What you should not say

"Tell me about yourself" doesn’t mean “give me your complete history from birth until today.”  It doesn’t even mean “walk me through your work history.” It means “give me a brief overview of who you are as a professional.”

Interviewers who ask this question are generally looking to get a broad overview of how you see yourself, as a sort of introduction or an icebreaker before starting to dive into the specifics. 

• Summarize where you are in your career, note anything distinctive about how you approach your work and end with a bit about what you’re looking for next.
• Your answer only needs to be about 1 minute long.
• Don’t drag yourself. This isn’t the time to explain you were fired from your last job or to confess your difficulties finding the right career path.
• Keep your focus professional, not personal.

It might be a good idea to share something about yourself that is doesn't relate directly to your career. 

For example, interests like running might represent that you are healthy and energetic. Pursuits like being an avid reader might showcase your intellectual leaning. Volunteer work will demonstrate your commitment to the welfare of your community.

This is a simple formula to construct your response.

• Start with a short overview of where you are now (which could include your current job along with a reference to a personal hobby or passion).
• Reference how you got to where you are (you could mention education, or an important experience, internship or volunteer experience).
• Finish by describing a probable goal for the future.

The conventional expert opinion is to provide a crisp, 30 second to 1-minute answer to the question "Tell me about yourself", but one minute isn’t enough time to deliver a meaningful response that benefits you as a candidate.

Experts prefer a short answer, as it has less chance of leading the candidate to drift or ramble.

• A longer answer to "Tell me about yourself" allows you to provide a useful narrative beyond the résumé.
• It lets you reveal key motivations that drove your career path.
• You can shape the interview in your direction.
• It's an opportunity to stand out from the other candidates.

• Present: Talk a little bit about what your current role is, the scope of it, and possibly a recent achievement.
• Past: Tell the interviewer how you got there and/or mention a past experience that’s relevant to the job and company you’re applying for.
• Future: Continue with what you’re looking to do next and why you’re interested in this job.

Interviewers want to know how your answer about yourself is relevant to the position and company you’re applying for.

This is an opportunity to articulate why you’re interested and how your objective fulfills their goals. In order to do that, spend some time researching the company. If your answers resonate with them, it shows that you really understand the role.

Communication encompasses not only speaking skills, but also your ability to lead, critique, and ask for help. Being adept in various communication methods also shows emotional intelligence.

Time management is more than just completing tasks on time. An employer cares about how you spend the time leading up to a deadline as well.

Demonstrate your strength in this area by sharing how you prioritize your daily tasks.
Using the 80/20 rule for project prioritization can show how you best schedule your time to give your full attention to critical project tasks.

If you feel there is fog ahead of you due to opacity in the interview process and the multiple rounds, you can simply ask the next steps of the process and the timeline for a decision.

If you think the employer has an elongated set of rounds ahead, request to consolidate them if possible.

Instead of bluffing your way through a question that you are completely stumped with, it is better to be upfront and handle it with honesty and grace. Tell them straight away that you do not know the answer to this question and what similar things you have done which have been effective.

Your life experiences are unique and not identical to what the interviewer is trying to ‘slot’ you into.

• Prepare a brief summary of the high points of each of your past positions, but do not turn it into a very long monologue that makes the interviewer glaze over with information overload.
• You do not have to brag, but don't rely on the interviewer to see past your humble exterior and figure out how great you are. Find a way to present yourself to your full advantage.
• This is not the time to talk about all your personal details. Focus on who you are as a professional.
• Because this question can be interpreted in many ways, do not be overwhelmed by it. Delve right in with your prepared answers.

• Address what your primary selling points are for this job. The number of years of experience or special skill.  Focus on the qualifications in the job description and how you meet and exceed it.
• Explain why you are interested in this position. 

Skim their history on LinkedIn, then move way down to the bottom. If they have endorsements and recommendations, it can give you a feel for their management style.

Twitter can help you guess at an interviewer's personality, interests, and values.

Your interviewer will probably open with some form of "Tell me a little about yourself." Plan your answer using a few quick bullet points to keep things brief en then commit it loosely to memory.

• Skip your personal history.
• Give two or three sentences about your career path.
• Mention how you decided to apply to this job.
• Leave enough curiosity that the interviewer becomes excited to learn more about you.

Have an introduction and a concise story to tell about your work history. Stack questions are mostly inappropriate here but you can ask the following:

Prepare well for this. At the end of the meeting, they should ask if you have questions and you can ask as many as you need to help you decide to work there or not. You can use that to build rapport if the interview was a little off.