You’ve found a job in Malaysia. You’ve attended a career talk. You’ve crafted a beautiful resume tailored to the job. You’ve memorised your lines. Your interview starts and your first question is “Tell me about yourself”. You are stunned.
How will you approach this question? It is an open-ended question with millions of possibilities. Do you tell them about your family? Do you just read your resume out? Most people struggle with this question, even working professionals with years of experience.
Why is “Tell me about yourself” so important and common?
Interviews are nerve-wracking, and it’s good to break the ice. This question is a good way to ease some tension and transition into the actual interview. But do not let down your guard, it is normally your only opportunity to leave a lasting positive first impression.
Technically, it is a test on whether you experience anxiety in an interview and if you can think on your feet. It also gives them an introduction to your profile, skills, motivation, and expectations.
Your answer will determine half of your interview’s outcome. Employers already have your profile and know that you are a fresh graduate but want to use this to spot any weakness you may have.
A good answer opens up more questions from the interviewer and opportunities. A bad answer leads to a dull interview – When they ask many other questions afterwards out of formality, only following the normal template.
4 easy tips on answering “Tell me about yourself”
1. Structure is key
The answer to “Tell me about yourself” should follow an easy format. Normally, the answer is structured in a way that explains a little bit about your past, present role and future intentions. Doesn’t sound complicated right?
Hiring managers understand that you are just a fresh graduate and are not looking for years of experience. What’s important is how you communicate. As a fresh graduate, your ‘past’ should be your profile and maybe a little bit about your background.
Next, tell them about your ‘present’ role. Highlight your academic qualifications. Which majors did you take and why? What are your accomplishments? Or if you are working part-time, no harm in mentioning it and sharing your learnings.
The ‘future’ is a crucial part of your answer. It should be longer for fresh graduates because it highlights the things that you are passionate about and your career goals. More importantly, it should showcase your value proposition to the company.
We advise fresh graduates to practice and remember the structure instead of memorising the answer to “Tell me about yourself”. There is no one-for-all answer and it prevents you from shutting down in case you forget a word or two.
2. Keep it short and sweet
From the moment the interview starts, it only takes less than three minutes for interviewers to decide half of the interview outcome. Think about it as your elevator pitch. How can you market yourself in only under three minutes?
You definitely do not have to include your entire life story. Instead of talking about your primary school, you’d want to focus on your main selling points that are relevant to the job.
You may be tempted to speak about anything during this open-ended session but keep it short and concise. Only pick the relevant details, communicate properly and observe your audience.
Keep an eye on the time and the interviewer’s body language. If you notice that the interviewer is uninterested, you should either wrap up or try to mention more about the company.
3. Keep it relevant
There are two sides to this. The first is to be time-relevant. Do not talk about outdated experiences and learnings. As a fresh graduate, employers are interested in your values, passions and ambitions.
Focus on yourself, but at the same time show how your recent experiences and skills match you with the applied position and more importantly, the company. Employers love it when applicants relate themselves to the company’s direction and goals.
The second side is to be job-relevant. If you’re a student or fresh graduate, talk about your academic and personal interests. More importantly, highlight your learnings and industrial knowledge and relate them to the position you are seeking to fill.
As a fresh graduate, referencing your athletic achievements, charity work and group projects can be useful to elaborate on your values such as “hard-working” or “resourceful”. But keep one thing in mind, be job-relevant.
4. Your reasons and goals
Structure, check. Personalisation, done. Let’s ace the “Tell me about yourself” question using this final tip. Finish your self-introduction by bringing the hiring managers up to speed on your current situation and future plans.
The last part includes the reason why you wanted to apply for the particular job, the things that you are looking forward to doing in the company and how you can help the company achieve their goals.
Highlight your value proposition and how it is valuable to the company. Talk about how your positive attitudes will be a good fit for the company’s employees. This part serves as reinforcement on why the company should hire you.
Combining it all together
A complete answer to “Tell me about yourself” for a fresh graduate should look something like this:
“I’m a fresh graduate from ABC University majoring in Banking and Finance. I am passionate about money and I possess extensive knowledge about the Economics and Finance field through disciplined self-learning and active participation in international forums.
DEF Bank is the preferred bank in my family, hence I am applying to a brand that I love and I’m extremely keen to contribute to the Investment Banking division in their rapid development in the ASEAN region.
My past experiences have cultivated several values such as being determined, resourceful and inquisitive. I believe that this position is a great opportunity for me to hone the knowledge and values I just talked about, and continue to progress my career and become a fund manager for DEF Bank one day.”
Conclusion
There are no standard answers to “Tell me about yourself”. It is open-ended and up to you on how you can market yourself to be the perfect candidate for that specific job position.
We hope that this article is helpful for your first-ever job interview as a fresh graduate. For more resources, please visit our Job Majestic Blog and discover articles on cover letters, resume skills section and more!
