Tell me something about yourself?

This is one of the most important questions of any interview or any “on the spot” introduction. Unfortunately, candidates provide less focus towards the preparation in this section. A sound and thoughtful approach can help someone in myriad ways, which can enable him to create a long lasting first impression. What exactly should be included in “About yourself”. I strongly believe that it should not be a list of activities that we have performed in our life. This information is already present in your resume which anyone can go through. This is a golden opportunity to highlight what you have learnt in your life. Engage with the interviewer by this question, by helping him engage with the other dimensions of your personality.

Approach: The answer has to be crisp, to the point, and must provide something which is “not there in the resume”. Below is a set of steps/ stages which can be helpful while preparing your answer.

Introspection: Think how you have progressed in your life across various stages of childhood. How each element has added a value to you and how you have learnt from your surroundings? This part generally gets ignored, but it forms a vital form of your component- What drives you? Some of the samples may be:

Sample: “I was born in the land of Sanskardhani- Jabalpur. Since childhood, I was blessed to observe the operations of my father’s business, which has helped me to understand the meaning of relationships and value of money. Further, I did my schooling from a traditional Indian school, which allowed me to improve my concentration by meditation. I strongly believe that being mindful of a particular situation helps in performance improvement and achieve greater satisfaction.” To be continued…

Connection: Think how your each decision has helped you develop your understanding and thought process. Any thought that you strongly believe in or any purpose that you commit for.