You have been called for an interview, which means that you have already beaten
80% of applicants. Now you just need to outperform the other interviewees to secure an offer. This seems like positive odds, yet the majority of candidates will stumble when the interviewer asks “tell me about yourself?”
Because this question is generally proffered as an opening gambit, the impulse is often to overshare about interests and hobbies, which, while adding colour, is not likely to win you the role.
It’s a hard to answer question because it appears to lack direction or context. However, understanding what the interviewer is getting at is vital. They do want you to tell them about yourself, but crucially, they only want to know about the work-related
you.
A succinct and informative answer about your professional experience to date is what is needed here, keeping in mind that this question is tailored to help the hiring manager understand how you communicate, your working style and a bit about your personality.
You should go into any interview assuming this question will be asked, and have a well prepared ready to go. Here’s how:
1. Sell your value
The interviewer wants to know what you will bring to the role and to the company as a whole. Identify the value you can bring to the job that other candidates don’t have. Know your selling points and use the question as an opportunity to state them clearly
and obviously to the interviewer.
Use this as a chance to initially lay out your most relevant skills and career achievements, but keep it short and simple. Think of your stock answer to this question as an elevator pitch––aim to sell yourself and your career in under thirty seconds.
2. Prep examples
“Tell me about yourself” is a jumping-off point for further in-depth discussions about your skills, capabilities and experience, so it’s essential that you have several examples already prepared.
While this is a highlight reel of your best work, try to work in some examples of how you deal with conflict, learn from mistakes and motivate teams. These are all selling points, especially in senior roles.
3. Express interest
Good interview prep also involves doing research on the company so this is your opportunity to showcase that and link the company’s ethos with your own. Speak about past experiences, plans for progression and link both back to the company’s plans––proving
that you know and understand their vision, and that you are aligned with it.
If you are interviewing for new roles or looking for the next step in your career, the
Finextra Job Board is a great place to start. It’s full of opportunities with leading companies across all sectors and experience levels. Discover three roles highlighted below.
Full Stack Web Developer - Marketing, Flipdish (London)
Role: As
Full Stack Developer with
Flipdish you will partner with design and product marketing to build out the website in a way that tells a strong story to takeaways and independent restaurants across the world.
Responsibilities: You will ensure the development as well as the HTML integration of pages and content in Craft CMS while working with designers to integrate their Figma prototypes as faithfully as possible, and ensure the technical feasibility of UI/UX
designs.
Requirements: You will have proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and other relevant web technologies. Experience with Craft CMS, Hubspot, and Google Analytics highly desirable.
Apply for the
Full Stack Web Developer role or browse all available opportunities with
Flipdish.
UX Copywriter, Zilch (London)
Role: As a
UX Copywriter with
Zilch you will be working alongside product designers, product managers, category managers, and developers on short and long-term projects where collaboration is key.
Responsibilities: You will be working to write precise, smart, and on-brand copy for the company’s app interface to create a genuinely meaningful and engaging customer experience.
Requirements: You have a BA preferably in communications, English, writing, or media studies, a strong and diverse UX writing portfolio, and experience in collaborating with product designers.
Apply for the
UX Copywriter role or browse all opportunities with
Zilch.
Lead Data Scientist, Zopa Limited (London)
Role: As
Lead Data Scientist at
Zopa you will be responsible for all machine learning and statistical models across the company, with applications in credit decisioning, fraud detection, customer engagement, and operations strategy.
Responsibilities: You will work with the wider team to lead and coordinate the cross-functional efforts to deliver data science related projects ensuring a high standard of quality and governance of the models and data products.
Requirements: You will have strong analytical and problem solving skills, in-depth knowledge of ML algorithms and extensive knowledge of the full ML development lifecycle including: experiment design, feature engineering, HPO, validation, deployment, and
monitoring.
Apply for the
Lead Data Scientist role or browse all available opportunities with
Zopa.
Browse the Finextra Job Board and discover dozens of opportunities.