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How To Answer The Dreaded "Tell Me About Yourself" Interview Question

Kara Luton on March 25, 2019

So, you’ve landed an interview with a company you’ve been dreaming about working at. You sit down and after some small chat the interviewer says “t...
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Maria Zaitseva

I actually like this question because it allows me to speak about whatever I want and try to connect that to how I can be valuable for the company.

I love the "find your quirk" advice. I think that's my tactic, too, because when answering this question I usually talk about my background to mention my diverse coding experience and emphasize my adaptability and willingness to learn new stuff.

You could also use that question as an opportunity to speak about your values. People are usually impressed by that!

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Kara Luton

I agree! This question is so open ended and allows you to get ahead of any questions the interviewer may have.

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Jaaki

When an interviewer asks this question, it tells me immediately that they were lazy in preparing questions and are just using generics.

My reply to this question is, "I don't have time to tell you my whole life story, do you have something specific you want to know?"

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Kara Luton

I don’t think this is a lazy question to ask at all. It’s a great way to start the conversation on a lighter note and learn a little more about the candidate besides what is on their resume.

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Jaaki

I have asked that question before, but it is mostly heard from someone in HR that doesn't necessarily know anything about the technical aspects that dev roles require , and for the most part you get some pre thought out answer that the candidate thinks you want to hear.

The goal when interviewing is to get an insight into the candidate's thought process, and thus a focused and properly directed question can teach you much more about the individual than a rhyme they memorised.

So, if you want to know about their values, their hobbies, their interests, ask them directly.

But, if it works for you, then by all means :D

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Gualtiero Frigerio

I'm ok with this questions, while I hate the "tell me about your greatest weakness" that usually follows.

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Robin Palotai

The stock answer is to take a strength and put it as a weekness, like "Sometimes I have a hard time stopping until the problem is completely solved". If you want to play the game, you should use this. If you just don't care or have confidence otherwise, admit some true weakness (anyone ever does that)?

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Andrei Rusu

Yeah, that's a face palm moment. The sheer arrogance that this exhibits it's really bewildering. It's almost an insult.

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Kara Luton

I agree! That’s the one question I definitely don’t like since it doesn’t really tell you anything about a candidate.

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Scott Simontis

It definitely depends on the intentions of the interviewer, but I find that it's a really good question to judge someone's humility. Everyone sucks at something, and being able to admit it without shame is really important in the workplace sometimes. There's a lot of times I will let pride take over and go into overdrive to finish a project when I could have avoided hours of stress, frustration and anxiety by just admitting to my manager that I totally lost track of time this week or getting someone to help review my code.

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Andrei Rusu

That's a very annoying question that always puts me off. It's not even a question, it's an invitation to tell them your life story.

I think the best answer would be something to what George Costanza did: youtube.com/watch?v=s8WbxUZbOPQ.

But seriously, I just reply now with "Ok, what would you like to know?".

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Kara Luton

This is exactly my point in this article though. You shouldn’t be telling your life story. You should be crafting an answer that will set the interview out on the right foot and leave a memorable impression.

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theodoros klikas

Just tell them about you would be my answer. Not sure what the best strategy is but I think being relaxed and honest during an interview is key for its outcome.

It is one of those questions where there is no wrong answer to me. Of course you kinda have to put your answer within your professional/experience spectrum and not start talking about how you met your other half most probably but still I find it is a good opening question to "break the ice", start the interview in a relaxed fashion and try to connect with the interviewer.

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Sébastien Vercammen

Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
You: Sure thing. There's a lot we could talk about. What do you want to hear about first?

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vladimir.dev

Good tips! I've always struggled with this one.