy

I like to compare this to writing your resume. Like a resume, you don’t want to be exhaustive, (remember, brevity wins). Instead, you want this to be a highlight reel and keep all details relevant.

Point out things you’ve done that relate to the role you’re applying for.

Let’s go back to the example of someone interviewing for their first data job. When speaking about previous roles, direct attention towards the things you did that could translate to data analytics. If you were a teacher, how did you analyze grades to measure student performance? Share about things like that.

5 | Relax

This is something I need to always remind myself of. It helps me to slow down and not take the situation too seriously.

Tell yourself that this is just a conversation and that you’re just getting to know each other.

When sharing your story, do it with confidence. It is your story after all!

Take some deep breaths and a moment of quiet before beginning the interview and consciously remain calm.

I know that when I get too anxious I start to talk too fast and ramble. Because of this, I have to be very intentional about relaxing. When I do, I’m much more well-spoken and my thoughts are more collected. I even talk slower to give myself that physical cue!

In summary, nailing the intro piece of your interview will set you up to have a great conversation with our potential employer.

Prepare ahead of time, keep it short yet powerful, make it plot-driven, stay relevant, and relax!

That’s it for this week.

See you next time ✌️

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

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