How to answer the most basic interview question – “Tell me about yourself.” for freshers

When you are fresh out of your university life, you would definitely have some thoughts or rehearsals of how your job interview would go. You know you want to look, sound and feel confident while introducing yourself. So don’t forget to work on this essential interview question, as most interviews don’t start without this question.

Do’s:

• State your positive qualities and things you strongly believe in, which you want the interviewer to make a note of, that shows how you will handle a given work task.
• Show interest on the career path this job will take you, so that the interviewer doesn’t have doubts on whether you would stay long enough, if you are hired. So try emphasizing on any job related course or certifications you have done as you have always dreamt of working in this role after college.
• Prepare a nice script that would sound natural with the above points and practice it.

Don’ts:

• Don’t just wrap up your answer with your high-level bio data information like name, place of birth and education details.
• The interviewers don’t want to listen to your life stories. So keep things straight and focus on professional and only vital personal information that sketches on who you are and what you do.

Crafting your script:

As the interviewer knows that you are a fresher, he/she will be looking forward to see if you have the curiosity and job readiness for the role. So when you start telling them about yourself, go beyond telling just about your native place and university degree.

• Mention about your core speciality subjects in which you majored, relevant to the job.
• Relevant projects if any.
• Any notable achievements you have made during your studies or internship.

The interviewer will be happy to know if you have a keen interest in developing a new skill or already skilled up on something which the job demands. Many times interviewers pick up questions from what you speak and also from your resume. So, you should hint on your strong areas. This would set the tone for the rest of the interview and you might end up being asked more questions on your strong areas during the technical questioning round.

Example: Harsh is being interviewed for a position of a Junior Python Developer.

“I’m Harsh from Jaipur. I’ve completed Masters in Information Technology. My strong areas are Python programming and its applications in statistics. I’ve completed my semester project in the same area and have developed a prediction algorithm to determine stock market rates during my internship with XYZ consultancies.

My other interests include website designing and integration with WordPress.

I’m looking forward to work with concepts like Regression and Classification and improve my Machine learning understanding and be part of an enthusiastic team.”

Above is just a sample introduction and you can quote more things about your achievements.

So relax and do your best with proper practice!