When you craft your answer, you have 10 million hours of information to choose from. A third might leave the experience out of his story altogether, deeming it unimportant. Continuously question yourself in order to understand your own emotional reactions to stories so that you can learn to tell more authentic stories that reach and move people where it counts. Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, a Quintessential Press book, shows how storytelling can help advance your career. “Tell me about yourself” isn’t usually going to be a major part of the interview — it’s the easing-in that happens before you get into more nitty-gritty topics, so it doesn’t need to be an extensive treatise. Those riding along can feel that you’re headed towards a destination. You have a structure (your three sentences), you have a crucial event (that may have caused or contributed to that life story) and now you have a purpose—a reason for writing that will let you learn, enjoy and even be surprised by the story you've been waiting to tell yourself … Here you can find six tips on how to write the perfect story about yourself. It is a story that involves the head and the heart — and moves people to use their hands and feet in action. If you’re having trouble constructing an honest yet positive life narrative, here is an exercise to help you. An effective story of self has to have elements of both the analytical and the emotional. Deciding to publish your biography, or at least something close to it, takes courage and persistence, so congrats! It’s easier said than done, but the key with any interview is to be yourself. Neither good nor bad, it simply is. If you simply state what happened in chronological order (many people actually neglect doing this), you will captivate your audience. Roughly one minute is a good general guideline. When it comes to your life story, it could take a lifetime. An excellent book takes about three or four years to finish – an excellent movie about four. Think about a moment that you think other people have not experienced. Nailing the “Tell me about yourself” question starts with realizing that your interviewer already knows your job history thanks to your resume. A story has natural momentum to it. Many people actually hate getting this question because it’s so hard to zero-in on an answer. I want to raise your self-awareness to help you consciously and proactively decide if you want that story. And that’s not an encouraging thought. 2. When it comes to your life story, it could take a lifetime. Click to view on LiveCareer. How you respond to the “Tell me about yourself” question can set the tone for the rest of the interview. The best stories are well-told stories – because they get better with each telling. Don’t list “what,” describe “why.” Instead of starting to list facts about yourself, briefly but vividly describe how you got to be in front of this person – why you’re there. Ira Glass calls this the “anecdote” — a story in its purest form — and likens it to a train on which you’ve invited others to join. As long as I continued to tell myself that story, I would continue to be not enough. When someone says, “So tell me about yourself,” a lot of people stumble. The current state of your life is a direct result of the stories you tell yourself, and what you really believe is possible—not what you say is possible, but what you believe deep down in your core. For another, that experience might explain why he hates boats and does not trust authority figures. 2. A story has natural momentum to it. “Tell Me About Yourself” Example Answer 2 “To generally describe myself, I would say I’m a hard working individual that has gained a lot of skills over the course of the six years I’ve been working in the business analyst industry. Deciding to publish your biography, or at least something close to it, takes courage and persistence, so congrats! Neither good nor bad, it simply is. 1. This … James Joyce once said he never met an uninteresting person. Tell your story to yourself—and make sure you tell the right one. Ira Glass calls this the “anecdote” — a story in its purest form — and likens it to a train on which you’ve invited others to join. That means doing prior research on their goals so that the story you tell is one they want to hear. Just ask yourself these three things: Can you think of an early part of your life when you felt strong and happy? The way you see the story says something about you. To differentiate yourself from the pack of candidates, you need to tell a story about how the team you are interviewing for will be better off if you’re hired. Maybe you don’t realize it, but the story you tell about yourself says more about you than the story. I want to raise your self-awareness to help you consciously and proactively decide if you want that story. Overall, when you practice your answer, you want to tell a great story about yourself that you can share in no more than two minutes. Maybe you don’t realize it, but the story you tell about yourself says more about you than the story. I’ll share a quick story with you that further explains what I can bring to the table for your company.” Think about the reasons that make that moment unique and why it makes for an interesting story. Because of the nature of my current blog—helping families recover from the loss of a child in childbirth—I’ve had to tell my story. How you respond to the “Tell me about yourself” question can set the tone for the rest of the interview.