How to answer “Tell me about yourself” and stand out in an interview

Set the tone of your interview by preparing an elevator pitch.

“Tell me about yourself” is a frequently asked question to get the conversation started or break the ice in an interview. This question usually sets the direction of the interview. Even though this is an expected question and seems like an easy one, most of us get stumped. The challenge with this question is that it is open-ended and broad.

The trickiest part about the question is you have 60 seconds to make an impression that will drive your entire interview and hold the interviewer's attention. The interviewer probably has tasks to get back to, which might be keeping their attention. We are humans, and we get distracted. You have this one sorted out, and you don’t have to ramble on answering this, and you can set your confidence for the rest of the interview.

I had a love-hate relationship with this question myself. As soon as I hear this question, Um, What do I tell myself now? What do you actually want to know? Do I share about my current role? Do I share all my experiences? How long should I keep it? Where do I even start? My brain used to run in a spiral of thoughts, and I always ended up sounding like,

“Hi, I’m a Potato. Blah Blah Blah… Blah Blah Blah”

I decided to change my elevator pitch. I read “60 Seconds, and you are hired”, watched videos on behavioral interview questions, practiced in front of a mirror.

Here’s how I breakdown the answer to this question,

1. Talk about your present role — One recent big accomplishment. Scope of your role and the project. Any mentorship opportunities you had in your role.
2. Talk about your past — your experience before your current, your education.
3. Add a personal touch — the things you do outside of your work. Your hobbies, your interests, or the communities/causes you are a part of.

Current graduates, I see you, and you are my favorite people; my view on the above points for you.

1. Talk about your school, the courses you take and are favorite, internships, and challenging projects. Also, add the learnings and accomplishments from your internship and projects.
2. Talk about your goals and vision of your career.
3. Add a personal touch — the things you do outside of your school. Your hobbies, your interests, or the communities/causes you are a part of.

The “personal touch” is one thing most of us are hesitant about and one of the exciting things I like to share. I believe it makes you stand out from the rest of the candidates. Don’t think of this question as one-sided; think of this question as a conversation starter to build a connection and an opportunity to make that first impression. It works magic and definitely adds to your confidence.

Following the above pointers below is a template I’ve written for my elevator pitch,

Hello, I’m Sphoorthi. I’m a software engineer with a little over 3 years of experience. I was a part of three major launches at Ford and delivered notable results. I work for teams that provide services to Ford Mobility Platforms. Being the core at Ford Mobility systems, my job involves collaborating with multiple technical teams. I have also worked with new engineers and helped them understand our business model and communication between different services. As much as I enjoy individual contributions, working in a pair programming environment helped me build my team player skills. My work involves building microservices using Java, SpringBoot, Kotlin. I also have experience working with databases like MongoDB and SQL. Outside of work, you will find me attending Tech clubs, Women in tech communities, connecting with STEM community members from different companies, and learning about their journeys. This has helped me implement and bring back few important contributions to the team.

Feel free to use the above template as an example to write your own elevator pitch.

Now that you’ve prepared your elevator pitch. You don’t have to read your written template out every time. Follow the below three tips to avoid sounding like you memorized it,

• Practice saying this in front of a mirror (trust me, it’s easy to ramble in front of your mirror than in the interview),
• Practice it with a friend.
• Skim through it before your interview. Again just the gist of it, you don’t have to know it by heart.

Practice gives you confidence in believing in your own journey. The more you practice, the more you improvise it and sound more authentic and interesting.

I hope this helps you to find confidence in delivering your elevator pitch. Give some of your best tips for an elevator pitch.