Answering 'Tell me about yourself' in a Job Interview – English Speaking

“Tell me about yourself”.

It’s probably THE most

common job interview question.

Unfortunately, most people kill it

with a boring answer.

In a job interview in English,

how can you respond to

“Tell me about yourself”

with an answer that will impress the recruiter,

both with your English skills

and with the answer that you provide.

I’m Christina from Speak Better, Feel Great TV.

The place to boost your English and boost your career.

and today we're going to look at how you can craft your story statement

to start the job interview right and get the job you want.

Ya ready?

So, Mr. Dumont, tell me a little bit about yourself.

Hello, my name is Jean-Claude.

Nice to meet you.

I’m 34 years old.

I live in Grenoble and I work at Cowork Company.

I studied at the Grenoble "Ecole" of Management.

I have my diploma in 2004.

And I'm a sales manager since 3 years

and before I was a..

OK, let’s continue to the next question…

When the interviewer says “Tell me about yourself”,

they want your story.

So don’t just recite your resumé,

Tell them a story.

You may think that this is too difficult for your level in English,

but it’s not as hard as it sounds.

The language doesn’t have to be very advanced,

and the elements of your story just need to be well organized.

You don’t have to include every single detail of your career,

just enough to show that you're a person and a professional.

Here’s a basic structure that you can follow:

First,

Say something about your past.

Then, add an emotion or some tension

Next, include an action

and how it had an impact on your life.

You can include a second action

and how it impacted your life also.

Then, say how or why you arrived in your current situation

Next,

say something about the opportunity that this job offers.

And finally make a connection between the future opportunity

and your past experience.

The interviewer should be able to predict the next “chapter” in your story,

which ideally includes you working at their company.

Of course, you should adapt your story to the job you’re interviewing for.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Feel free to pause this video if you want to read the examples slowly

or note any useful language.

Here’s an example of a job in marketing:

Now, here’s an example of a job from the software industry:

These story statements aren’t very long

about 140 words each

but they allow you to present your past, present, and future in an interesting way.

Even if you didn’t always dream of becoming a quality system manager

or a business support technician,

you’ve probably had experiences that connect your past

to your present

and to your future job that you want.

You simply need to select the right experiences

to tell your story.

Now, it’s your turn.

Share your “story statement” with us

in the comments below.

It’s a great opportunity to get feedback from me

and from other members of the Speak Better, Feel Great community.

Did this video help you prepare your job interview in English?

If you need to develop your English skills to get a better job,

subscribe to my YouTube channel right now.

Or better yet,

go to christinarebuffet.com

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to help you boost your English and boost your career.

I’m Christina, from Speak Better, Feel Great TV.

See ya next time!