Answer in one or two minutes with a three-part career story: what you do now, your strongest achievement before that, and why you want this job. Do not recite your CV or your personal life. Choose only what connects you to the role.
Step by step
- 1
Start with the present
Your current role or specialty and what you work on, in one or two sentences. A graduate starts with their major and the main project or internship they worked on.
- 2
Pick two achievements only
Two situations from your experience that prove two skills the job ad asks for, with a clear result where possible.
- 3
Connect it to the job
Say why you are applying for this role at this company and what you will add to it, not only what you will gain.
- 4
Cut what does not help you
Marital status, childhood details and every job you have ever held have no place here, unless they relate directly to the role.
- 5
Practice out loud
Record your answer, listen to it, and trim it until it sounds natural rather than memorized.
The most common mistake is to open with your name and graduation year, then read out the CV the interviewer already has. They want the story that links what you have done to what they need.
- tell me about yourself sample answer
- how to introduce yourself in an interview