Imagine you are playing “Who wants to be a millionaire?”. You have answered all the questions correctly and you are at $500,000. The last question comes up on the screen and it reads “Tell me about yourself?”. It has no options and it depends entirely on how you answer it. Did not expect that huh? 😀

If you are reading this, then you would have faced this question a lot, especially if you are attending interviews. Every question has an answer and so does this. But it’s not easy finding the right answer and also there is no definite answer to it. It varies from one person to another and changes from time to time. So how should you answer it?

In this article, I’ll try to help you build an answer so that you can feel confident about saying it in your future interviews.

Note: Let’s shorten “Tell me about yourself?” to “TMAY?” so that you don’t have to waste your energy every time you read it.

Building up the answer

Who are you? 

When you face the question “TMAY?” for the first time in your life, you start by telling your name, your age, your home town, what your father does, what your mother does, how many siblings you have, blah blah blah…. But is this all necessary? You are not registering in a matrimony site (in case you are, please don’t scroll down further), you are trying to impress the interviewer/recruiter.

The right way is to just start by saying your name, your hometown, years of experience in your field, current role in your company, your strengths and weaknesses, your interests and hobbies (will be covering all these soon), your short term and long term goals.

Don’t just recite. Say it with a bit of charisma. Also, try to put on a smiley face and try to look at the person’s eye as much as possible since it shows how confident you are in what you are saying.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths are what you are good at and weaknesses are what you are trying to improve about yourself. 

You may be good at studies but not good at sports or vice versa. You may be good at writing but not at speaking. You may have a great attitude but can lose temper easily. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. But it’s important to know what to say out loud and what to keep it to yourself. 

Since the question “TMAY?” is usually asked in job interviews, let’s just focus on that. The following are what people usually say when asked about their strengths:

1. Team player
2. Quick learner
3. Flexible at work
4. Dedicated
5. Friendly

Even though they are expected out of everyone, try telling them with an example that matches your past experiences. If you have just started your career and don’t have any examples, then tell about how much you are willing to improve yourself and give your best for the company. 

Now let’s talk about the weaknesses which actually projects who you are. Following are some of the weaknesses that are very common among people:

1. Public speaking
2. Communication skills
3. Getting distracted often
4. Bad temper
5. Sensitive

Weaknesses are what keeps us motivated to get stronger. But don’t just tell them directly. Say how you are trying to overcome that weakness and how much you have improved.

Telling that you have no weakness is a weakness itself.

Always remember to never let your weakness overcome your strengths.

Interests and Hobbies

Interests and Hobbies may look similar but they are not. Interests define the path you wish to take from a career perspective whereas hobbies are things you like to do apart from your interests.

It’s not easy finding the things that you are interested in. Especially these days, where people are so much involved in social media and playing games that make them lose interest in things that actually matter.

Since interviewers concentrate more on what you are interested in, it’s better to develop one ASAP. So how should you develop interests? I hate to break it to you but it doesn’t happen in a day. It takes time, effort, and sheer will.

If you are interested in becoming a software developer, then start by learning the basics of programming. If you want to be a web designer, then learn the basics of web design. The more you learn, the more interested you become and then you learn even more. It’s a never-ending loop.

 Consistency is the key to a greater opportunity.

It’s better to have more than one interest so that you will have more to talk about yourself, which will impress the interviewer even more.

It’s also crucial that you find a hobby for yourself which does not include playing games or watching Tik Tok. Find something that actually gives you a sense of happiness when you do it like singing, art, dance, sports, etc.

Creating a portfolio

So far we tried to build up an answer to the question “TMAY?”. But what if we can show that answer visually in addition to saying it? 

DRUM ROLLS !!!!!!!!  HERE COMES PORTFOLIO

A portfolio is a visual representation of your interests and the works that you have done so far. Designers and fashion bloggers generally have a portfolio for themselves to showcase their works. But since it’s common these days, you should create one for yourself as well. Read this article to know more about creating a portfolio.

Building a portfolio takes a lot of work which needs you to be productive every day. If you feel you are not productive enough, then I suggest you read my article on how to be productive.

What if you don’t have anything to put it on a portfolio? Then:

START DOING SOME WORK.

Conclusion

You won’t be able to build an answer straight away after reading this. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of practice to master it. As I said at the beginning, there is no definite answer to it. The more you improve yourself, the more it improves the answer as well.

I hope this article helped you build your own answer to the question “TMAY?”. Feel free to check out my other articles if you like the way I write. Also, feel free to comment if you think this article can be improved.

Signing off for now.

Arigato Gozaimasu 🙂