Postpone your answer

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 ...

When you're faced with difficult questions, make sure you buy yourself enough time to determine how you want to respond.

Repeating of rephrasing the question could give you some extra time for thinking about how you want to answer.

• 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 th...