Tell me about yourself.

Always start with the present and try to align it with why you think you are suitable and qualified with the position. The interviewer is not looking for something unique, what he wants is what’s best and most suitable. The key to a successful interview is to match your abilities and qualifications to what is being looked for in a candidate. Of course, if you are applying for a position that you don’t have any experience in, or are new to, the approach would be different. Nevertheless, you would still try to “sell” yourself to fit the position as the interviewer needs to feel he is getting what he needs, with regards to a suitable candidate.

The best way to identify with what the interviewer needs is to know what he wants.

Steps you can take to establish this knowledge:-

Find out all you can about the position, the KRAs assigned and what the company needs in the way of a candidate for the position open.

a - The best possible way to find out how you should be approaching this question is to ask the interviewer him/herself. However, that would be most strange after being asked to speak about you. The best way to approach this is to give general personal and career information before interjecting with a question of your own, asking the interviewer to elaborate on the needs of the position. As a hiring manager the attempt is always made to ensure the candidate volunteers most of the information. However, most interviewers would be most pleased to get the opportunity to speak and would gladly do so if you asked the right question. The actual question would be defined by the variables above.

b - Always try and follow up with a 2nd and possibly a 3rd question to draw out more information. Mind that the questions are relevant to the flow of the conversation. At no point do you want to make the interviewer feel like he/she is at a loss for words.

c - As much as this does not sound easy or feel natural at first, it’s a most suitable way to begin. You could be super qualified for the post but the success of the interview could be affected by the personal stance of the interviewer. This would be the best possible approach and you could align your more difficult to answer questions to the interviewers needs.