Actuarial Careers, Inc.®

Tell me a little about yourself. 

What to say to the interviewer.

There you are. You arrived perfectly on time for the job interview. You are seated in front of the hiring manager. The two of you just chatted about the weather and the traffic. Here it comes; the first real question. “Tell me a little about yourself”.  It may sound like a casual question, but you know it isn’t. If you’ve anticipated it, maybe you still worry about what you’ve chosen to say. If you haven’t anticipated it, you haven’t been realistic about how to prepare for an interview.

How should you answer that question? What should you talk about?  How long should you talk? If you aren’t certain, here are some ideas.

1.      We hate to start with “don’t”, but because talking about yourself is so natural, we want to caution you. Please, don’t focus on personal details like, where you grew up or your family/children etc.

2.      Do focus on your professional experience. Highlight your successes. It’s a perfect opportunity to mention accreditations, exams and the types of experience you have, such as specific projects, modeling, management and programming.

3.      If you have them, it’s a great idea to include mention of examples of how you brought value to your employers. Some good examples would be to talk about the money you saved them or perhaps models you’ve developed. 

4.      Talk about the strengths and traits you have that relate to qualifications for this position.  

5.      Talk about your current situation, specifically about why this position attracted you in relationship to your goals.  

Your answer should take only a few minutes. It should be a summary, so the interviewer can ask about the details he or she is interested in. Talking too long leaves the interviewer out of the conversation. You need to do enough talking to demonstrate you can be articulate and focused, but not so long-winded that you talk yourself right out of the running.   

We’d like to hear your experiences with this question? Have you ever answered it in a way that you got you the job? Or maybe you learned the hard way what not to say?