Tag Archives: confidence

Combatting the First Interview Question: “Tell Me About Yourself”

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I have never liked talking about myself. My dad attributes my reluctance to talk about myself to my “modest” character. I, however, do not think my disinclination comes simply from the fact that I do not want to be narcissistic. Sometimes I just do not feel assured enough to give a definite answer, and I would feel bad if I was disingenuous by misrepresenting the truth about myself.

This characteristic has followed me to college, and subsequently, to my jump into professional life. Discussions about myself and my interests, resume-making, and cover letter creation have been painful. I cannot help but feel phony by attempting to convey who I am and what experiences I have had and how I hope my future will play out in the best way possible. The “tell me about yourself” prompt always invites a slew of questions I ask myself. Who is asking the question? What do they want to hear? Should I mention xyz? I don’t even know about myself, so how am I supposed to explain that to another person?!

I could talk about my entire childhood and background and adorable youth… I mean, the interviewer did ask about me about myself! Isn’t this stage of my development relevant? (Hint: it is not).

My mom likened this question, always asked in interviews, to a sales pitch. “Selling” my story and my personality by making myself marketable and desirable as an employee essentially comes with the territory, she told me. This does not seem right either. Distinguishing between modesty and marketing yourself as a potential employee is difficult—how do you best express who you are, what your interviewer or audience wants to know, without inflating your accomplishments or fibbing?

I will admit that I sometimes downplay my accomplishments in an effort to avoid coming off as arrogant. That can be almost as damaging as talking way too much about yourself. I have since learned a few effective ways to put your best self forward without any dishonest padding. Enumerated in this list compiled by Forbes are a few good tricks about “How To Talk About Yourself In An Interview,” some of which I have discussed below.

  1. Focus on what the employer is looking for in a potential employee. This does not mean divulging your entire life history; bring up relevant accomplishments, stories, and professional experiences that will show your employer how you could effectively contribute, should they hire you. Additionally, be sure to talk specifically about skills that pertain to this job.
  2. Color your descriptions of yourself with specificity and success stories in past professional settings. “Using buzz words [like ‘hard-working’ or ‘detail-oriented’ in an interview should only be a jumping-off point for talking about a specific experience that will showcase your talents,” the Forbes article notes.
  3. Be deliberate and selective. You will lose an interviewer if you give a laundry list of your accomplishments. Showcase a few tidbits and supplement them with “an example or two that lets you bring your experience to life.”
  4. Do not hesitate to ask for help beforehand. Rehearsal with trusted family and friends who will give you constructive advice, discussion about what traits and achievements would be best to highlight, etc. can really help on the day of an interview!
  5. (and this one is not on the Forbes list) Be sincere. I know from experience that you will feel much better coming out of an interview if you present yourself in the best way possible, but also if you talk about the things you truly believe would make you the perfect candidate. These things are usually include what you are most proud of yourself. And do not be afraid to share them—you are awesome, and a future employer should know it!

4 Tips from an Interviewer (Me!)

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In past posts, I’ve talked about different aspects of the interview process (including some outfit suggestions over on Poonam’s blog). However, I realized I’ve only briefly touched upon my experience with interviews from the other side of the table, so to speak. I work in Scripps Admissions about nine hours a week interviewing prospective students for the class of 2017. While the standards I hold high school seniors to are (probably) not the standards we are all likely to be held to in the slew of interviews we’ll be having this year and post-graduation, there are still some general thoughts and tips I’ve collected that I think are applicable to any interview. As we all know, there is no one type of Scripps student, and the prospies who really leave a lasting impression on me are all very different, but tend to share a number of qualities.  They are…

1. Knowledge of subject: Sometimes, I’ll talk with someone who is interviewing on a whim, meaning usually that they were at one of the other 4CS, saw Scripps and fell in love with the campus, and happened to snag a walk-in interview. But generally, people who are interviewing have visited before, have gone on a tour, or read all about Scripps in Fiske’s guide, so I expect them to have some knowledge of Scripps and be able to discuss why Scripps appeals to them. The same applies for any sort of interview—whether for an internship, job, or grad school, you should be able to tell your interviewer why you contacted his or her organization specifically. Identify some key aspects of the organization they’ve made clear they are proud of (easily found on their website) and bring those up in your interview. When students mention interest in the CORE program and in interdisciplinary learning, I know they’ve done their research.

Luckily for prospies, the beauty of our campus is something we’re really proud of, and it’s not too hard to research! (credit education-portal.com)

2. Preparedness: Knowledge of subject is part of this, but preparedness means more than just knowing about where you’re applying. Preparedness also means thinking about what questions you might be asked and preparing answers. This is not to say that pausing a few seconds after you’ve been asked a question to gather your thoughts is a bad idea, but that having an idea how you might answer some basic questions will help you stay articulate, clear, and not repeat yourself or talk in circles. Be prepared, stay calm. We are extremely lucky to have CP&R around to prep us with mock interviews for just this reason. Take advantage of the fabulous staff!

3. An ability to string everything together: This is something that I think we really learn to develop in college, but whenever I interview a high schooler who has already begun to weave a narrative for herself I am impressed. Being able to link your education, extracurricular interests, and hopes for the future looks good to an interviewer. A prospective student I interviewed recently did this well: she would begin discussing an high school activity that she’d been interested in since she was very little, and in the middle of her passionate explanation it would naturally come out that that she was captain of the team, or club. This happened throughout the interview, and it proved to me that not only that she filled many leadership roles but also that she had come into them organically because of her passion for what she was involved in. Be able to present a whole picture of yourself. Thread the things you talk about together so as to not come across as having become involved in things simply to pad your resume, but because you are really passionate about them.

4. Confidence: The previous three play into this, but generally exuding an aura of confidence in yourself can never be a bad thing. If a prospie obviously believes in herself, I will too. If you can communicate that you possess capabilities above and beyond what are required for the job, internship, or graduate program you are interviewing for, that confidence might just be what sticks in your interviewer’s mind.

(credit snellingnj.com)

Many of you have probably already had enough interviews that you also have some tips you’d like to share! What are some of those things you wished you’d said or done in an interview and now always make sure to remember? Have a great week all!

 

Post-mock, pre-real interview thoughts and reflections

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First and foremost—a huge congratulations to everyone who submitted Fulbright and Watson applications last week! We did it—wahoo! On Friday, I had my mock-interview in preparation for the actual Fulbright interview this week. It was so helpful that I decided to share some general tips that I think can apply universally to any interview:

1) It is okay to pause. During interviews, I am so anxious to start talking that I immediately plunge into an answer. I sometimes end up missing the actual point of the question (not ideal) and a train-wreck of fragmented thoughts instead spills out. Silence in an interview feels terribly awkward, but actually pausing a moment to think about the question and mentally outline a response will help you immensely. It is perfectly, 100% acceptable to take a second (though it may seem like a painful eternity to you) to organize and collect your thoughts. Ultimately, you will sound more articulate, qualified, and confident because your reply will be well formulated and structured rather than a jumble of disjointed ideas.

2) Select, in advance, a list of five achievements/ experiences/ qualities that you definitely want to incorporate into the interview. For instance, personally significant moments in my life (that are relevant in a Fulbright context) include studying public health in India, working with AmeriCorps last summer, building community through spearheading various South Asian organizations on campus—and so on. By pre-preparing concrete cases that truly define me and speak to my interests, I can be presented with any question and be prepared with a solid answer. Entering the interview with five specific points to highlight, I will adapt them to a question and work to weave them into my response. The goal is that this will help eliminate any curve-balls and make it so that you are not scrambling for an example to draw on during the interview.

3) Don’t shy away from your own greatness. The hardest question in any interview for me is “We have many strong applicants—why should we choose you?” I feel wildly uncomfortable by questions that so directly shine the spotlight on me and my qualifications, and I know others share this unease as well. My friend recently had a mock interview at CP&R for medical school, and while describing her involvement on campus, she failed to mention that she serves in positions of leadership—including president—in many of the organizations. In emphasizing the important and meaningful work of the organizations, she unknowingly downplayed her role and minimized her own outstanding contributions. It has been extensively proven that women are socially conditioned from childhood to be modest and humble. The resulting hesitation to take ownership of our personal merit and success means that we are constantly devaluing our strengths and experiences. (Did you know that one of the reasons for the wage gap between women and men is that men will aggressively negotiate a salary while women are much more likely to accept an offer immediately without any discussion?) An interview is meant for you to market yourself, and while I’m not encouraging you to lavishly embellish every minor detail of your life, I think it is imperative that we actively work on being comfortable with self-promotion and proudly voicing our unique achievements and ambitions. Don’t short-change yourself.

Life After Scripps (happening NOW!) is offering various workshops that address this critical issue. Be sure to check out ‘Negotiating Skills’ on Tuesday and ‘Crafting Your Identity: Personal Branding and The Post-Scripps Transition’ on Wednesday for expert guidance and advice on how to effectively communicate your worth.

In reference to last week’s blog entry, my friends vetoed the black blazer and grey pants combination (Where would I be in life without them to dress me?). Here are some pictures featuring our interview outfits if you are searching for a little inspiration:

Not the most flattering of pictures (it was really early in the morning in our defense), but Emily and me in the Motley beforehand doing mock mock-interviews.

Bryn (another fellow blogger!) and me after our interviews at the lovely CP&R staff lunch. 

My friend Monica looking super trendy for her mock-interview on Friday as well. Yay!