The first job interview always causes butterflies in the stomach of a fresh graduate.
The best way to face your fresher interview questions is by treating them as your final term exams. If you crack it, you will be landing your first job as a reward!
Now the most common interview question you’ll come across is “Tell me something about yourself”. Answering this basic interview question doesn’t require any special knowledge.
So, if you are a fresher who’s preparing for their first job interview, you need to know how to answer “Tell me something about yourself”/ “Tell me about yourself” to begin the session.
Relevant Read: Frequently Asked HR Interview Questions and Answers.
So let’s begin!
Why do interviewers ask "Tell me something about yourself"?
Before answering the question “Tell me something about yourself”, you need to understand the reason interviewers ask this question.
As you proceed in your career you will find this question being asked in every interview.
This is mostly because it acts as an ice breaker and allows the interviewer to get to know you better, but also because it gives them a quicker insight into your background, the highlights of your career, and how it can be an aide in your career, etc.
If you answer it well, interviewers can start to get to know why you are the best choice for the position and move to confirm it by getting into your hard skills.
Factors to consider when answering "Tell me something about yourself"
Once you understand the reason recruiters ask “Tell me about yourself”, here are a few factors to remember when preparing to answer this HR interview question.
Research about the company
Researching about the company, their work culture, etc. is extremely important before preparing for fresher interview questions.
You will be spending most of your time of the day at work and to be aware of their culture and whether or not you will be able to align your ethics with the company.
You do not want to be stuck in a work culture that makes you uncomfortable. You can go through company reviews on websites like AmbitionBox to have better clarity on the matter.
The reason why researching about the company is important before every job interview is because when recruiters ask interview questions, they expect that the candidate is aware of the company and its work and has clarity on how their talent can take the company ahead.
Also, being aware of the company, its people can help to familiarise themselves during the job interview as compared to attending one without any knowledge of the same.
Read the job description
A job description posted by the recruiters holds the keywords that can help you to frame your answers to “Tell me something about yourself”.
Make a note of the keywords listed by the company for the job position, and simultaneously list down your qualities as well.
Match the two and highlight 3-5 qualities that match or are a close match to that of the recruiter’s requirements.
Keep the introduction short and precise
“Tell me something about yourself” is one of the many fresher interview questions so you cannot go on and on with your self-introduction.
So when preparing to answer this HR interview question make sure to keep it within 2-3 minutes.
Do not repeat the same things from your resume, instead strike a balance between your qualities that you matched with the job description and complement it with the skills added in your resume.
Here are 3 points that you can cover while answering “Tell me about yourself”:
- You can talk about your most recent achievement, qualities, etc that is relevant to the position. Take for example,
“I have always been keen towards writing and only recently one of my writeups got published in a reputed magazine.”
- You can also mention your past achievements that might hold relevance. You could say something like this,
“I have been interested in journalism ever since a child. In my last internship in a reputed media organization, I was awarded intern of the month due to my stories and the response it drove from readers.”
- You can also tell them about your plans for your career and how you are planning to achieve them. Here’s what you can say,
“I am keen on writing but more than that I am interested in how content affects a business.
I believe one needs practical knowledge as well as theoretical knowledge, so I am willing to enroll in a certification course for content marketing and digital marketing to have a holistic knowledge.”
Practice makes the answer perfect
Practicing to answer “Tell me about yourself” helps you to be not only confident but also fix your tone when answering.
Also, avoid sounding robotic. Keep it more in a conversational tone and invoke a sense of passion into your answer when asked “Tell me something about yourself”.
Keep it professional
Make sure to sound professional, remember that this is a job interview.
Practice answering your fresher interview questions like “Tell me about yourself” and take the help of your family or trusted seniors. They can help you to tune your answer and make it more professional.
Tell me about yourself sample answer for freshers
Wondering how to combine these factors into an answer? Here are some sample answers to the HR interview question “Tell me something about yourself”.
Sample Answer #1:
“I am in my final year of studying English Hons from ABC University. I have interned with popular media houses like DEF Media House and XYZ Pvt Ltd where I got awarded the Intern of the Month.
I have always found that I express myself better with my writings and I want to pursue a career in a field that won’t just feel like a job but where I will actually have job satisfaction as well.
I have heard many great things about your esteemed organization and I am sure I’ll be able to live up to your vision and gain valuable insights from the team as well if given the chance.”
Sample Answer #2:
“I have completed my Masters in English from TGH University in (the year you passed). However I did not want to get into content writing only and since I have been interested in the growth of the digital space and how it has transformed over the years, I enrolled myself in a Digital Marketing course.
I believe the digital space is transforming rapidly and it is required to have complete knowledge to work in this field be it content marketing, SEO expert, etc. Your organization is the field of content and I believe I will be able to learn a lot from your experienced team.”
Sample #3:
“My name is (Your Name) and I have completed my MComm in Economics from STY University.
Both my parents are involved in the finance industry and I have heard a lot about their work. This naturally got me interested in the subject and I wanted to pursue a career in the same.”
Interview tips
To sum it up, here are a few interview tips to remember when answering “Tell me about yourself”.
- Read about the company, employee reviews to get a better understanding of their work culture and mission and vision statements
- Go through and take notes of the job description posted by the recruiter. This will provide a key to unlocking the answer to fresher interview questions
- Practice, practice, and more practice to answer confidently
- Keep extra copies of your resume, a pen, and notebook at your ready
- Make sure you have your outfit ready, cleaned, and pressed the day before your big job interview
Hopefully, you find these tips to field the interview question “Tell me something about yourself” useful.
You can find more about How to introduce yourself in an interview and many more “Tell me about yourself” sample answers for a deeper understanding as you progress in your career.
All the Best!
