Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of the business and time management books TimePeace: Making peace with time – The Book of Answers: 105 Career Critical Situations – and I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management, and work-life balance strategies.
This question comes from a busy professional.
Looking for HR experts to speak to how to
promote yourself in a job interview.
One crucial element in a job interview comes with the opening question,
“So tell me about yourself.”
I’m looking for HR and career coaching experts to give tips on how to speak to
your accomplishments without coming off like a jerk. If you have advice around
how to master this surprisingly tricky interview question, I’d love to hear
from you!
Well, one way to avoid coming off like a jerk is to focus on how you can help their organization.
One method that I recommend is to turn the question around to find out more about them and what they are dealing with. What are their pain points? Then you can use that information to illustrate how you accomplished or solved a similar problem.
Some Examples
Share any past experiences that line up with their current issues
When asked, “Tell me about yourself” – you may want to describe yourself as “a problem solver or someone that likes to connect the dots. Tell me some of the issues you are facing today?”
Once they have described an issue they are having, correlate it to something in your background or experience.
Even if you didn’t successfully solve the past problem, you can say “even though my solution wasn’t initially acceptable, we used my framework to devise an even better solution. I then lead the team to incorporate our team solution. Team collaboration is what I like best and that is what I would work toward in your organization.”
What if you don’t have anything that aligns with their issue
If you don’t have something that directly aligns with their current issue, then show them how quick you think on your feet. Pick something from your past that is close and show them how your past solution could be modified to solve their issue.
If you don’t have anything close, pick an experience and outline your thought process for solving the issue. Outline how you will use similar problem-solving steps to solve their issues.
You can also focus on customer service or response times results on some of your accomplishments. Illustrate how your turnaround for the client was swift and they actually sent a marvelous testimonial based on the support received. Mention that you will work hard to do the same for their department.
Bottom line – Tying
your accomplishments to their current issues or problems, and how you can use
your past experience to propel them forward — is a great platform to work
from.
Regards,
Laura Lee Rose – Career Coach. www.lauraleerose.com Rose Coaching, LLC
Hopefully you’ll find the suggestions above beneficial.
If you need some help with any of these steps, please setup a one-on-one consult session.
To participate in a confidential One-on-One Laser Coaching Session with Coach Laura, just click the link below, pick the session time that works for you, and sign up. Each session will include 20 minutes of Laser Coaching with time afterward for a few questions. Take advantage of this opportunity to experience coaching. Sign up now and come ready to chat. One-on-One Laser Coaching Signup