What Does It Mean When an Interviewer Asks You To "Tell Me About Yourself?"

Question from the reader mailbag: "A lot of interviews seem to start out with the, 'so, tell us about yourself' type of question. Is it better to start with the early years (training, etc.) and work up to today and why I'm perfect for this job? Or is it better to start with what I've been doing most recently and follow the path backwards to show how I got here?"

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During job interviews, I hated being asked by interviewers to "Tell me about yourself." The question is painful for so many reasons:

• It's vague, and wide open to interpretation.
• You don't know specifically what the interviewer wants to know about you. Are they interested in your work history? Or are they interested in the fact that you ran around wearing little more than red and white body paint at every college hockey game? A wrong gamble could toss you out of the running.
• It is, quite frankly, a lazy question. It requires no imagination or planning on the part of the interviewer, and places the burden squarely on you to make of it what you can.

I also have a confession - when I had to run into an interview with a job candidate, and I had little time to prepare, I asked this question, too. Sorry, Momma.

What do you do?

The good news is, it's an opportunity to direct the interview in a favorable direction. In my opinion, the best strategy is the "elevator speech" approach.

An elevator speech, in case you haven't heard the term, refers to a short sales pitch that can be delivered in the brief time of an elevator ride with your intended target.

As an example, let's say you devised an incredible process for converting used candy wrappers to gold. Then, let's say you miraculously find yourself in an elevator ride with the president of a major candy company. The ride in the elevator might last about a minute, at most. How can you sell your idea to the president in that time that will make her excited to invest in your candy wrapper-to-gold idea?

Now, let's transfer the concept to a job hunter. What can you offer an employer that makes you unique, and will steer the conversation in a direction to highlight the value you bring to the table?

Let's say you're a teacher interviewing for a tenure-track educator position at a school district. The conversation might look something like this:

Interviewer: So, tell me about yourself (yawns).

Job Hunter: I would be glad to. I am a highly skilled and experienced educator, with over ten years of experience in changing the lives of young students for the better. My teaching methods have been recognized as highly progressive and current in my field, and I currently hold the latest state certifications. In addition, I have experience mentoring students in not just the classroom setting, but through my leadership in extracurricular activities such as coaching the soccer team and academic tutoring.

Interviewer: (Perking up) Very interesting! As you know, we have a teaching position available, but we also lost our last soccer coach who succumbed to a fatal case of pinkeye!

Think about what makes you unique and exciting to a hiring manager. Then polish it into your very own elevator speech. Then you'll be ready when this doozy of a question comes your way.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Why Do Companies Advertise Job Openings When They Plan to Hire Internally?

Answers to your Questions

Question from the mailbag: "Why do companies post openings when they know they are going to hire someone internally? I have lost out to many positions because the company already had an internal candidate in mind. The companies I have applied to are big and small, public and private.  I have started to ask if there are any internal candidates applying for this role and the answer is usually yes."

I love this question, because it addresses a widespread frustration among job seekers. Remarkably, there are several reasons why a company may post a job opening to the outside world while they have an internal applicant in the wings:

• Company policy requires them to post every job. Every. Single. One. The bad news is, this frustrates external candidates to no end. The good news is that the company values internal movement and promotion of employees over external applicants, and gives internal applicant a chance at mobility. Should you get the job, at least you know you hit a high bar and you'll get the same consideration for future opportunities.
• Union rules. Some collective bargaining agreements have it written into their contracts with companies that all jobs be posted for internal employees.
• The company wants to see who else is out there. Maybe the internal employee is good - but not thatgood. Often the posting rules indicate that, all qualifications being equal, the internal employee receives the nod. But if the external applicant holds better qualifications, the outsider gets the job.
• The hiring manager hopes a specific internal employee will apply. Sometimes the internal employee may be asked to apply, but ultimately decides she's happy in her current role. It happens. And if the company hadn't advertised outside, they wouldn't have any candidates in the pipeline.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Effectively Manage Your Time to a New Job

Following is a guest post by Laurie Turner, an employment and career counselor with Jewish Community Services of South Florida, a social services agency which is the largest non-profit [501(c)(3)] Jewish social service agency in South Florida, JCS provides critical help in the community, such as care management for frail seniors; counseling for families in crisis; and employment skills for developmentally disabled adults. Laurie also works with JworksMiami, an employment service which helps match job-seekers and employers.

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Looking for a new job? Not getting paid to do it? If you take your job search seriously, you may realize sooner or later that you have a new full time job for which you are not getting paid.   There may be a direct correlation between the amount of effort you put into searching for a new position and how long it takes you to find one!  So, how do you approach your job search?  Do you wake up in the morning, get dressed, have breakfast and hit the ground running?  Consider planning your day’s activities to include some time at your computer searching for postings, time attending networking events and some time with friends and family to let them know what you are seeking.  Make sure you have developed your “elevator pitch” so you can articulate, in a concise manner, the type of position you are seeking whenever you have the opportunity.

Applying to 100 positions per week? It is probably impossible to do a thorough job of applying to this quantity of jobs. Consider applying to less than 10 and do it properly.  You can research the company or look on linked in to see if anyone you are connected to has a connection with the company.  If you find a possible connection and a position that is a good fit, reach out to see if the person can refer you to Human Resources. Many companies offer their employees an incentive if someone they refer is hired.  You could be doing the employee a favor and helping your own cause at the same time.  Submit a version of your resume and cover letter that best markets you for the position you are applying for.  If you are invited for an interview, prepare, prepare, prepare.

Figure out how to distinguish yourself from the pack. Prepare to answer standard interview questions but also take the opportunity to reveal a little about yourself that will make the interviewer remember you.  Email and snail mail a thank you note.  You will certainly be noticed! Use the thank you note to tell anything you may have forgotten to share during the interview.   There are sample resumes, cover letters and thank you notes on the internet.   Don’t take shortcuts!  Go through the above steps for a week or two and see if you are able to jump-start your job search.  If you are stuck, get unstuck!  Keep a positive attitude, try to relax, exercise, take care of yourself (i.e. eat well and get enough sleep)!  Hopefully, sooner or later, you will get the results you are looking for!